Page 14 of Shattered Wings

Deciding to push my luck, I head into the tiki ice shack. I’m not a fan of window watching. I want to be up close and personal. Illiana and Blakely are sitting over in a corner booth. Looks like they are both eating unicorn ice cream. Stepping up to the counter, I order a lemon flavored shaved ice. Out of the corner of my eye, the girls are giggling and having a good time. Since Jaxon died, this is the first time I’ve seen Illiana smile. I’d like to think that the dicking I gave her this morning contributed to her good mood.

After paying for my shaved ice, I head over in their direction. Illiana’s head pops up and our eyes connect instantly. Sliding my eyes down to her neck, she’s covered my love bite. WHAT. THE. FUCK. That pisses me off. I wanted the entire world to know that she was claimed. It’s alright though. We’ll have plenty of time for more love bites and I’ll make sure she doesn’t cover them up.

Moving over to the booth, her back snaps straight up. “Hey, Ben. How’s it going? I’ve never seen you in here before.” She’s looking a little nervous. Maybe our little tryst this morning messed with her head. Hopefully in all the best ways.

Holding back a groan, my eyes roam down her body. She lifts a brow at me. I guess I’m taking too long to respond to her question. “I’ve heard they have the best shaved ice, so I figured I’d try it. How are you doing?” That’s a lie, but she doesn’t need to know that.

“Yeah, they are pretty amazing. Blakely loves coming here. And I’m just doing okay. Could be better, but considering everything that’s going on.” She pauses, staring up at me. Turning my head, I clench my jaw. Why must we continue to talk about that piece of shit.

Turning back to face her, I put on my best smile. “I hope you know that I’m here for you both if you need anything.” She gives me a strange look, but nods.

“Thanks, Ben. That means a lot to me,” she says with a slight smile. Just wait until she finds out about Christina. It’s too bad that the bitch really isn’t pregnant with Jaxon’s baby. All I can do is laugh to myself. Remember that you’re breaking Illiana to build her back up, Ben.

“Well, I better be going. I have a few errands to run. I will see you both later. Bye Blakely.” They both wave goodbye and I walk towards the exit. There’s a bitch that needs killing.

I’ve been down by the pier waiting for Christina to show up for almost thirty minutes now. She knows I hate it when she keeps me waiting. It infuriates me when people waste my time, and that is precisely what she’s doing. It’s unquestionably a quiet night out here. And I needed the extra time to make sure I had all of my supplies set up.

Walking to the end of the pier, pacing back and forth a few times, I see the headlights of her car approaching at the other end of the pier. She pulls to a stop and carefully steps out. Leaving the lights on, she gets out and makes her way down the pier. Idiot wore heels. I can hear the click clack as she makes her way.

“Hey, baby. I’ve missed you,” she says as she steps in front of me.

“We just saw each other at the bar. But I missed you too, baby. You want to hang out with me tonight? I’ll let you suck my cock.” Fuck no, I won’t. After being with Illiana, I won’t be fucking this cunt again.

“You know that I’m always down to spend time with you. But first, here’s the drive with the information that you wanted. You’re the only one to see it. I haven’t shared my findings with anyone.” There’s a little secret about Jaxon’s Colombian woman on it. I can’t wait to share what I know. It’s going to be great. Unless Jaxon already knows, you idiot.

“Thank you, baby. You are a lifesaver.” Putting the drive in my pocket, I say, “I’ve got something for you too. Come, give me a hug, baby.” Christina walks up to me and wraps her arms around my neck. The needle filled with horse tranquilizer is already in my hand. Squeezing her against my chest, I stab the needle into the side of her neck.

Her body tenses and she immediately says, “what did you do to me?” All I can do is laugh at her. What did she expect? I never claimed to be a good guy.

“I did what I had to do, Christina. You should have never hurt Illiana by fucking Jaxon. Do you always do everything people tell you to do? Don’t answer that. You fucked up by slitting Illiana’s tire. Now you’ve got to pay for all of your sins.” As those words leave my mouth, she falls limp in my arms.

