Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

Ezra

D ark storm clouds dapple the sky just above the far horizon on the third morning of the retreat, but I'm hopeful we'll still get to enjoy the fishing excursion. Grim is already behind the captain's wheel, prepping for launch, and Bennett is busy helping load the Cattle into their restraints below deck.

I stayed at Kindra's villa until well after midnight, so I can only hope she got enough sleep to make it out this morning. She wasn't exactly keen to wake up at the crack of dawn to sit on a boat all day, but I convinced her by saying we could discuss a strategy for sussing out the Abattoir Adonis.

Who is, of course, me, but she doesn't know that. Yet.

I still plan to tell her the truth on the last day. It's selfish of me to steal this time with her before coming clean, but I can't help myself. She'll get what she wants in the end, and I'll probably get what I deserve.

Until that moment, I'll make the best of my time with her.

Staring down the shoreline, I spot two figures making their way toward the dock. Judging by the bright neon-green swimsuit, one of them must be Cat, which means the other figure is Kindra.

Excitement and dread take up equal space in my chest. I look forward to spending time with her, but the topic of her brother's killer will come up at some point, and the lying is what I don't look forward to.

She raises her hand in a wave as she reaches the dock, and I wave back. She's stunning in a black one-piece swimsuit and short denim shorts. I feel a bit overdressed in khaki shorts and a polo, but I have no plans to go in the water. That's what the Cattle are for.

"I plied her with coffee, so she's a little less angry than she was twenty minutes ago," Cat says as she boards the boat.

Kindra rolls her eyes. "I wasn't angry. I was groggy. There's a difference."

The girls each carry a large beach bag with snacks, drinks, and supplies. They haul these to the front of the boat and take a seat on one of the benches. Bennett joins us, and we give Grim the thumbs up. Instead of starting the engine, he comes toward us.

"Are you sure you want to go out this morning?" he says. "The waves in the distance don't look very friendly, and the skies are getting darker."

We all turn our heads toward the horizon, and he's right. The sporadic spots of darkness have pulled together to form an ominous inkblot over the water.

"Couldn't we go out for a bit, then turn back when it gets closer?" Cat asks. "I've never been deep-sea fishing before."

Bennett scoffs. "You've never done a lot of things before. Like killing someone."

"Play nice, children," Kindra says. She turns to Grim. "How serious is it, really?"

Grim pulls off his glasses and begins cleaning them with his shirt. "I am not afraid to go toward the storm, but I have lived a long life. Take from that what you will."

"I'm still in," Bennett says.

"Me too," Cat says, though I hear the tremor in her voice. She's only doing this to show my brother that her balls are as big as his are.

I look at Kindra, but she's still considering her options. I can't leave Bennett and Cat alone and trust that Grim will stop them from killing each other, so I can only hope she'll still tag along.

Finally, she nods. "Okay, I'll stay too."

Grim retreats back to the wheel while we settle in.

No one talks on the way to the fishing spot. Cat is too busy puking over the side of the boat, and the rest of us wouldn't be able to hear each other anyway. The waves are choppy as hell, and Grim plows into them like he has a death wish. Maybe we should have heeded his warning.

When the boat finally stops and Grim drops anchor, Kindra and I head below deck to get some bait. We brought along three Cattle, all of which are currently nude, but they belong to the pink or red jumpsuit corral. Metal collars circle each of their necks, with a chain running from the collar to a steel bar attached to the wall.

Kindra moves toward one of the men. I chose him because he murdered his wife and two sons, then kept his ten-year-old daughter around for his nefarious purposes. He's a real piece of work, and I'm glad I'll witness his suffering.

"Do we just chop off whatever we want to use for bait?" she asks.

I step toward a cabinet and pull an electric cauterizing iron from inside. "Yes, and then you use this to stop the bleeding so that we can keep going."

"Perfect," Kindra says as she plucks the tool from my hand and plugs it into a nearby outlet. "I know just what I'll take off first."

The man's hands are cuffed behind his back, and his feet are shackled to a stiff rod, so there's no chance he can injure her. That means I can just relax and watch the show.

She steps toward him and grips his flaccid cock in her hand. Even though she's about to chop it off, a flare of jealousy rockets through me. Seeing her handle another man's bits shouldn't bother me. Someone needs to remind my heart that she isn't mine forever. She'll hate me in two days.

Kindra pulls a blade from her pocket and saws off his penis. When I say she saws it off, I mean it in the most literal sense. The knife must be incredibly dull by design, because she hacks away for several minutes until it's off. The Cattle screams through his nose for the entire ordeal—their lips have been superglued shut—then falls unconscious once he's been separated from his tiny ego.

"Shit, the iron still isn't hot enough," she says as blood spurts onto the metal floor. "Can you put pressure on this thing while I wait?"

If holding that raw stump means she'll stop touching him, yes, I absolutely will apply pressure.

I step forward and encircle the remnants of his cock stump with my hand. The man looks at me as he regains consciousness, pleading with his eyes as he screams through his nose again.

