Page 10 of In His Veins

He hasn’t moved but he’s still focused on my direction. I fumble for my car keys, cursing myself for not grabbing them from my bag before I walk into the parking lot, yanking on my door handle and immediately locking myself inside as if the man might make a sudden sprint toward me. I reverse out of the spot and catch one last look at him in my rearview mirror. He still hasn’t moved.

I spend my entire drive home trying to convince myself that he was probably waiting on someone or waiting for a ride, but my gut knows the truth.

6

CALLUM

Honey colored eyes and pale scars haunt me. Investigating is nearly impossible with her on my mind, but managing to narrow down my list of suspects to a single page is easy enough. After a restless night spent trying to work and staring at her portrait, I can’t fight the need to see her again. It’s still early and she’s almost certainly still asleep, but pulling up the video feed, her back is arched in a deep stretch. She rubs a delicate hand over her face before sliding it under her shirt to scratch her belly. I watch in fascination as she scrambles out of bed, sorely regretting not putting a camera in her bathroom when the door shuts.

Several minutes later, she’s out of the bathroom wearing only a towel. I marvel at her slender legs and the long hair piled on top of her head. She looks into the bare pantry before going back into her room. Dropping her towel and reaching into her closet, my view is temporarily obscured.

A better man would have closed the feed and returned to his actual work. Instead, I watch her closely, wishing I had invested in some higher quality cameras.

I imagine tracing the slope of her spine as she bends down to pull on a pair of panties, the small folds in her belly smooth as she stands. The distraction of watching her dress made me forget that she must be going to work. When Ava rushes from the apartment, I grab my keys.

* * *

The Sable House is a popular restaurant, but not one I frequent. Pulling into the lot, my shoulders relax when seeing Ava’s car already there. To get a better vantage point, I made sure to park at the entrance - spending a few hours too long there, scrolling through emails and watching the door, but not able to make myself leave. Instead, I swiftly walk from my car to the sidewalk.

I’ve just made up my mind to go inside when a tall woman nearly barrels into me on her way in. She just so happens to be the woman who brought Ava home last night. Without making eye contact, I feel her staring at my face as she passes. I don’t return to my car until the tell-tale jingle of the cafe door chimes.

My chest feels heavy and hot as I slump into my car, leaning against the headrest. Shutting my eyes, a daydream of this girl with honey-colored eyes and pale scars who doesn’t know how badly I need her runs through my mind. My head whips to the side as a car door slams. Ava peels out of the lot and I throw my car in drive to follow her. She weaves recklessly through traffic, nearly causing an accident in her wake.

I’m fighting a smile by the time I pull into the mall parking lot, passing by where Ava parks her car. She stays inside for a few minutes with her eyes closed before running into the building and the impulse to follow her is too strong to bother fighting.

The department store is massive - with designated areas for men, women, children, home supplies, makeup, shoes, and accessories. There are too many places to hide. While that is currently beneficial to me, I don’t like what it means for Ava’s safety. Her file showed that she’s a keyholder at the store, meaning she often locks the store up at night.

My entire day is consumed by Ava. I stay close to the store for the rest of the evening and wait 50 feet from the door while she locks up, in case she needs me. The other two women walk in a different direction and Ava, my smart girl, is walking toward me with her head on a swivel. She doesn’t see me as she crosses into the street. Even as she strides purposefully to her car, her curvy hips sway with each step. The skin tight black jeans leave little to the imagination, and I feel a thrill at the mere thought of stripping them from her.

Turning her head over her shoulder one last time, she finally spots me. My hood is up and I know she can’t see my face, but it feels like she’s looking right through me. She freezes for a moment before running to her car. I stay planted with my hands in my pockets. Ava looks back again as she scrambles for her keys to unlock her door.

I laugh as she races out of the parking lot and, after a few minutes, I follow like it’s a compulsion, parking in the same spot down the street from her apartment.

She’s pacing in her kitchen, wringing her hands. Twice, she pulls her phone from her back pocket before returning it a moment later. Even on the camera, I can see the trembling in her hands. Was she really that spooked by me? Ava pulls off her long sleeve shirt as she walks toward her bedroom. Her living room curtains are open again, but she seems unbothered as she peels off her bra. Maybe spooked was the wrong word.

In the time it takes to switch the video feed to her bedroom, she’s already pulled on an oversize t-shirt and removed her pants. Her clothes are discarded on the floor as she flops into her bed, lying motionless for several minutes, with her legs bent and knees pressed together. Both hands cover her eyes and, for a moment, I think she’s fallen asleep. I’ve almost decided to close the feed and go home when her legs part and she slides her underwear down. Flinging them to the floor, she opens her bedside table and pulls out the long toy.

She reaches to her core and rubs small, languid circles. Her head tilts back as she pumps a finger inside herself. I feel like a witness to a divine miracle when she brings the tip of her toy between her folds and her pretty mouth opens in an ‘o’.

I grip myself through my jeans, but pause to enable the microphone features. Turning up the volume to hear her little pants as she squirms on her mattress, I wrench my cock free and pump into my hand. A groan escapes my lips as she fingers herself faster.

The weight in my chest returns suddenly as she cries out, causing me to grip myself harder at the sound. I can hear the vibrator as Ava turns up the speed. Her legs are in the air and her fingers plunge deeper and with force. She’s keening and, when her voice breaks, I spill all over my hand. Her thighs are shaking and pressed together, making me imagine what it would be like to go in and lick her clean.

I’m deep in the throes of that fantasy when my phone vibrates with a notification, groaning when Chase’s name appears on the screen. Grabbing napkins from my glove compartment, I wipe myself clean then open his message.

New lead on the case. There’s someone you need to meet.

The lights of my car stay off until I’ve driven past Ava’s apartment. Chase’s definition of a “meeting” is different from the majority of the population. Our meetings usually take place in my basement, and I feel a thrilled flutter in my stomach when I pull into my driveway and see his car.

A faint cry carries up the stairwell as I make my way down. There’s a crack, followed by a sharp hiss. Chase calmly turns his head as the door opens. The other Giovanni brothers lean against the wall in front of the room. Lucas grabs an instrument from the table and holds it to the light. He turns it over a few times before holding it out to me.

Chase steps back, deferring the position to me. I spin the scalpel in my hand, admiring the glint of the blade. The man in front of me is strapped to a chair and glaring at me through swollen eyelids. Dirt and blood cover his chest. He wears only boxers, but those too have been soiled. He looks familiar, but I can’t place him through the grime coating every inch of bare skin.

“Welcome, friend. I have a few questions for you.” I offer him a toothy smile even when he spits at my feet. Jax speaks up from his corner of the room.

“This is Kenny Preston. He likes sharing his goods with children, isn’t that right?” Kenny smiles with bloody teeth.

“What can I say? I’m a sharing kind of guy.” I watch him in silence for a few minutes and his smile falls as he stares at the scalpel spinning in my hand.

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