Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

TYSHAWN

We don't say much on the drive to my apartment. Leo gives me my phone back, and I spend some of the time returning calls and texts. Sam sent me about ten messages throughout the night and this morning, getting more and more desperate with each one. Instead of texting him back, I call him.

"Ty! What the fuck man? I know you don't have to report to me, but it would be nice to get a heads-up you'll be out all night. I was fucking worried. I thought you went to Fairmont alone and got kidnapped."

Close, but not quite. "Sorry," I mutter. "I was with Leo. We, uh … he took me on a date," I lie. "We're on the way back now."

"I'm glad you're safe."

"I am. Listen, I'm going to be staying with Leo for a week or so. I just…" I look over at Leo, watching a smirk play across his lips as he listens to my end of the conversation. "We're having a great time, and I don't want our date to end." I decide to lay it on thick for Sam so he won't ask questions. "He's perfect, Sam."

I'm not exaggerating that part though. Leo is perfect. Before I found out he was a contract killer, I thought he would be someone I'd be with for a long time. Hell, I'm not sure him being a contract killer fully erases that. I can't change who he is, but like June said, I can maybe channel it to those that need death to absolve them of their sins.

Just as I thought, Sam takes what I said, hook, line and sinker. "Sounds like things are getting real. Has he, ya know, been violent?"

"Not at all," I say. He hasn't been violent to me . I'm choosing to use that as the distinction for the question he asked. "He's been really sweet. We've talked and gotten to know each other."

"And if I know you, his dick ended up down your throat."

A bark of laughter bursts from me. That's what I love about Sam. As my best friend, he's had to listen to my sexcapades, and he's never been weird about it. He does the same with me, and it's only been weird with Beth, since I've grown to love her like a sister.

"Yeah, well, what can I say?" My laughter trails off. "Seriously though, Sam. He's really something."

Leo threads his fingers through mine, and I look at him with a smile. He winks at me, and butterflies flap around in my belly. Why does a wink make me feel this way?

Thinking about Leo's dick has my own stirring in my pants. He was thick and long, stretching my jaws to the max. Thinking about his strong hand on the back of my head, guiding me as I gagged around him sends a shiver up my spine. I don't miss Leo's smug smirk as he looks over at me, his eyes glancing down to my crotch. My dick is tenting the loose sweat pants he loaned me.

"Be careful, Ty. You don't know if he's dangerous." Sam says, bringing me a back to our conversation. My dick flags when I think about what I walked in on last night and just how dangerous Leo is. All that blood and the body parts on the table.

I shake that thought away. I'm going with him to kill Michael Kerry. I need to get used to the idea of seeing blood. Because I want Michael to go out painfully, relieved of a few body parts.

Sam continues speaking. "I know you're tough, but I want you to keep your eyes open."

"I'm not worried about Leo hurting me, Sam. I trust him."

"Good. I want you to be happy, Ty. You're more than my roommate. You're my best friend." He chuckles softly. "Beth wants the same thing. She keeps telling me to set you up with her filthy coworker, but I don't think he's your type."

I chuckle along with him. That's definitely not my type. "I'm happy with Leo, so tell Beth I said thanks but no thanks."

We chat for a few more minutes, then hang up. Then I steel myself and return the other missed call.

His deep voice washes over me, and I close my eyes, missing hearing it every day. "Hey Ty."

"Hey, Dad. How are you?"

I don't hate my dad. I'm just upset that he moved on so quickly. It's not fair of me to put what I think is an accurate time to grieve on him, but I can't help it. He said my mother was the love of his life, but six months later, he's seeing someone else. It's hard for me to reconcile that he's not missing my mother.

It isn't fair because his girlfriend, Cynthia, is a nice lady. But she's not my mother.

Every time I think like this, I get pissed at myself. My father deserves to be happy. Hopefully, I can work out how I feel and become close to my dad like I used to be.

"Good, son. Real good. I was calling to see if you were going to visit soon. It's been a few months since I've seen you in person."

The last time I went to visit, I left early when I saw how Cynthia and my dad were with each other. It reminded me of times he was with my mother, and I couldn't take it. It wouldn't have been right to ask Cynthia to leave, so I did, driving the two hours back home after only being at my old house for an hour.

"I have plans with …" I look at Leo, who seems to not be paying attention to what I'm saying, but I know he can hear. We're in an enclosed space for fuck's sake. "I have plans for the next week or so. Then, yeah. I can visit."

"Great."

My chest burns at his excitement. I want to be a better son for him. I promise I'll work on it.

"I'll call you when I'm back in town, Dad. I love you."

"Love you too, son."

I hang up and blow out a long breath, my chest still tight. I wish this rift between us didn't exist—a rift I caused. Hopefully soon it'll be better. My dad doesn't deserve to be alone. He deserves the happiness Cynthia gives him. If my mother had a say, she'd want him to move on with his life. It's the type of person she was. I have to do the same.

Leo squeezes my hand. "You okay?"

Sighing, I say, "Yeah. It's just hard to talk to my father. It's like my brain knows he didn't do anything wrong, but my heart is taking a while to catch up."

"I don't understand what it means to love my parents, so I can't give you any advice there. If you ever want to discuss your feelings, call June. He's a regular guy, like you."

That makes me chuckle. Looking at Leo, you wouldn't think he was a psychopath. He looks like a happy-go-lucky guy that loves to smile. He must have worked hard to make his emotions come across as genuine, since he told me he doesn't have any. "I'll keep that in mind."

"And Blu is a psychiatrist. If you need to talk about shit like that, you can book an appointment."

I almost swallow my tongue. "Your cousin that's also a serial killer is a psychiatrist?"

