by Jamie Begley
Twisting his wrist to let the light hit the face of the watch, he appreciated the beauty of it.
“You can take it off.” Holding his hand out, he let Dalt take the watch off.
“Do they make the oyster one with a leather band?” he asked.
“I believe I have that one in the Lexington store. I can have it here by Friday. We do require a non-refundable deposit before I send for it.”
Shrugging, Reaper took out his wallet.
“Charline will take your deposit.” West picked up the tray of watches as he spoke, then moved away from the counter. “Thank you for shopping—”
“Where are you going with those? I’ll take them both and”—Reaper placed a finger over the charm tray—“I’ll take the gold star.”
“The charm is twenty-two hundred.” Quoting the price, the saleswoman used a white glove to pick up the charm while simultaneously placing the tray back inside the display case.
“That’s expensive for a charm, isn’t it?”
“The charm is twenty-four carat gold, and if you look closely there, you can see tiny diamond chips.” She held it out for him to take.
Reaper didn’t take the star from her. “I’ll take your word for it … and the moon.” Giving the tray a final perusal, he then pointed at another tiny one that was so small, it had almost escaped his notice. “Add this one to my bill as well. Can you wrap those for me?”
“I’ll leave you in Charline’s capable hands,” Dalt said. “It’s been nice meeting you. I’m sorry, she didn’t tell me your name.”
“Call me Reaper.”
Dalt West closed his store promptly at six. Forcing himself to walk and not run, as much as he wanted to, he made it to his car without incident.
“See you tomorrow.”
Dalt jumped as Charline called out from her rolled down window.
“Good evening.”
His car keys fell from his hand as he tried to get into his BMW. Picking them up, he got inside. Wiping his sweating brow, he started the car.
Sedately driving the two blocks to his home, he almost pissed himself when two motorcycles pulled out of the gas station and drove behind him. He was sweating so badly that he wanted to wipe away his sweat again but didn’t want to make any moves that they could see through his rearview mirror. Switching on his blinker to turn down his street, he was relieved to see the motorcycles continue on the main road.
He turned into his driveway, pulled into his garage, and kept his car doors locked as he waited for the garage door to completely close before he practically fell out of his car to run inside.
“Lisa? Lisa!”
“I’m upstairs.”
Running upstairs, he was moving so fast that he would have stumbled up them if he hadn’t been holding onto the bannister.
“Where are you?” Dalt yelled.
“I’m in the bathroom.”
Hearing her mumbled reply, he pushed the door open to see Lisa opening the shower door.
“What’s wrong?”
“Are you okay? Why didn’t call me back when I called, or answer my texts?” he shouted. Sitting on the end of the tub, he tried to catch his breath.
Lisa turned the water off. “I had my hair and doctor appointments today, remember? I told you last night. I thought you just wanted to know if I wanted take-out for dinner.” Grabbing a towel to wrap around herself, she then removed her shower cap. “What’s wrong? You’re scaring me.”
“Gavin James came into the jewelry store this afternoon.”
Lisa paled. “Did he recognize you?”
“I don’t think so. He spent almost eighty thousand dollars.”
“What did he buy?” she asked, regaining her color.
“Three Rolexes and some charms.”
“Charms?”
“The charms that go on a woman’s bracelet.”
“I know what they go on. I meant, which charms?”
“A star, a moon, and I left when he was picking the third one out.”
“Did he mention who it was for?”
“No, I was too busy shitting myself.”
“Don’t be disgusting.” Lisa went to the sink to fill a glass of water. “Obviously, he didn’t recognize you. He was so high every time we were at Slate’s that there’s no way he remembers what we look like. We knew when he came back to town that it was inevitable he would see us. I was in UPS one day when he came in, and I didn’t freak out.” Adding paste to her toothbrush, Lisa began brushing her teeth.
“Let’s drive to Lexington and stay there at our condo.”
