Page 21 of Taking It Off

“Was Will’s dad one of your subscribers?”

“No,” I whisper.

“Were you sleeping with him?”

“No.” Some of my terror falls away. This is absolutely not the line of questioning I expected when he cornered me. “Did you lock us in here so you could ask me if I’m fucking someone else?”

“I’m asking the questions here. Don’t forget that.” He continues to pace, barely even glancing at me. “Why were you at Dave’s house tonight?”

“What are you talking about? Why would you think I was there?” I try for indignation, but the best I can do is confusion. I seriously want to know but I’m still horrified at what his response could be.

Jeremy growls again, and his eyes flash yellow. I’ve never seen his wolf, but I’m certain he’s barely holding back his shift. “I know you were there. I could smell you.”

Fuck. I hadn’t expected that. I was stupid and completely forgot about his heightened wolf senses. Of course, he’d be able to smell me even in my shifted form.

“Jeremy, I can explain.” I pause and stare at him until he looks at me again. “You’re not going to like it, though.”

He stops mid-stride and stares back at me. “Well?”

“I should probably talk to all three of you at once,” I explain, standing up and heading for the door. “Then if you want me to leave and never come back, I will.” He steps out of my way so I can unlock the door and walk into the living room. I have to push past Will and Luke where they’re trying to listen in.

The three of them follow me, taking seats next to each other on the couch. I kill people for a living, and yet, something about these three men staring at me is so much more intimidating. Taking a deep breath, I thread my fingers together and try to decide the best way to explain everything.

“There are things about me that you don’t know. Please understand that I didn’t keep them from you to hurt you, or because I’m ashamed. I have to keep my secrets, because otherwise, I’ll go to jail or worse.” Each man’s expression is nearly identical. They’re shocked and confused.

“I can’t figure out an easy way to do this, so I’ll just rip the bandage off. My cam girl persona was only one secret I hid. The reason I stream is that I use it as a cover for my main job.” I can tell from changes in their expressions that now they’re considering if I could be an undercover cop. Boy are they about to be disappointed.

“I’m an assassin. I get paid to kill people.” I pause as they start to sputter and try to ask questions. Holding up a hand, I continue, “I have a very strict code, and I only kill bad people. Specifically, I go after men who run sex trafficking rings. These men sell women and young girls to other men as sex slaves or worse, after kidnapping them from their lives and families.”

“What the actual fuck?” Will asks. Jeremy fists his hands in his hair. Only Luke waits for me to continue, as if he knows that isn’t the worst of it.

“It gets worse. I have proof for every single man I’ve killed that they were involved in sexual trafficking. I can show you, or I can send it all to the police. I’ll leave that up to you guys. But you need to know the rest so you can decide if you ever want to see me again.” I wait until they’re settled before continuing.

“Please understand, I never meant to hurt any of you. But I did. Luke, I killed your father. And yours, Will. It’s unforgivable, and I know that. I didn’t want you to find out like this. I’m so sorry. I won’t ask for forgiveness. I know what I’ve done is unforgivable.” I watch shock and horror cross their faces. When no one speaks, I turn to leave.

I don’t know why I thought, even for a moment, that our relationship could survive this. What I’ve done is too horrific, too heartless, to ever warrant forgiveness. I walk out the door, wondering if they’ll turn me in. Trudging slowly down the stairs, I consider my options.

I can stay and take my chances, or I can leave and start over somewhere else. I don’t know what to do. I trust Jeremy, Luke, and Will with my life. I don’t think they’d call the cops on me, but I can’t assume that. It’s not fair for me to ask them not to, either.

I lock myself in my apartment for the next two days. I spend my time in bed, in the shower, or where I am right now. Which is lying on the floor in the sparse living room, trying to decide if I should get furniture or pack what little I own, when a soft knock catches my attention. I reach out with my powers and find Will at my door.

Curiosity gets the better of me, and I open it. “Hi,” he says shyly. It seems out of character, because usually Will is flirty and happy. I don’t like seeing him upset. “Can I come in?”

I nod and open the door wider to let him inside. There’s no one else in the hall, and I’m not exactly sure what this is all about. I didn’t expect any of them to want to see me again after our last conversation.

“Look, I know that telling us your secret was hard. Thank you for trusting us. We’re not gonna turn you in or anything. I’ve spent the last two days thinking about everything you said. Have you been following the news?” He gently grabs my hand and drags me toward my room.

We sit on the edge of the bed, but he doesn’t let my hand go. “I haven’t paid attention to much the past couple of days. Why?”

Will pulls out his phone and hits play on a video. A man is handcuffed and being walked into the police station with tons of paparazzi snapping pictures while people shout questions at him. The headline reads “Local Man Arrested in Connection with Sex Trafficking Ring.”

“What is this?” I look at Will and he gives me a small smile.

“After our talk the other night, Jeremy went to see his dad. He didn’t call first and caught his dad in the act. He stole a laptop from the house and turned him in. It looks like Chad Franklin was the head of the ring.” Will pauses, staring into my eyes. “I can’t say it makes me happy to know what you did, but I understand why you did it. Why you do it, I should say. And it won’t be easy, but I’d really like another chance with you.”

“Wait, what? I told you that I killed your dad, and you’re asking me to give you another chance? Come on, Will, this is ridiculous. How can you ever want to be around me again?” Before he can answer, my bedroom door swings open. I jump, starting to freak out, until I realize that Jeremy and Luke let themselves in.

“Sorry, Em. We knocked, but you didn’t answer. And the door was unlocked. We followed the voices,” Luke says before I can respond to the surprise intrusion.

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