by K. J. Dahlen
Ana went into the room and sighed. This room like all the others she’d seen on this floor was an elegant two room suite. They were in the sitting room but the open bedroom door showed a king size bed waiting in the wings for them.
The color of the room was a subdued cream with bright blue accents. Soft pillows brightened the sofa and straight back chairs. There was also a window seat in front of the big bay window that overlooked the city from a different angle than the one in Yuri suite. As Ana looked out over the city she felt Sazon come up behind her. A few minutes later she whispered, “Do you think they’re out there somewhere waiting for us?”
“Who?”
“Michael’s friends. Do they really think they can set him free?”
“Who knows what thoughts are going through their heads?” Sazon scoffed. “If they think they can just come in to our town and get through our lines of defense to free their friend, they are either very stupid or they don’t have a clue what they’re up against.”
Ana shivered, still looking over the city, hidden now by darkness. “What kind of man can take a life without remorse? I’m sorry but that goes against everything I’ve ever been taught.”
Sazon took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around her. “You do know that I’ve killed before don’t you?”
Ana nodded and leaned her head back against his chest. “But have you killed without a very good reason? Have you killed just because you could?”
Sazon thought about her questions before he answered, “No I can’t say that I have. I’ve always had a good reason to take a man’s life. Either it was in protection of myself or my brothers or even to protect my boss but never for no reason.”
“That’s the difference then isn’t it? I saw the tape of my grandfather’s murder. I saw the look in Michael’s eyes when he slid the blade into my grandfather. I think at one point, Pops saw it too. He knew he was going to die and he also knew Michael didn’t give a shit about his life.”
Sazon’s arms tightened around her and neither of them said a word as they stood there.
Ana no longer saw the city but was lost to the past. “Have you ever seen the eyes of a soulless man?” she whispered. “Michael’s eyes were cold and vacant that day. He didn’t care about anything but there was a light in them somehow. If I didn’t know better, I would have said he was close to being aroused.” Turning her head she asked, “Is that even possible? I mean really? His eyes were cold yet his body language was close to being aroused in a sexual manner.”
Sazon lips were tight. “Yes, it is possible. I’ve seen it before.” Sazon didn’t want to tell her where he’d seen it, those nightmares were better left unshared.
She caught his glance and after a moment, she asked, “I don’t want to know do I?”
Sazon shook his head. “No babe, you really don’t.”
Turning back to the view of the city she said, “Okay, I won’t ask. Do you have any idea what’s going to happen next?”
Sazon moved them over to the sofa and held her while he caught her up. “One of Yuri men found emails going back fourteen years between this guy Michael and seven other men. It goes back to the time they were all in college. From what the email hint at these eight men made an unholy pact. Trudy caught something she missed the first time when she reexamined the crime scene pictures. It was a symbol of an eight ball on the body of one of Michael’s victims. We didn’t know what it meant until Adrik found the emails from the other man. We think we’ve uncovered a ring of killers.”
“Oh god…” Ana put her face in her hands. “This just keeps getting worse and worse. Maybe we should start calling this man by his true name, Caleb Stoner.” She shivered. “Even his name sounds cold.”
“I’ve met the man and he is cold. He also thinks he’s going to live through this.”
“So Yuri’s men will have to take down seven men before we can even deal with Caleb.”
Sazon shrugged. “Only if they leave us with no other choice. No one wants to shed blood in the streets.”
“What else can you do? They won’t leave you any other choice.” Ana shook her head. “They won’t be bothered about shedding your blood. They need to protect their little group. They need to keep their secret. I have to wonder how many people they’ve killed as a group over the years.”
“Their reign of terror is over or it will be tomorrow when they face us man to man. That’s the one thing they’ve never done before…face the consequences of their actions.”
“What will you do to Caleb?”
Sazon stiffened. “I don’t know what his fate will be. Once we get things settled down, Sergi will determine what’s to be done with him and the others.”
“I know you don’t agree with me but I still want to face him.”
“That’s not going to happen, not in this lifetime.” He growled.
She laid her hand on his chest to calm his growing rage. “I know you don’t like the idea but it would give me closure. I need to see his eyes in the moment he knows he’s going to die. I know what I’m doing when I yield a blade. I’ve been handling them since I was seven years old. I know I’m small but I’m not weak. I know how to forge the steel, I know how to balance it I know how to handle the blades we made. In fact, I balanced and engraved the very blade Caleb used to kill my grandfather. He doesn’t know how to use the blade. That’s something you can see on the tape. He’s awkward and unsure of how to even hold the blade. Even if he practiced every day with the blade, I would still know more than he would after only two months. I’m still trying to resign myself to the fact that I can’t look him in the eye and get justice for my grandfather.”
“But he still has his size and strength against you,” Sazon argued.
“Ok, I don’t want to argue anymore. I’m very tired and I’m more than a little heartsick over this whole situation. I know you’ll stop him from ever hurting anyone again and I guess that will have to do, I am trying to accept it but it’s hard. The rage inside me is not satisfied but I’ll learn to live with it. I just need some time to get over the disappointment.”