“The worst thing we can do is panic. We’ll keep to our schedule like we always do.”
“That’s convenient for you.” Dalt stood up to take off his clothes. Then, going to the shower, he turned the water on. “You’ll be safe behind locked doors.”
Rinsing out her mouth, she spat in the sink. “Then call in to the store tomorrow and tell Charline that you’re not feeling well and are concerned for her and the customers’ safety.”
“Don’t think I won’t. Have you seen Gavin lately?” Dalt stepped into the shower. “He told me to call him Reaper.”
“Damn. Now you’ve got me wanting to see him.”
Dalt closed the shower door on her excited expression. “You want to see him, he’ll be back at jewelry on Friday. One of the watches he bought was special order.”
“Friday? I don’t have any plans. If he didn’t recognize you, Gavin won’t recognize me. You were the one biting the fuck out of his neck.”
Dalt’s cock got hard at the memory Lisa was evoking. “You don’t want to finish?” he asked thickly.
“No, I need to turn the oven off. I picked dinner up from King’s. I left it on low, but if I don’t get out, it won’t be worth eating. Hurry up with your shower. I have a surprise for you.” Taking her towel off, she flung it over the shower, then pressed her breasts against the clear shower door to torment him.
“Bitch!” he yelled out teasingly as she walked out of the room.
Fuck dinner. Rushing his shower, Dalt washed and rinsed his hair before getting out to dry off.
He dressed in the tan pants and blue, tailored shirt that Lisa had left out for him to wear. His wife was a stickler about what he wore outside and inside the house. The only opportunities when he was given something less expensive to wear was when they went on one of their hunts for prey.
Grimacing, Dalt had to shift his cock to be able to zip his pants up at the memory of having Gavin under his control. Having him had been some of best sex of his life … until Slate had ruined him with his mistreatment. The fucking sadist couldn’t understand that you had to take care of a thoroughbred like Gavin. You didn’t run him into the ground until he had nothing left to give.
Slipping loafers on, Dalt went downstairs, seeing Lisa already seated at the dinner table.
Walking farther into the room, he came to a dead stop at the man seated at the table.
“Surprise.”
Chapter Forty-Four
“I told your wife I didn’t want to interrupt your dinner.” Reaper waved the gun he was holding at the empty chair. “Don’t be shy. Eat.”
Dalt West slowly sat down on the chair across the table from his wife.
Coldly watching Lisa West force herself to eat the steak on her plate, Reaper turned the gun back on Dalt. “I said eat.”
His eyes flicked downward as Dalt reached for the steak knife beside the plate.
“Go ahead. Don’t worry.” Reaper laid the gun down in front of him. “I don’t plan to use it until you force me to.” Reaper laughed so hard that he had to use the palm of his hands against the table to stop himself. Finally managing to gain control of his wayward emotions, Reaper was able to resume talking. “Sorry, I guess I’m a little emotional at seeing you two again. I would say it’s a pleasure getting reacquainted with you, but I didn’t get any pleasure the first time.”
“I have money. We can give you however much you want,” Dalt s
aid through pale lips.
“In case you’re unaware of my financial status, I paid for my purchases today with a debit card. I don’t have any need for your fucking money. I have more than enough to last me for my lifetime.”
“Please don’t hurt us.”
Despite his hatred of the woman, Reaper didn’t find it easy to hear her tear-filled plea.
“I’m not going to lay a hand on either of you. I just want some information, and then I’ll leave you alone to finish your dinner.”
Dalt narrowed his doubting gaze on him. “You’re not going to let us live.”
“Why not?”
“You’d be afraid we’d report you to the state police.”
“That’s the last thing you’d do. You know I’ll be forced to tell them what sick fuckers you two are. And you are sick. Both of you are too sick to breathe the same air I do. No, what I’m here for is simple. Where is Slate?”
“We don’t … don’t know,” Lisa stuttered through her sobs when he turned his ferocious gaze back to her.
