Page 89 of Grim

“Um-hmm. Not gonna happen.”

“You don’t know who you’re dealing with.”

“But I do.” I stepped in front of him and fought the urge to plow my fist in his face. “I know exactly who you are. You’ve made quite a name for yourself.”

“I’ve lived with the belief that a man without enemies is no man at all.”

“Well, from the looks of it, that’s not going so well for you.”

“My people will come for me.”

“Your people are dead.”

“So, what is this?” He glared at me with a snarl. “You gonna torture me? Try to get information out of me?”

“That’s not what this is about. I already know everything I need to know.”

His face grew red with rage as he roared, “Then, what the fuck do you want?”

“You should’ve never touched her.”

“Oh, this is about the girl,” he scoffed. “I didn’t do anything you or your crew wouldn’t do.”

“We don’t fuck with women or kids.”

“Well, you’re missing out. There’s a lot of money there.”

“There are a lot of things in this life that are more important than money.”

“Ha!” he chuckled. “Like what?”

“My integrity.” I walked over and grabbed the bottle of lighter fluid. “But you wouldn’t know anything about that.”

“What are you going to do with that?”

“There’s an old adage that says, ‘Build a man a fire, and he’s warm for a day’.” I started dousing him with lighter fluid. “Set him on fire, and he’s warm for the rest of his life.”

“Oh, fuck.” His eyes widened with horror. “You don’t have to do this. I’ve got money. I’ll pay you whatever you want.”

“It’s always money with you.” I shook my head and opened the box of matches. “Let’s see how far that money will get you in hell.”

I struck the match, then tossed it at him.

Within seconds, he was engulfed in flames and screaming for mercy. I had none to give, so I opened the door and walked out, leaving him there to burn. I walked out feeling no remorse. The man was evil, through and through, and the world was a better place without him.

I could still hear his screams as I made my way out to my bike. I sent Seven a text, letting him know that Delgado had been dealt with and told him to have a couple of prospects deal with the mess. Once he’d confirmed, I put on my helmet, turned the key and started the engine, revving it a few times to drown out the ruckus. I was pretty spun up, so I decided to take the long way home, hoping it would give me some time to unwind.

And it did.

By the time I made it back to the house, I was ready to get inside and put my cares away for the day. When I walked in, Jenna was standing at the stove. She was wearing this white, sleeveless nightgown that had a sweet and innocent look about it, but I didn’t get sweet and innocent thoughts when I saw her in it.

Just the opposite.

I never expected to like having a woman in my kitchen, making a mess while she cooked dinner, and treating my house like a home.

But I did.

I liked it more than I ever thought I could. She had me wanting things I’d never imagined I’d ever want or need. She had me wanting a future, a future with her and Luna.

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