There’s already an open enclosure cage with a rope tied to it, securing it to the pier. I placed it at the very edge when I arrived. The goal is to put this bitch in the cage and leave the side door open. Shark sightings are known in this area. We have them all the time.

I sit Christina down in the cage through the top hatch and then close it, tugging on the rope to make sure it’s secure. After that, I throw buckets full of chum into the ocean. I wait calmly, even though we know I’m not a patient man. I’ve been waiting a very long time for this moment. Excitement thrums through my veins. It’s not long before I see the first fin sticking up out of the water.

More sharks are popping up now, so I open the side door of the cage, taking the knife out of my pocket. I slice Christina’s leg open just a bit. I want that beautiful red blood seeping out to lure the sharks. Slowly, I pick the cage up and then lower it over the railing and into the water. The sharks are in a frenzy now. They smell the pungent aroma of her blood mixed with the chum. FUCK YEAH! I have done some crazy shit in my lifetime but never nothing this extreme.

The water turns a vibrant shade of red, and at that moment, I know my job is done. Sharks are swarming the cage now. All I can see are sharp teeth and fins moving all over the place.

After about ten minutes, I pull the cage up just to see what’s left of Christina. To my surprise, the sharks ate her whole damn body. That’s less work for me, thank fuck. Using my knife, I cut the rope from the cage. I don’t want any evidence left with her blood on it. Cages and chum buckets are always left on the pier, so I’ll just leave these here for the fisherman to use tomorrow. See, I can be nice when I want to.

Looking around to make sure that I’ve retrieved anything that might implicate me, I’m good to go, so I head back down the pier and to my car. Tossing the rope into a plastic bag is the first thing I do after unlocking my car. When I get home, I will burn it. There will be no evidence left. In the trunk, there are a few gallons of gasoline ready to go. I know for certain that there are no cameras in the area, so I have no concerns about that.

As I walk over to Christina’s car, I notice that her windows are rolled down, so I start pouring the gas. The smell of gasoline in the air is thick, assaulting my nostrils. But nothing can replace the feeling that I have right now. The sharks and now this has me on an adrenaline high. Once I’m satisfied with my progress, I grab the pack of matches, strike it, and toss. The gasoline burst into flames. All I can do now is laugh, laugh because I got all the information that I needed, and I finally killed the bitch. Life’s pretty damn good right about now.

Lachlan

Heading into Crestview from Destin is never fun during this time of the day. So many soldiers and airmen are going into work, making traffic horrendous. A drive that’s usually a little less than an hour can turn into two. Today will be the last day that I ever wear my army uniform and I’m unsure how I feel about that. The army has been all I’ve known since I was an eighteen-year-old kid straight out of high school. Leaving it behind is going to hurt a little. I’m going to miss the sense of brotherhood and togetherness most of all.

Lacing up my boots earlier this morning had me a little emotional, if I’m being honest. But I’m happy with the direction my life is going in. The actions that lead to this decision hurts my heart. Losing Jaxon is something that I don’t think I will ever get over. The most painful part is knowing how badly Ellie has been hurt in all of this. None of what’s happened is fair to her or Blakely.

I’ve had some job offers, but I’m not lacking in the funds department. My parents have money, which means that I have money too, a lot of it. I’m pretty fucking set. But I need to figure out what I want to do with my life moving forward. All I know right now is that having Ellie and Blakely in my life is a necessity. I will figure out the rest later.

My phone ringing pulls me out of my thoughts. Damn, it’s Remi. What in the world is he calling me this early for? It’s never a good thing if he calls or texts me before noon.

Pressing the answer button on the dash, he’s already talking before I’ve had a moment to acknowledge him. “Hey, Lach. I’ve been trying to reach you since last night. Didn’t you get my calls and texts?” Oh shit! I must have accidentally turned my phone on silent. He sounds like he’s about to flip the fuck out, too.

“I passed out last night. While I was sleeping, I must have turned my ringer off. I’m sorry, man. What’s up?” The panic in his voice has me on edge now.

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