“I didn’t think so, but I was hoping you did.”
“You believe me?”
“Of course. Why would you lie? It’s not like your lives depends on giving me the information I want.” Reaper started playing with the gun, pointing the barrel at Lisa.
“How did you start using Slate’s services?” he asked Dalt.
“Memphis introduced us to him.”
“Ah … my acquaintance with Memphis just keeps on giving … even though he’s dead now.”
“He’s dead?” Lisa and Dalt asked at the same time.
“Don’t worry; I wasn’t the one responsible.”
“Crash told us he moved back to Ohio.”
“Of course … Crash. Let’s not forget about that backstabbing fucker.” Reaper gave a harsh laugh. “I imagine he didn’t want to scare you off … Not that The Count or Vamp could be scared so easily. I do have to take the blame for his death.” Curling his lips in disgust, Reaper felt dirty being in the same room with them.
“You know what really fucks with my fucking mind? How a seemingly normal, attractive couple such as yourselves could stoop so low as to rape a man not once … but over … and over. Now, that’s what really fucks with me!” Slamming the gun down with the barrel pointing this time at Dalt, Reaper directed his next question to Lisa. “It was the biting, wasn’t it? You didn’t want him leaving marks on your neck the way he did mine.” As he ran his hand down the side of his neck, Lisa’s eye followed the movement. “The tattoos cover them, but the scars are there. They always will be.” He slammed the gun down again, still pointed at Dalt. “Answer me!”
“I didn’t want him biting me,” she admitted.
“That’s what I thought.” He pointed the barrel at Lisa. “She got her kicks out of you raping and biting me, didn’t she?”
“Yes.” The fucker couldn’t meet his eyes.
“Wow, you two are some sick motherfuckers. I have to give you two props … During my stay with Slate, both of you were the most disgusting pieces of worthless shit who fucked me. I can’t say either of you are even human beings. You got off on playing an imaginary game because neither of you were willing to take the pain you inflicted on me, and because I was so fucking drugged I can’t even remember how many times you used me. Lucky me, I have a copy of your hard drive to give me that number. Do you know how many times?”
“No.” Lisa was the first to get her answer out.
“Dalt? How about you? And remember where that gun is pointed,” Reaper advised.
Terrified, Dalt answered, “Twenty-six.”
“Twenty-six fucking times I had your dick up my ass. You and Lisa paid to be the first to rape me ….
“You’re going to love this. I haven’t been able to touch a woman, or man, since I was released. Do you enjoy knowing that?”
“No,” Lisa whimpered when he hit the table with the gun.
“Don’t fucking lie! If I wasn’t sitting here with a gun on you, you would be laughing your fucking heads off like you were upstairs!”
“Please, just leave. We won’t say anything, I swear. You can see we’re terrified—”
“Don’t know, don’t care,” he mocked, hatred and fury boiling over until the rage almost took over. “I need a drink. How about you? Where are your manners?” Reaper moved the gun so that it was pointing at Dalt. “I could use something to drink. Dalt looks like he could use something to wash his steak down.” Standing up, Reaper glowered down at them. “I’ll just make myself at home and find us something. I’m trusting that you two won’t move … I’ll be right back.”
Leaving the gun on the table, he went to the kitchen where he took his time grabbing three bottles out of the refrigerator. Coming back to the dining room, he saw the Wests standing in front of the door, blocked by Viper.
“Ah, I see they moved. I was right. Viper thought you would be too scared to run. Bats always fly away when their exposed.”
“Move out of our way!” Dalt screamed, pointing the gun that Reaper had left on the table.
Setting the bottles of water on the table, Reaper walked toward Dalt, who started pulling the trigger.
Reaper snatched the gun out of his hand. “Do you think I’m fucking stupid enough to leave a loaded gun within your reach? Or slam it down on a table?” Reaper grabbed Dalt by the back of his shirt and threw him toward the table. “Go sit your ass down.”
