Bane's Shadow

by KJ Dahlen

  The words his grandfather wrote down on that last page were exactly the way he died or rather was butchered. When Bane had found him, Theo Jessin had been stabbed deep in his throat, then the knife was ripped from his throat sideways so hard, it damn near took his head off his shoulders. The attack was from behind, so he never saw it coming. Lying in a pool of blood was a small coin. A small coin Bane had never seen before but in the file, his grandfather had described it in great detail. It was called a Devil’s coin with a pentagram on one side and on the other side was just one word...Charon. Bane already knew the history behind this coin. In Greek mythology, the son of Erebus and Nyx (Night), whose duty it was to ferry over the Rivers Styx and Acheron, the souls of the deceased who had received the rites of burial. In payment, Charon received the coin that was placed in the mouth of the corpse. This man his grandfather names as Pentagast had given his grandfather this very coin to make sure he left it behind the hit as a warning to the others that Pentagast would not be treated so callously. Those were the words his grandfather had written as instructions from Pentagast. That had been before his grandfather had turned down the job Pentagast had wanted him to do. Theo had returned the down payment and the coin when he turned down the job after Pentagast told him why he wanted the hit but that hadn’t pleased this Pentagast. He must have come back to try again and when Theo wouldn’t take the case, he had murdered the old man.

  But there had been one thing this Pentagast didn’t know... Theo had written notes on his case. Bane knew they had to be in this file. His grandfather always kept records. In his notes, Theo explained why he turned down the job and to Bane, it made perfect sense but to a man like Pentagast, he thought his grandfather had no choice in the matter. Pentagast thought his grandfather had to take the job no matter what. But he knew something about Pentagast that had told his grandfather to back away from his hot mess.

  Theo had written his notes and left them behind for Bane to find.

  ...So at the time, I had to ask myself just who was this mark he wanted dead so badly. Then I found out it was a woman, an old girlfriend who had spurned him. When I researched her, I found she had a wealthy family and they had her well protected. So he must have found that he could not get to her on his own. His supposed job for me was not for business, it was for revenge. I always refused such jobs. I also got no thrill over killing females. Believe it or not, I was a monster with a few scruples.

  Bane paused at the sentence his grandfather had written all those years ago. A monster with a few scruples. That was the same description he would give of himself if asked.

  Now he knew who had murdered his grandfather. He felt his rage grow and the coldness inside spread to fill every crack and crevice of his soul.

  He had been unable to find any hint of who had done the deed seventeen years ago.... but now he knew. Though having just the name Pentagast didn’t help as that had to be a fictitious name. Another reason why his grandfather had turned him down, no doubt. Knowing exactly who the contactor was had been the first rule he had taught to Bane. Never work for someone that was too hidden, too mysterious or it would certainly come back to bite you in the ass. He shrugged. It didn’t matter though, as VIM would find out who the man really was. Or is. Bane hoped he was still alive, just so he could kill him.

  He put the pages back into the box and shut the lid. For a few moments, he palmed the box, feeling the ridges of the wood his grandfather had carved.

  After this mission was done and he knew his brother was safe, Bane would go hunting and find this bastard Pentagast. But this time, he would leave the man like he had left Theo Jessin. Dead, in a pool of his own blood.

  Bane crawled into bed with Sarah and pulled her warm body into his embrace. He needed her touch tonight. He might not want to tell her what he was going to do as he didn’t want her to know how close he was to falling back to the man he once was but he needed her close.

  She tried to wake up and turn toward him but Bane didn’t want that. He didn’t want her to see his eyes. She always told him that she judged his mood by the look in his eyes. Tonight she wouldn’t be looking in his eyes. He knew the urge to kill that reflected in them would scare her and he couldn’t have that.

  Instead, he reached down, ripped her panties off, and pushed himself into her core deep from behind. He covered her mouth and continued to stroke inside her. Soon Sarah was pushing back and Bane marveled at her strength. He made sure she came before he let loose inside her but he didn’t take his hand away from her mouth. “Hush girl,” he whispered as he pulled out of her. “Go back to sleep now.”