“But I have to protect you, don’t you see that?” he asked.
“Yeah, I see that. But do you see my point too?”
Sazon nodded but couldn’t say the words out loud.
“I’m going to bed,” she announced after a long moment.
Sazon watched as she walked to the bedroom. The one thing that gave him hope was the fact that she didn’t close the door behind her. He did note that she didn’t turn the light on but a few minutes later, he heard the shower running. Sazon got up and made sure the room was secure. Then he walked to the dark bedroom. He found her in bed.
He slowly pulled off his clothes and got into bed behind her. When he wrapped his arms around her, he was surprised to find her naked and waiting for him.
She sighed and pressed back against him.
Sazon held her close and felt himself harden at the silken feel of her body. Reaching for her breasts, he squeezed them, molding her flesh in the palms of his hands. His fingers plucked her nipples until they were hard. Pulling her skin away from her body he made it hurt just enough.
Laying his lips against her neck, he nibbled on the back of her neck until she responded, then he used his teeth and bit down hard.
“Aaah,” she cried out.
Sazon surged against her rolling her over so she laid on her stomach. Then he rose up behind her and grabbing her hips, he pulled her up to her knees and rammed his cock deep inside her.
Ana screamed at his possession and didn’t fight it. Instead, she pushed her self back, so she met him thrust for thrust.
They were both lost for the moment as they took their pleasure in the rough loving. With each of Sazon’s thrusts, he went deeper until he was banging her cervix. Ana was whimpering and breathlessly calling out his name. He knew he was being rough but this woman brought out the beast in him somehow and he knew he would never get enough.
When her climax hit it
was more than she could bear. She screamed his name and for a moment lost consciousness. His fingers still gripped her hips and sweat rolled down her face.
He leaned over her and kissed the back of her neck gently.
Ana turned her face and kissed him back. “Wow,” she whispered against his lips.
Sazon rolled to her side and held her close. When he felt her breathing settle for the night he whispered, “I can’t let you go, not now. Maybe not ever. I think I’m falling in love with you and I know I can’t lose you.”
CHAPTER TEN
Over breakfast the next morning, Yuri received a phone call from Trudy. He put it on speaker so everyone could hear her report.
“Ok guys,” a young woman’s voice echoed over the speaker. “Here’s the low down on the eight pack. The names of the involved are, Caleb Stoner, Joel Day, Martin Donaldson, Corey Martin, Jason Canton, Orlando Mattias, Karl Timmons and Joey Roberts. They met while in college near Miami, Oklahoma fourteen years ago. Caleb left Miami after two years but before he left, he murdered a young woman named, Gena Crane. He turned again two years later in Kansas City where he murdered the real Michael Tabrone and took his identity. He kept out of trouble for the next three years when he was arrested on a bench warrant for a traffic ticket. He skipped bail and left the city. From there, he went to Cincinnati where four years later, he killed Orlando’s Aunt Glory. He changed his name again. Your man, Adrik forwarded the emails and I looked into them. The other men split up and went to different parts of the states and they began their own murder sprees. So far, over the last fourteen years they’ve killed twenty three people and left no clues behind. When I knew where to look and what to look for in nearly all the crime scene photos that I was able to get my hands on, I did find one common thing, the blood stained symbol of the eight ball. It was the only thing all the scenes had in common.”
“Were you able to follow where Caleb went after he left Cincinnati?” Sazon asked.
“Yeah, he was quiet for two years and then he killed Ivan Petroff. Next, he went on to a small town called Cave City Kentucky where he murdered Jordan Willias. Afterward, he moved to New Orleans where he joined the gym.”
“And the others?” Yuri asked. “Where did they all go?”
Joel Day went to live in Arizona where three people ended up dead in the last fourteen years. Martin went to live near Chicago where he’s suspected in at least four deaths. Corey went to New York where I found 2 deaths I can link to him. Jason has only one death to his name but that may not be his fault- he went to jail for several years but he got out a couple of years ago now, so he’s still out there. Orlando went to Vegas and there were three deaths there. Both Karl and Joey went to Washington State and each are suspects in two deaths each.”
“Why didn’t the police put this together before now?” Roman asked.
“I don’t think they compared notes, either that or they never noticed the eight ball,” Trudy concluded. “Some of the symbols looked more like blood smears than any kind of symbols.”
“That doesn’t set a very good record for the police department does it?” Ana voiced her opinion.
“Honey, the police are notorious for working a case a few days and moving on to the next case,” Trudy told her. “They don’t spend a lot of time trying to find someone who doesn’t want to be found.”
“Okay we got the who and the what but do the emails ever say why they did this?” Sazon wanted to know.
“From what I’ve read, the why is just because they can,” Trudy informed them with disgust in her voice. “This is nothing more than a game to these rich spoiled brats. Your man Caleb might not have been into money but he learned to fake it well. The sad part of all of this is its some sort of competition. They each put in twenty five thousand dollars in a kitty. Then they made a pact to meet up in twenty years for a reunion. At that time, they were going to compare notes and the winner would get the pot.” After a long pause, her voice came back on the line. “They played with people’s lives in a game of chance. Any way you slice it, that’s just fucked up.” The line went dead.