"I have no sympathy for you," I say. "You're a dirty nonce, and you deserve all of this and so much more."

"Nonce?" Kindra asks.

"Sorry, pet. I use my native slang on occasion. It means he's a filthy child predator."

Her eyes light with understanding. "Speaking of your British heritage, why do you and your brother have different accents?"

"Our father was a bit of a philanderer. We probably have siblings on every continent, including Antarctica. When my mother died, she told me she knew I had a younger brother in America, so I hopped across the pond to find him."

"How long did that take?"

I shake my head and smile when I recall the hoops I jumped through to learn his identity and location. "Too long. I only knew his first name and that he was three years younger than me. But the journey showed me that I'm very good at discovering things most people wouldn't want discovered. That's how I started my private detective business."

She holds the penis toward me as she steps closer to the man. "Hold this. I'll need both hands."

With a grimace, I take the offered appendage. A penis isn't the most attractive part of a man, but when it's reduced to a limp slug of flesh, it's even less appealing.

Kindra doesn't hesitate as she presses the tip of the iron to his exposed meat. Smoke billows toward the ceiling and fills the small room with the nauseating scent of burning flesh. The man bucks and twists in his chains, but Kindra keeps chasing his wound with the iron.

"If you don't hold still, it's going in your ass next," she says.

Could she be any sexier?

When she finally has the bleeding under control, we start up the stairs.

"So why did you decide to stay in America?" she asks.

"England just didn't feel like home anymore. I'm not close with my father, and I didn't have any fast friendships. I'm kind of like you. I stick to myself."

"At least you have your brother," she says.

It's a stab to the heart. I still don't recall killing her sibling, but it had to be me. He was strung up on meat hooks, and no one else uses my MO. If I knew more about his death, maybe I could recall why he had to die by my hand, but I don't want to drag up such a painful topic just yet.

Cat and Bennett have gone to the back of the boat to set up the rods. We should have known better than to leave them to do anything, because fuck-all has been accomplished. Instead of readying our equipment, they've engaged themselves in a heated battle of cruel words.

Kindra steps between them. "Can you two just fuck already?"

"Kindra, ew!" Cat squeals. "I would rather fuck myself with that ghost peen in your hand than come within an inch of Bennett's herpes magnet."

"Herpes magnet?" Bennett's eyes go wide. "I'll have you know I use protection, and I've never had an STD!"

"Never?" I say.

Bennett's shoulders drop, and he shoots daggers at me with his eyes. "I've never had an incurable STD."

Kindra and Cat both take a step away from him.

"Fuck all three of you," Bennett says as he pushes past me. "I'll be in the wheelhouse with Grim if anyone needs me."

Unable to stop herself, Cat delivers a parting blow. "If we need to know the best antibiotic for gonorrhea, we'll be sure to come find you."

It was actually chlamydia, but I've done enough damage, so I keep my mouth shut. Everyone makes a mistake when visiting Thailand.

With Bennett gone, we begin setting up the rods. It isn't long before the rocking waves send Cat rushing for the edge of the boat again. Kindra suggests she go below deck to lie down. It's in the center of the ship, so the rocking will be less evident. She nods and heads down.

And then there were two.

With no one around to see us, I step into Kindra and place a kiss on her forehead. "I'd bend you over the railing if the others weren't around," I whisper into her ear.

"You'd do it even if they were," she says with a smirk, and she's not wrong. "Let's get a line in the water before this storm hits."

I set to work, attaching the yellowing penis to a hook the size of my hand. We drop it into the dark water, then sit back and wait.

The silence between us unnerves me. She's looking out at the water, but I can see that she's deep in thought. I have to think of a way to buy some time and throw her off until the last day. If I can discover why I killed her brother, maybe I can convince her that it was justified.

Then she places the solution into my lap.

"What was Eighties' deal?" she asks. "Is there any chance he could have been the Abattoir Adonis?"

She may have offered an out, but I have to play it cool, so I shrug. "It's possible, I suppose. He was from Texas, but serial killers can travel for work just like anyone else."

Kindra shudders. "Makes me think of the I-90 killer. Did they ever catch that guy?"

"No, and I doubt they ever will. He seems to be on hiatus. They haven't found any new bodies for months."

She sits with this for a moment, then says, "Do you think you'd ever give it up?"

"Not a chance," I say with a shake of my head. "As far as I'm concerned, my need to kill is genetic. My brother and I were killers before we knew about each other, and our father is still an active killer as well."

"Your father too?" Her eyes go wide. "Does he do good work like us?"

This is a topic I didn't want to touch on. It's too shameful. But she asked the question, and I feel safe with her, so I answer. "No. My father and I aren't close for a reason. He kills indiscriminately. He hasn't gone so far as murdering children, so we're still on speaking terms, but he's made some questionable choices that Bennett and I don't agree with."

"I'm sorry, Ezra."

