by S Cinders
“The boss doesn’t like to be crossed. I can see Jamie’s handy work on your face. He was a liability that was dealt with.”
Dead.
Jamie was dead.
“Are you going to throw up? Because if you are I would prefer you use the toilet.”
I glanced back up at Gina’s amused gaze. How could she find anything about this remotely funny?
“Who killed him?”
She raised a carefully manicured brow, “I never said anybody killed him.”
No. Because that would mean that she had given me information which she clearly has stated multiple times that she won’t do.
“Is Will the boss?”
Gina wrinkled her nose, “I don’t know any Will.”
This surprised me, “He was here yesterday with Marco. A tall man with black hair...?
Gina eyed me with a new-found interest, “That sounds like the boss, but I have never heard his first name. Jennings is sexy as fuck, muscles upon muscles, and mean as hell. If that is who you are talking about...?”
Sexy as fuck—it’s funny because I would never have considered calling the Will I knew back in Tennessee anything close to this. But the man who had caressed my face last night, yeah, he was something else. I wondered what had happened to him in all the years that I hadn’t seen him.
I certainly didn’t turn out to be any prize. A former addict, cheater, thief, whore—these words could all be used to describe who I had become.
And yet the thought that Will Jennings was a murderer? That didn’t sit well with me.
“Yeah,” I said shortly, “The same guy.”
She looked surprised, “Well, Cupcake, you just became a fuck load more interesting to me. Tell me how you know the boss?”
It was my turn to raise a brow, “No information from you? No information from me.”
Her lips pursed, “Touché. I can tell you that your face is plastered all over the news. Someone named Stacy had a press conference this morning stating your disappearance.”
She opened one of the drawers of the dresser and found the remote. A smartly dressed reporter was speaking on the television.
“The FBI has joined police in Riverdale, NY, in the search for a 28-year-old woman who hasn't been seen since Saturday afternoon. Police say Shay Montgomery was last seen by a waitress at the Cricket Café around 1 pm before she exited the building, ABD 48 reports.
The woman was reported missing at 6:15 pm Sunday evening by a friend. The officers are now searching a wider area after scouring their home, neighborhood, and workplace.
Authorities say Shay has reddish-brown hair, green eyes, and weighs about one hundred and fifteen pounds, ABD News reports. She was last seen in a gray suit jacket and skirt in the company of business mogul Elliot Brand and his wife.
A family friend tells ABD News that Shay was in the midst of completing the twelve-step program, having recently recovered from methadone addiction. She fears for Shay’s welfare and has concerns that there may be foul play involving the business tycoon.
Brand has released a statement that he and his wife had nothing to do with the disappearance and that they pray along with Montgomery’s family for a swift recovery. FBI agents are looking into the matter. If you have any information about Shay Montgomery or her whereabouts, please contact the police. Numbers will be provided on the screen.”
“Turn it off,” I croaked.
The images of Elliot and Mandy were plastered all over the television. They had more shots of them than they did of me. I felt sick inside and knew that Mandy would never forgive me now. How could things have gone so wrong?
I was trying to do the right thing and, in the process, fucked everything up.
My demons were insistent. You are worthless. You are nothing. This is all your fault. You shouldn’t be allowed to live. You fuck up everything.
I hadn’t noticed that Gina had approached me and jumped when her hand touched my shoulder.
“Are you okay?”
Her concern touched me, and I looked up at her and answered as honestly as I knew how.
“No.”
CHAPTER 4 – Will
The fucking punk ass Jamie was tied up and left in a warehouse until I could get to him. I knew that if I went in hot I would kill the bastard before I got any information out of him. And I needed to know who had it out for Shay.
When Jamie came to work for me a few months ago I tolerated his idiocy because good marksmen were tough to come by and he was one of the best. I’m what you would call an assassin, butcher, hired gun, hitman, killer. It really doesn’t matter what you name it, I kill people for a living. And I am damn good at it.
I don’t have a traumatic backstory nor am I a war vet. I’m not suffering from PTSD or have mommy issues. I fell into the work via my Uncle Scotty. I was always a skinny lanky kid who usually faded into the background. When I graduated I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life and my uncle asked if I would come out and help him on a job.
I think I threw up three times on the first mission. Scotty told me to grow a pair of balls or go home. You can guess the route I chose. That was years ago and now Scotty is retired on his millions and I am running the show. There is one thing that he taught me above all else.
“You can’t have feelings, kid. You have a steady head and a killer shot. You are a machine. You go in, get the job done and get out—no traces, no clues.”
I had lived by this and it served me well. I had several healthy offshore bank accounts and a crew of snipers that did not miss. When Jamie approached me three days ago with this job I assumed it was like others he had brought my way.
His cousin had mafia ties and I assumed that it would be another stupid fuck that stomped on the wrong toes. You can imagine my horror when I opened the file and saw her—Shay Montgomery.
Her hair was a little shorter than she wore it in high school. Then it had trailed down her back and now it was just below her shoulders. The thick reddish-brown waves that I have always wanted to sink my hands into. She was thinner than she used to be as well.