When Lisa opened her mouth to scream out the opened front door, Reaper reached behind his back for his other gun. Giving the unloaded gun to Viper, Reaper pointed the other gun at Lisa. “That gun may be unloaded, but this one isn’t. I’m seriously advising you to go sit down. And if you scream, and I really wish you would, I’m going to play target practice with your fucking tonsils.”
As Lisa went back to the table, Reaper gave a curt nod to Viper to shut the door.
Resuming his seat at the table, he took a bottle of water, unscrewing the top. “The only thing I could find to drink was Perrier. You two are boring as fuck. At every town committee, pretending to live with high and mighty standards so you can look down your nose on everyone else. Wouldn’t they laugh their asses off now if they knew you got your rocks off pretending to be vampires?” Reaper took a drink of the water, then screwed the top back on. “I’d think it was funny as hell, too, if I hadn’t been your teething toy twenty-six times.”
Pointing the gun at Dalt, Reaper hooked his finger around the trigger. “Do you have any conception of how badly I want to knock every single tooth out of your head and shove them up your ass one by one?”
Seeing certain death in Reaper’s eyes, Dalt began crying. “Yes.”
Pointing the gun at Lisa, his finger curled tighter around the trigger. “It makes me sick to my fucking stomach that you were a foster mother. Not one but two children were placed in your care. The only reason I’m not shoving the computer down your fucking throat is because we didn’t find any pictures or tapes of children.
“You’re as cunning as the fucking devil. You knew children grow up and talk, and you were smart enough to protect your reputation not to go there. Or are children too helpless for you phony bloodsuckers? It’s no fun to break someone helpless. No, that didn’t make you feel powerful. You needed a grown man for that. Congratulations, you helped Slate break me.”
Unscrewing the water, he took another drink, then closed it. He stood, maintaining a safe distance from the two at the table. “Viper will be getting worried that I’ve been talking so long. I need to go and put him out of his misery.”
Their expressions mirrored their shock.
“That’s it? You’re not going to kill us?”
Reaper turned back toward them, his long jacket brushing a delicate chair meant more for decoration than for sitting. “I said what I wanted to say. I’m good.”
“You’re going to let The Last Riders inside to let them have us, aren’t you?”
“No. They’ll leave with me.”
> Lisa gave a sob of relief. Dalt, on the other hand, knew it was too good to be true.
“You’re going to tell everyone in town what we did.”
“No. When I leave here, I’m not going to think of you ever again.”
Walking to the door, Reaper turned the handle.
“I can’t believe you’re going to let us live.”
Reaper heard the beginning of hope enter his voice.
“You must have misunderstood me. I never said I was going to let you live.”
“Please don’t. I’m begging you ….”
Reaper closed himself off to Lisa’s and Dalt’s pleas.
“You’re going to make us suffer, aren’t you? You’re going to make us go through the humiliation of Knox arresting us, then have us killed? Fuck you! Tell me, how long do we have? A day? A year? Nine years?”
Reaper raised the sleeve of his jacket to look at his brand-new Rolex. “You’re already gone.”
Straddling his motorcycle, Reaper stared at the picture-perfect home, the perfectly manicured lawn, the shrubs placed evenly apart. Fuck, even the mailbox outshined everyone else’s in the neighborhood. The only thing spoiling the picture was the sound of a chainsaw breaking the peaceful atmosphere of the neighborhood.
“You think they’ll call the state police?”
“No. They’d rather die than take the chance of ruining their reputation.”
“What do you think they’ll do, then?”
“I think they’ll try to get the fuck out of dodge.”
Less than two minutes later, the Andrews’ garage door opened and a car backed out. Reaper let the back wheels hit the pavement of the road before lifting his cell phone to text Cash. A loud crash sounded a second before a gigantic tree toppled over, crashing down on top of the car.
“You think they’re still alive?” Viper asked not making any move to get off his motorcycle to go check.