She rests her head against my shoulder and places her hand on my thigh. I'm unaccustomed to these bids of affection and comfort, and only now do I realize what I've missed out on for so long. Then again, I've never craved this sort of attention from a woman.

In reality, I've missed out on nothing. I've just been waiting.

For her.

I place my hand under her jaw and raise her face to mine. She closes her eyes, anticipating a kiss, and I don't want to disappoint her. I place my lips to hers, and her hand travels higher.

"Sorry to interrupt," Cat says beside us.

Kindra pulls away and smooths her hair. "Are you feeling better? You weren't down for very long."

"No, I'm not, and you're about to feel a little worse yourself." She holds her phone toward Kindra. "The email was sent two days ago, but the signal on the island is pretty non-existent. I guess we got some brief blast of signal, because this just came in."

Kindra takes the phone and studies the screen, her face growing paler with each word she reads. She's drained of all color by the time she finishes.

"Guess I'd better start looking for a new job," she says.

"What's the issue?" I ask.

Cat and Kindra take turns telling the story of how they ended up here and why Kindra's job is now in jeopardy.

"He's asking for an update, and I have nothing to give him," Kindra says. "I've been too busy riding your dick to focus on the two reasons why I'm here."

"I didn't know how secretive she'd have to be when I set this up," Cat says. "It's all my fault."

Unlike Bennett, I won't kick the blonde when she's down, though she had to have reached max-level ignorance to believe Kindra could write a story about anything on this island.

Then again, maybe Eighties is the solution to every problem.

"I might have an answer for you. I'll be right back," I say.

I hurry to the wheelhouse as a plan takes shape in my brain. It could work, but it would rely heavily on Bennett's help, and I'm not certain he'll offer any assistance after my little jab on deck.

Grim is fast asleep behind the wheel, his hands resting in his lap and his chin pressed against his chest. Soft snores burble from his thin lips every few seconds. Bennett glances up from a gun magazine as I enter the cabin.

"We ready to head back, or do you need to bring up more of my past first?" he asks.

I motion for him to keep it down, then sit next to him. "Actually, I need to ask a favor."

"Mighty bold of you, all things considered. You also have no bargaining chip. I already get to kill Gary."

"Just hear me out," I say. "I need you to take the meat hooks from my room and hide them in Eighties' villa."

He already knows where I'm going with this, and his head begins to shake before I can finish. "No, absolutely not. You're thinking with the wrong fucking head, Ezra. You plan to lie to this girl, and she doesn't deserve that. I'd help you fuck over the blonde all day, but I like Kindra, so I won't help you deceive her more than you already have."

"I still plan to tell her on the last day. That hasn't changed. But I just want a little more?—"

"Time to dick her down? I get it. But the answer is still no."

"No, that's not what I was about to say. I want to know why I killed her brother, and I need more time to figure that out. This will buy that time for me, and it will help Kindra."

I explain her situation with her boss and how Eighties' death can be a solution to that problem. We just need Jim to sign off on revealing Eighties' identity, and Bennett has more opportunity to get that approval.

Bennett sighs, and his head drops to his hands. "Fucking fine," he says through a groan. He pulls his hands away and looks into my eyes. "But I'm doing this on one condition. No matter what happens, you'll tell her the truth before the hunt on the final day."

"Why before the hunt? Can't I do it at the airport right before we part ways?"

A smile slides onto his face. "No, you can't. If you want me to help you dig the hole, I want you to fight your way out of it. You have to do it the right way for her, not the easy way for you. She needs time to cuss you up one side and down the other, and I want to see it."

"So your payment will be my public humiliation?"

"Yes."

"That means I'll probably be too distraught to go on the hunt."

He claps his hand on my back. "I thought of that too. That's when I plan to kill Gary, and with you out of the way, there's no risk of you ‘accidentally' taking my kill."

"It happened one time, Bennett. One time."

"And that's one time too many." He gets to his feet and stretches. "Go spin your little web of lies. I'll place the fly in the trap once it's dark."

I hurry back to the girls, but I'm happy to see they didn't need me around to get a fish on the line. Kindra holds the rod's tip in the air, moving it up and down as she and Cat laugh. But as I draw closer, I realize it's not a fish at all. It's one of the Cattle from below deck.

"Kindra rammed a hook through his scalp and cut off his feet to draw sharks," Cat says. Her blue eyes gleam with childish mischief.

I peer over the side of the boat as Kindra brings the man's head above water. He gasps through his nose before sinking into the red water again.

"The line isn't rated for something as hefty as a man. Or a shark," I say. "It'll probably snap soon."

As if I willed it to happen, the line breaks, and the wriggling body begins to sink to the depths.

"Bon voyage!" Cat yells to the receding man.

Kindra slides the fishing pole back into its holder, then turns to me. "Did you figure something out?"

I pull her into me, not caring that Cat can see. "I think I have a solution to your job problem, but Bennett has to talk to Jim first. As for the other, I want you to meet me at my villa around midnight. We have some reconnaissance to do."

Kindra beams up at me with a genuine smile. "I'll be there."