  Sarah gasped behind his hand but after a moment, she nodded. Bane removed his hand but Sarah didn’t say a word. Tears leaked from her eyes and soaked into the pillows but she didn’t make a sound. It took a long time for her to close her eyes but finally she did.

  Bane just stared at the ceiling as his breathing finally evened out. He knew Sarah thought he was asleep but he wasn’t. The rage inside him was on a slow simmer but he could still feel its bite.

  He glanced over at the clock on the bedside table. It read two a.m. He knew he would need at least a few hours of sleep, so he closed his eyes and blanked his mind. It was an old trick his grandfather taught him. Bane was one that didn’t need a lot of sleep every night, in fact he had adjusted well to only four hours a night for many years.

  In this sleep, he willed the demons inside him to stay back.

  Chapter Nine

  The next morning at exactly six a.m. Bane opened his eyes again. He took a deep breath, his mind was once again, sharp and clear. Exhaling slowly, he turned his head and found Sarah looking back at him. He frowned when he noticed she was dressed for the day. He hadn’t been aware that she had moved out of the bed at all.

  “Good morning,” she said softly. She motioned at the table.

  When he swung his head over that way, he saw an insulated thermos of coffee and two cups. He got up, walked naked over to the table and poured out both cups.

  Sarah sat down the table.

  He handed her a cup and sat down with her. “You know I have to go don’t you?” he asked her quietly.

  Sarah nodded as she sipped her coffee.

  “You know I’ll come back to you, don’t you?” Bane frowned slightly when she didn’t say anything.

  Sarah nodded but again didn’t say anything, she just sipped her coffee slowly.

  “Will you be here waiting for me?” He blurted out.

  Sarah froze then turned to look at him. Finally, she said, “Yes, I’ll be here waiting for you to return.”

  Bane breathed a little easier then. For a moment, he got the crazy idea that she would disappear on him while he was gone but her tone told him more than she realized. She would be here waiting for him.

  Then she got up and walked over to him. Wrapping her hands around his face, she looked deep into his eyes. “You just make sure you come back to me and our baby. I can’t do this alone. Whether you like it or not, I love you and I want a life with you. So you better come back to me.” Then she leaned forward and brushed her lips over him. Before he could grab her and pull her closer, she stepped back, turned, and left the room.

  Bane was torn. For a moment, he felt he should be here but in his mind, he knew he had to go. He had to find his brother and make sure he wasn’t in danger from Dexter Evans.

  Then he would go on the hunt for Dexter Evans and this time he would bury that little motherfucker and no one would ever find his bones. At least in this, his mission, he didn’t feel at all lost. This was the same sort of thing ‒ the pattern of his life before VIM ‒ had always taken. He winced a bit at the fact that it all came almost too naturally. Changing hadn’t taken his focus and that relentless nature from him. However, he conceded this was what would keep him and those he cared for...alive.

  Bane got up and grabbed his clothes.

  A few minutes later, he joined everyone in the kitchen. Bastian and James were dressed similar to him and he nodded
at them. “Are we ready for this?’ he asked them.

  Bastian nodded then James echoed his nod.

  “Then let’s get our stuff and get on the road.” Bane growled. He walked over to Sarah and drew her up to her feet. He looked down into her eyes and claimed, “I’ll be back either tonight or tomorrow, but I will be back.” Then he leaned down and crushed her lips under his.

  He broke the kiss, turned, and walked away.

  Bastian and James followed him out and as soon as the vehicle they left in was out the gate, Raine hit the remote that locked down the house.

  Five hours later, they came to the outskirts of Hanover, Pennsylvania. James had discovered that Cane Sayler worked as a deputy Sheriff. When they called the office to ask for him, they were told he was on his lunch break. They wouldn’t give them any other information about where he was at.