Ana turned to look at Dewey, Trudy’s husband.
He hung his head and held it between his hands.
Then she looked at the rest of the men sitting there with them. Each man wore an expression of rage and disgust.
“We need to hunt this vermin down and take out the trash,” Deke seethed. “It’s long overdue.”
Jethro nodded. “I don’t think the world will miss these eight men. We’d be doing the public a great service by ridding society of them.”
“I know where we can get a boat,” Roman commented unconcerned.
“Why a boat?” Sam queried.
Roman shrugged. “A boat will not cause anyone’s notice going out into the gulf, especially late at night when the traffic is slow. Boats come and go from here all the time. Nor will anyone notice or care when it doesn’t return to port but instead is lost at sea.”
Silence covered the room as no one spoke to reject his idea. From there a plan was born. The men around the table discussed the details of what they would do when the men were in their custody.
Then they all left in small groups. Yuri, Sazon and Roman went to check on Caleb. Sam and his group left to set themselves up for watching the gym. Dewey and his group all but Pappy, left to run the streets. They were hoping to get a handle on the seven men they were hunting so they could watch over them.
That left Sergi, Nikoli, and Pappy to escort Ana to the gym. She wanted her chance to confront Caleb even if it was on the other side of the cage bars.
Misha was going to track down his daughter and stay with her until the situation was over and she could come home again.
When the four of them left the hotel and walked to the parking lot, they didn’t notice three men sneaking up behind them. It wasn’t until Sergi felt a knife point nudging his ribs that he even noticed the men. He stopped where he was and when he did, Nikoli and Pappy were stopped as well. All three men were held at knife blade.
“Don’t try to get away from us and do not speak,” the man behind Sergi told them. “I’d hate to spill blood this close to other people.”
“Let’s just keep moving to the back of the parking lot,” another of them said.
“What do you want here?” Sergi demanded without moving. He glanced over at Nikoli quickly but didn’t stay connected to the other man. His knew his bodyguards were close by but he also knew they couldn’t help him at the moment. They wouldn’t risk him or anyone in the group getting hurt.
The man standing behind him poked the knife a bit deeper into his back.
The skin broke and Sergi could feel a drop of blood rolling down his back. “Do you have any idea who I am?” Sergi demanded. “Who I represent?”
“I do not care who you are buddy,” the man behind him hissed. “I need information and I’ll use you to get what I need.”
“What do you think we can tell you?” Pappy asked.
Neither he nor Nikoli had moved after they noticed the men holding the knives on them but that didn’t mean they accepted captivity. They were waiting for the time to be right to strike back.
“We’re here looking for a friend of ours, Michael Tabrone. We were told the manager of this establishment had him. We need to find him and free him,” the man behind Nikoli told them.
“Michael’s real name is Caleb Stoner,” Ana informed the men. She hadn’t moved much but she watched them all very carefully. She shifted her stance carefully and slowly. She made eye contact with Pappy and saw his slight nod.
She gave him a nod in return and moved very quickly. Taking a step back, she let loose two small knives. One at each of the men behind Sergi and Nikoli. One hit the first man’s throat while the second hit the other man between the base of the neck and where his shoulder began, each blade sank deep to the hilt.
The man behind Sergi stepped back grasping his throat before he fell to the ground. He jerked a moment or so then laid
very still.
The man behind Nikoli tried to pull the blade out but Ana warned him, “If you remove the blade you’ll bleed to death within minutes. The blade has cut through a major artery but it’s up to you.” She shrugged then looked over at Pappy.
He had his man down on the ground. His man had a bad cut on his face and Pappy’s knee in the middle of his back. Pappy was also holding the man’s wrist in a lock that had the man screaming in pain. “Oh, shut up will you?” Pappy growled. “You’re drawing attention to us.” He’d taken off his belt and was using it to tie the man’s hands behind his back.
Sergi and Nikoli glanced at the men down on the ground then looked at Ana in surprise.
Ana shrugged. “What can I say? Pops taught me how to use the blades he crafted. I’ve had these for most of my life. I told you before I could take care of myself. Maybe now you’ll believe me.”
Sergi took her hand and raised it to his mouth. “I thank you for your courage.” Looking around the parking lot, he motioned to the men at their feet. “We have to move this mess to another location. We really do not need the police in this matter.”
His bodyguards came forward just then. They dragged the bodies to the back of the lot and the man Pappy still had in custody was shoved into the van they brought with them. Dumping the three men inside, Nikoli got behind the wheel. Sergi got in the passenger seat while Pappy and Ana climbed in the back with the three men. The bodyguards followed in another vehicle.
Ana wasn’t surprised to see the second man had died of his injuries. He hadn’t listened to her warning and he had removed the knife from his neck. His shirt was soaked in blood and he was wearing the distinct stare of death.
Pappy gazed at the third man and finally said, “We know what you tried to do here.”
The man glared at him but didn’t say a word.
Pappy looked over at the two dead men. “What were their names?”