My eyes traveled down the file and in detail I read what the girl I had fantasized over a million times had been doing all these years. It was nothing good. Shay had made one bad mistake after another.
The innocent girl I knew would never have gotten wrapped up in partying and drugs. I wondered if she even knew that she had pissed off the mafia. I also wanted to know why. Needless to say, I took the job. But instead of killing her, I made sure that we brought her to a safe place—alive.
I was breaking the cardinal rule. I didn’t even think I had a fucking heart anymore, but I must have something in there somewhere because I could no more harm that girl than I could my own mother.
Jamie was a complication. I knew I would have to deal with. I had planned on making it painless. That was until he hit Shay. Now I wanted the bastard to pay.
I flipped the light switch and walked into the cold warehouse. A single bulb illuminated Jamie’s bruised and bloodied face.
“I’m sorry, boss,” Jamie’s one eye that wasn’t swollen shut tried to focus on me. “I knew I wasn’t supposed to touch her. I fucked up. I’m sorry.”
He was practically begging, and it turned my stomach. I wondered if Shay had begged him to stop hurting her and I felt a rage so intense race through my body that I had to take a moment to control myself.
“Who wanted the girl dead?” I bit out the words slowly, so he could hear them.
He looked confused, “I don’t know, boss. My cousin didn’t tell me that part.”
“What is your cousin’s name?” I pulled out my gun and stroked the cold metal.
Jamie blanched, “Fuck, please, boss! I’m sorry! I fucked up, please don’t kill me!”
“Who?” I asked again feeling impatient.
He shook his head and I lifted the gun and cocked my head to the side wondering just where I wanted to put my bullet.
He shits his pants, which wasn’t surp
rising, men often did before you killed them. The fear expelling all bodily secretions. Jamie was blubbering now, something about his cousin Vinnie.
“His last name?” I demanded and shoved the gun against his temple.
Jamie shook his head, “I can’t tell you.”
“Is his name more important than your life?”
I knew that this question gave him second thoughts. I also knew that he was considering his chances of me actually letting him live. If he thought, he had a chance at survival he was stupider than I originally thought.
“Please boss, don’t kill me! I didn’t know you had a thing for the girl. I didn’t know.”
Had a thing for the girl—that seemed almost too ridiculous to consider. I didn’t have a thing for Shay Montgomery. It was a fucking obsession and I would do anything to keep her safe. And that is why I didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
His brains splattered out the other side of his head and he slumped down in his ties—dead. I turned on my heels and walked away, not looking back once. At the door, I called Marco and told him to send the cleaners in.
When my cleaning crew was done there would be no sign of Jamie or what had happened. An FBI forensic scientist wouldn’t be able to trace a speck of blood. They were that good. The best in the business and they belonged to me.
I had little to go off of. A cousin name Vinnie in the mafia was akin to a needle in a haystack. Shit, half of the mob could answer to that name. I got into the black town car and signaled the driver to take me back to the mansion where Shay was hidden. I trusted my crew implicitly. Mostly because they knew that they would end up just like Jamie if they crossed me.
Maybe I didn’t have a heart after all.
I had to be missing something. Back in my office, I went over Shay’s file again, trying to find the missing link. I had men watching some of the people that had been close to her.
There was a chick named Emma that she had often worked with and even was her roommate for a short time before Shay was taken into custody for the drugs. I was having the hardest time tracking her down.
Her new roommate Stacy, I had a guy watching her and she was clean. There was another few watching that billionaire Elliot Brand and his wife, Mandy. I didn’t seriously think they were involved. But the police did and that was enough to rouse my suspicions.
Brand had never been involved in anything shady in the past. But that didn’t mean that his wife hadn’t put a hit out on her former best friend. I had to make sure.
Then there was Mandy’s sister Kim and her husband, Nate. She had the biggest reason to hate Shay. Not only had Shay fucked her husband while they were married, but she gave the testimony to put him away in the murder. Maybe, Kim was out for revenge?
All of these different theories I kept rolling over in my mind. I knew that one of them would screw up eventually and when they did I would be there. And that would be the end of them.
Shoving the file back into my desk, I locked the drawer and got up. It had only been a few hours since I had seen Shay and I needed another fix.
Shit.
Don’t feel.
I’m a machine.
With that thought, I made my way up the stairs.
CHAPTER 5 – Shay
High School
“Hey Babe,” Tyler wrapped his meaty arm around me stuck his nose in my hair.
I literally felt my skin crawl as my back smacked against the school lockers. Why wouldn’t this douchebag go away?
I shoved against his muscled chest, “Leave me alone, Tyler. We aren’t going out anymore.”
His jaw tightened, and his face turned pink with embarrassment. I looked up and saw two of his friends smirking at us.
“Don’t be mad, baby. She didn’t mean anything to me.”
I couldn’t believe he was trying to pull this here. In the middle of the hallway with half the student body gawking at us. But if he thought that I would back down the stupid prick had another thing coming.
“You were fucking, Casey Ingalls in the drama club, Tyler. I don’t know how to make it clearer to you. That is not okay, and I should never have gone out with you in the first place.”
He rolled his eyes, “It was nothing.”