  This didn’t surprise any of them, so James took his laptop out and deduced that most likely, he was at the diner across the street from the station. At least the odds were good that he and the deputies would lunch at that particular place.

  When they reached the center of town they parked at the curb. All three men got out of the vehicle and went inside the diner.

  Bane stopped just inside and his eyes swept the room. He felt something inside, but he couldn’t identify it. Anxiety? No, he had never felt that before. He refused to delve any deeper as he needed to focus on the task at hand. Then he saw him and Bane froze where he stood. It was like looking into a mirror. They shared the same eyes and mouth, the same dimple in the chin. The only real difference was the fact that Bane almost shaved his head and Cane’s hair was a little longer. Even then, they shared the same color of hair.

  Bane walked toward the table his brother was sitting at and as he got closer, Cane lifted his eyes and got the shock of his life when Bane slid in across the table from him. Cane’s eyes took in Bane’s appearance and he asked outright, “Who the fucking hell are you?”

  “I think you and I are brothers, twin brothers,” Bane told him while studying the face looking back at him.

  Cane just stared at him then slowly told him, “I know I was adopted at the age of three but I don’t remember having a brother.”

  Bane shrugged. “I didn’t remember you either. We had another brother but I didn’t meet him until I was eight and he was four. His name was Orrin.”

  “And what are you called?” Cane wanted to know.

  Bane paused for a fraction of a second. He didn’t want to tell his brother his real name but Cane deserved to know the truth. “My name is Bane Jessin.”

  Cane stiffened and glared at his brother. “I know that name.”

  Bane nodded slowly. “As an officer of the law, I imagine you do.”

  “Why have you come looking for me now? After being missing for most of my life, why now?” Cane demanded.

  Bane quietly answered, “I only just found out about you. Our father took me to our grandfather when I was two and a half. Grandfather raised me and I only saw our father once more and that was when he brought our brother Orrin and left him there too.”

  Cane frowned. “Helen and Joshua Sayler adopted me when I was three.”

  Bane kept his eyes locked with his brother’s. “She got rid of both of us.”

  “Who are you talking about?” Cane frowned.

  “Our mother.” Bane growled. Then he paused and asked, “When you were adopted or went to live with this couple, were you recovering from an injury of some kind?” He stared at the brother he’d just found. “The reason dad took me to grandfather’s was apparently due to the fact that I hurt you and our mother didn’t want me living with them any longer. She claimed she was afraid of me. She claimed I hurt you.”

  Cane thought about this for a moment then shook his head. “I don’t think so, but I can ask.”

  Bane lifted his hand and looked at the scar he had there. He never remembered getting hurt but he always knew he had the scar. He turned his hand to show Cane the scar he had.

  Cane frowned at the sight then lifted his own hand. He had a matching scar.

  Bane growled. “What the fuck?”

  Just then, a waitress came over to the table and she stood on Cane’s side of the table. She looked between the two men and shook her head. “Cane, what’s going on here? He looks just like you, who is he?”

  Cane looked up at her. “Well, this guy is my brother, we think. A brother I didn’t know I had.” He turned to Bane. “This is Roslyn Sayler, my sister.”

  Bane nodded at the woman, but he did not care about the fact that she existed at all. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a photograph. He laid it on the table and pushed it slowly toward Cane. “I also have to warn you about this man.”

  Cane picked up the photo and studied it carefully. He frowned and said, “Why do I know this face?”

  Roslyn looked over his shoulder and shivered. “Oh, my god.”

  Both men raised identical gazes up to stare at her.

  She swallowed heavily as she explained, “He was here just yesterday and the day before that. The first day he was here, he looked startled to see you but yesterday, he asked me if I knew who you were. He was the one I was telling you about last night, Cane. He took one look at you and he acted as if he knew you and boy, did he look pissed.”

  Cane glanced over at Bane. “Who is he and why would he hate a man that he doesn’t even know?”

  “Because he thinks you are me and let’s just say he and I have a history,” Bane told his brother. “If he’s here already, he’s moving in to kill you.”