"Yep. He's a pretty good one, from what I hear."

"Thanks, but I'll be fine," I tell Leo. "It means a lot that you would try to help though."

It does. Even though he says he doesn't care about things or can't feel, he's trying to help me untangle my feelings.

The rest of the ride is spent in silence, my head still hurting a little. Leo told me it's from the tranquilizer he gave me. We had a long conversation about that after I got out of the shower.

When we pull up to my apartment, I invite him up so he can help me pack some clothes and we can talk more. As I'm tossing some pajamas in a bag, Leo, who's leaning back on my bed watching me, asks, "Why were you out last night? I meant to ask earlier, but you went down on me, and all thoughts left my mind."

Shooting him a grin, I ask, "Was it that good?"

"Better than I can describe. I've never been sucked off like that."

My chest swells with pride. I'm glad he enjoyed himself. I enjoyed giving him head too, his cock hard and thick in my mouth. I can't wait to do it again.

"Answer my question," he says before I can get sidetracked.

"I told you I wanted to open a bakery when we went on our date," I say and Leo nods. "Well, I've been working with a realtor. Every so often, he'll email me listings. He sent me some yesterday, and the one that's down on Fairmont is within my price range. I wanted to go with Sam and take a peek when I got off work. But I ended up working late, and by the time I was free, Sam was with his girlfriend. He told me to wait until the morning to go see it, but something kept nudging me to go check it out right then."

Leo slides off my bed and folds the clothes I tossed by the bag before stuffing them inside. "Why do you think that is?"

"I'm not sure. But the more time passed, the more insistent the nudge to go was. So I got dressed and drove over. My dad bought me the knife I was carrying to make sure I was safe." I glance at him dryly, and Leo chuckles softly. "Then I walked in on you and …"

"His name was Ralph. He was a predator."

"What did you do to him? There was a lot of blood. I know the body holds a lot of pints, but it looked like more than a person should have. And it was everywhere. There was a big puddle under him. Did you cut him low? Like gutted him until his intestines fell out or something?" I shudder, even though I know I need to get used to it. Hopefully I'm only having this reaction because I was caught off guard, not because I can't handle seeing a bit of blood. Well, it was more than a bit, but still.

Leo barks a laugh. "No. Nothing like that. Though I'll have to try that sometime in the future. I've never gutted someone before." I can't tell if he's joking or not, so I just keep my mouth shut, waiting for him to tell me what happened.

"First, I cut off his fingers." Leo stops folding my clothes and walks his fingers across my back. They're soft and gentle, making me shiver. His voice even takes on a sultry quality, and I'm ensnared in the picture he's painting me. "Then, I pulled a few of his teeth, trying to get one with the root intact." His fingers dance across my face, stroking my cheeks. He lowers his lips to my neck, kissing me gently. My head lolls back, and I lean against him, chest heaving from his touch and his lips. "Then, I cut off his dick, like my client asked me." Leo's hand drifts down to my cock, which is hard, rubbing gentle fingers over me through these too large sweatpants.

Like most men, I should cringe when Leo talks about relieving someone of their manhood, but the web he's spinning, his touch, and his mouth has me distracted.

"Once I was done and he was on death's door, I tilted his head back—" Leo grabs under my chin and tips it up until my throat is exposed "—and slit him from ear to ear." He drags a gentle finger over my throat, and I tremble.

I spin around and kiss Leo, taking his lips in a brutal kiss that he returns with equal fervor. He glides his hands down the back of my thighs and lifts me up until my legs are around his waist. My back hits my open bedroom door, and Leo holds me up by my ass while he ravages my mouth.

Why did him telling me how he killed someone have me so fucking hard? I should have run screaming from the room, but instead all I can think about is his lips and his touch and surprisingly, my desire to see him in action. I want to see how efficient he is when he kills, if he enjoys it and how he does it. I want to see it all.

My fingers thread into his hair, pulling and rubbing at the strands. I want him as close as possible, devouring his mouth.

The sound of keys in the door puts a halt to our kissing. Sam and Beth's voices mingle together as they step into the apartment, reaching our ears over our heavy panting. I wiggle in his arms, signaling for Leo to put me down. He gives me one more kiss, then sets me on my feet.

"We'll finish this when we get back to the cabin," Leo mutters against my ear, nipping at the lobe before he pulls away.

Yes the fuck we will.

We go back to packing my clothes. Sam and Beth pop into the room, Beth giving me a long hug and staring open-mouthed at Leo before she goes to stand beside Sam. I get the sentiment. Leo is hot as fuck. But she only has eyes for Sam.

Beth and Sam look good together, both with a rich tan, brown hair and brown eyes. Where he's over six foot, Beth is closer to my height with a cute, curvy body.

Sam begrudgingly shakes his hand, and Leo apologizes again, though I can tell he doesn't mean it. It's like the rose- colored glasses have been stripped from my eyes when it comes to Leo, and I can read his expressions clear as day.

Sam doesn't know that, so he accepts his apology, inquiring about the self-defense training he has. Leo smiles at him, and though it reaches his eyes, it's an empty gesture. "I can show you some time, when Ty and I come back from our week away, though I'm not an expert."

"My throat begs to differ," Sam jokes, rubbing at where he was hurt.

Beth slaps his arm. "Well, don't sneak up on someone that has training, and your throat will be fine."

I shoulder my bag so we can leave, but Leo takes it from me. How can a psychopath be such a perfect gentleman?

"Time for us to go. I'll text you." I give both Sam and Beth a hug, then lead Leo out of the door, back to his sanctuary in the woods so we can plan a murder.