A crowd had begun to form around us. I hated being the center of attention and Tyler knew it. He was captain of the basketball team and played shortstop on the baseball team. Everyone who knew him loved him.
That was the problem. Tyler wasn’t used to being told no.
I nervously twisted the purity ring around my finger and his eyes darted to my hands. I hated the look in his eyes when he glanced back at me. It was a part pity, part defiance and a whole lot of cocky bastard.
“We are through, Tyler,” I wrenched out of his grasp and went to walk away when he stuck his foot out and deliberately tripped me.
My books went flying one way and fell spread eagle on the floor. My glasses had fallen off and all I could hear was the sound of laughter as my schoolmates mocked me. Tyler no doubt looked like a fucking hero and I was the butt of the joke.
What a surprise.
I felt someone put their hand on my shoulder and thinking that Tyler was back for round two I flinched visibly.
But it wasn’t his voice that I heard, “Shay, are you alright?”
He handed me my glasses and the bell rang for class. It’s amazing how quickly those hallways can empty out. Soon it was just Will and me gathering up my books and papers.
We stood at the same time and he handed me the stack he had picked up.
I’ve always liked Will. He was a nice kid from a poor family just outside of town. Nobody in Deepwater was rich, but Will had less than most. His lanky frame was so thin that it was almost awkward. And his hair hung in a mass of inky black curls all the way to his shoulders.
“Do you want me to take care of him?” Will’s low voice shook me from my thoughts.
“Tyler? No, Will, don’t worry about him. He’s just a giant douchebag.” I replied.
Will flashing a killer smile, surprised me. I hadn’t expected the straight white teeth. I never knew him to have had braces. But his teeth were damn near perfect. His blue eyes sparkled, and I felt warm all of the sudden.
“I better get to class,” I started to move away when his voice stopped me.
“Shay?”
I shifted on my feet, praying that he wouldn’t ask me out again. I hated turning him down, but I wasn’t interested in dating anyone after the Tyler fiasco.
“You want to see a movie Friday night?”
I closed my eyes before replying, “No thanks, Will. I’m just not ready.”
My purity ring felt like it was burning into my skin, but I ignored it. Instead, I opened my eyes and looked at the disappointment on his face. I was a bitch to do this to him. Will wasn’t a creep, not like Tyler. But my first and last attempt at relationships was still biting me in the ass.
It was better this way.
“Thanks, Will, for helping me.”
His blue eyes bore into mine and the heat dialed up another notch. I wasn’t sure what was happening, but I didn’t like it. Suddenly I whipped around and fled to my next class not waiting to hear what he had to say.
I cursed myself for being rude to Will. And I cursed myself for ever thinking that I could be the one to tame Tyler Goldenberg. I needed to do well and get the fuck out of this small town. There was nothing for me here.
I CAME AWAKE WITH A jolt. I had tears on my face, which was highly unusual considering I hardly ever remembered my dreams let alone cried over them. I had forgotten that day so long ago when Will had come to my rescue.
“How are you feeling?”
I looked over to where I had thought Gina was sitting and found a very grown-up sexy version of the boy I had just been dreaming about.
Whether it was stupidity or exhaustion I couldn’t tell you why I blurted out, “I was just dreaming about you.”
His eyes blazed, and his nostrils flared. I could see
that his intense stare wouldn’t be leaving my face anytime soon. I reached up and tried to tame my hair. It felt messy and disheveled, so I couldn’t imagine what it looked like in real life.
I needed to clarify, “I dreamed of the day when Tyler Goldenberg tripped me in the hallway.”
Understanding lit his eyes, “That was a long time ago,” he murmured.
I nodded, “A lifetime it seems. I wonder what happened to Tyler?”
Will’s jaw tightened, “Why do you ask?”
I laughed at his expression, “Not for any reason you might be thinking of. He was a douchebag then and is undoubtedly a douchebag now. I was just wondering if he ever fulfilled his dream of playing in the NBA. I don’t really follow sports.”
Will’s face softened, and a rueful smile played on his lips. “He works at his dad’s garage about three towns over from Deepwater. Last I heard he and Bobby Sue had four kids together.”
My jaw dropped, “Do you mean to tell me that he turned into a decent human being after all?”
Will laughed at my look. “Not even close. Rumor has it that he runs a chop shop after hours and two of Casey’s kids are the spitting image of Tyler Goldenberg.”
I couldn’t help the bubble of laughter that rose from the pit of my stomach.
“Poor Bobby Sue!” I wiped my eyes, “I know I shouldn’t laugh. But some things never change, do they?”
He gave me a questioning look before answering, “Some things might appear to be the same. But we are all very different people than we were back then.”
I thought about the silver purity ring that I used to wear on my left hand and flushed. I had such high hopes for myself. I was going to be someone. I came to New York to pursue an acting career and now I was a hostess at a dumpy restaurant.
“You are right,” I whispered, “I’m nothing like the girl you used to know.”
He stood, and I had to crane my neck to see his face. The man was built like a truck with all the right bells and whistles. If he noticed me checking him out, Will, was too polite to say anything about it.