  Cane froze then looked at Roslyn and back to Bane. “Why would he want to kill me? I don’t even know his name.”

  “Mostly, because he thinks you’re me but again, it could be just because he’s that type of guy.” Bane shrugged. “Evans and I have a history from years ago and it’s not a good one.” Then Bane noticed the bruises around Roslyn’s wrist. Looking up at her he asked, “Did he do that to you?”

  Roslyn grabbed her wrist with her other hand and tried to hide the bruises but eventually she nodded. “He asked me who Cane was but I wouldn’t tell him. He knew I knew him as Cane comes here every day when I’m working. But this guy grabbed me and squeezed my wrist. I thought he was going to break it.”

  Bane’s lips narrowed and he growled. “I will not allow him to hurt either of you but you can’t stay here until I can take care of this.”

  “The fucker. Who is this creep?” Cane wanted to know as his expression mirrored the anger his brother exuded.

  “His name is Dexter Evans. I put him in prison fifteen years ago and he’s never forgiven me for turning him over to the law. I should have buried him in an undisclosed grave but I let the law take care of him.” Bane snarled. “He should still be behind bars but the fucker gained his freedom as he shafted his fellow convicts.”

  “But I’m not you,” Cane reminded him.

  “That won’t matter to Dexter.” Bane shook his head. “He’ll kill you anyway. I think he’s figured out we’re brothers and he’ll know he can send me a message that you died because of me.”

  “What are you going to do about this threat?” Roslyn slid down into the seat next to Cane.

  Bane turned his head slowly to stare at her. “I’m not going to let him get close to Cane or you. Evans is going down.”

  Cane stiffened and glared at Bane. “You realize you are threatening to kill a man in front of a cop right?”

  “Did I say I was going to kill him? I just said he was going down.” Bane smirked slightly. “And he will go down hard. He’s coming after my family and I cannot allow that.”

  Cane said nothing, but his eyes reflected his scorn for killing a man in cold blood.

  Just then, James walked past their table and slipped him a note.

  Bane frowned as he read the note and glared as his head snapped toward the door.

  There stood Dexter Evans and he was glaring at the sight of both men sitting together. He then t
urned around and walked away.

  Chapter Ten

  Bane got to his feet to look down at Cane and Roslyn. “You two have to come with me right now. Evans was just here and he saw the three of us together. He’s going to try and kill you both now and I’ll be damned, if I’ll let that happen.”

  Roslyn paled. “But we don’t even know you.”

  Bane leaned forward and growled, “That won’t make a bit of difference to Evans. You know Cane and that’s all he needs to know. Do you know how Evans kills his victims? It isn’t pretty.”

  Roslyn looked afraid now, but she didn’t say anything.

  Bane leaned a little closer. “He likes to take his time. Play with his victim like a cat does with a mouse. He will keep you alive for days, just for his own thrills. He’s a coward at best because he doesn’t face you one on one. No, he will tie you up and take everything from you, cut by cut. He likes knives but he has been known to use many tools to get his jollies. He cuts off body parts toward the end as well, until his victim finally bleeds out.”

  Roslyn looked almost green now. She slapped her hand over her mouth as she bolted up and ran for the bathroom.

  Cane growled and got to his feet. He snarled at Bane, “That was cruel even for you.”

  “Was it?” Bane asked.

  “It was. Roslyn should have never heard such things.” Cane paused. “But you don’t kill that way do you.”

  “No. I get it done rather quickly. Then dispose of the entire thing cleanly and quietly. I never trusted the fact that Evans wanted to hire me. He could have dispensed his enemy on his own. He was betraying people in his line of business. He also had a reputation for not paying what he owed. But there was another part of him that made me not want to work for him as well. He is a killer of the worst kind. A true fiend if you will. I killed too, but not for the thrill like he did. Luckily, I am no longer that monster.”

  Cane tilted his head at him. “That monster?