Page 102 of Entombed In Sin

It’s not an easy breath to take, but I have a feeling I won’t breathe easy until Beatrix Starr is by my side.

“Save her… please.”

34

ANGEL EYES

Istumble between houses, moving as quickly as I can.

Without looking, I know there’s blood trailing after me. With a stab wound in my back and my gut, and the way my right hand is a quarter of the way severed, I’m like a walking blood-covered paintbrush, leaving a trail of crimson behind me. I need to get help, and fast. I reach into my pocket with my good hand and pull out my phone. As I unlock it and see the home screen, I grunt as my chest attempts to cave in.

The sound has nothing to do with the physical pain I’m in. That’snothingcompared to the wound that’s been inflicted upon my soul.

In the middle of the screen is me and ShayShay, standing side by side and grinning ear to ear. That was the best day of my life. She’s as pretty as she can be in her wedding gown. This picture was taken years ago, but it’s my favorite of the ones I have of her. The start of our future together—forever frozen in this moment before me. It was supposed to be a perfect future. A life of joy and love.

Oh, Shannon… Tears that I refuse to let fall burn in my eyes as images of her decapitated and mangled body fill my head. In my chest, a sharp pain slices through my heart, stealing awaythe ability to breathe. For a second, I think it’s the first sign of a heart attack. Wouldn’t that be a pathetic way to go out, given how glorious I once was? Not a bullet, not a car chase gone wrong, or even one of my suspects getting the upper hand on me. A fucking heart attack.

“I deserve better than that,” I snarl at myself—at the body that’s grown slower, heavier, and stiffer over the years. I hate the weakness that comes with age. When I look in the mirror, I hardly recognize the man I once was. My reflection always repulses me. Shannon didn’t seem to mind who she saw when she looked at me. There was always love shining in her eyes and her touches were always so tender and soft. She made me feel like the man I once was.

My poor, poor ShayShay.

She’d been my reason for retiring. My reason to live. When I found her, so sweet and innocent at that farmer’s market, I knew she was my prize. After all these years of avoiding the police, the private detectives, and keyboard warriors, Shannon was my reward. She was the sign I’d been looking for. There had been something about her that made it easy to ignore that need to draw blood—suppressing it until all I needed was her.

The pain that comes with her loss… It runs deep. It’s splitting me apart down the middle like an imaginary frisson. A shudder runs through me. I gasp, needing to fill my lungs with air despite it being difficult to do. Clearing my throat, I go through my contacts and find the number I need. I push call and wait. The phone rings five times before there’s an answer.

“Hello?”

“Officer Roman,” I greet.

There’s a short pause before he hisses in a low voice, “Oh, fuck. Iknowyou’re not calling me from your personal phone, Ronny.”

“Couldn’t be helped,” I spit back as I cut across a street. “I’ve found myself in a bit of a pickle. I need some medical aid.”

There’s a scoff. “Oh yeah? What happened?”

“There was an incident. I’ve been stabbed a couple times. I need to be stitched up, and you know I can’t go to the hospital for this,” I tell him as I leap over a short fence between townhouses. The hard landing causes me to grunt in pain and stumble forward. Fuck, I’m starting to get lightheaded.

“Stabbed? By who?” Officer Roman asks in alarm.

“Doesn’t matter,” I reply with a deep growl. I won’t tell him that it was Thatcher and Sagan Hunt. They’re mine to handle. “I need you to meet me at my safehouse. Then I need you to send guys over to my place and remove Shannon’s body. I need it to be discreet.”

I can’t have this be a whole thing. Angel Eyes is supposed to be dead, which means I’m supposed to be lying low. Getting the police involved in this will only be an unnecessary obstacle between me and the people who killed my wife. Besides, there is incriminating evidence of my past kills in that house. There’s no way I’m getting caughtnowafter all these years. Officer Roman has guys outside the force he can send to do the work necessary to clean this mess up.

“Excuse me?” Officer Roman demands. “Let me make sure I got this straight. Someone got the better ofyou, they killed your wife, and now you want me to make her disappear and fix you up to… what? Go get revenge?”

“Sounds about right, Roman,” I tell him. “Now, I’ll be there in?—”

“No, wait. I’m not helping you with this,” Officer Roman cuts in sharply. “Look, whatever arrangement you think we have, we don’t. I thought you were done with this killing shit. I entertained you by giving you a few trackers—which, by the way,my boss is on my ass for since you haven’t given them back yet—but I didn’t think you were falling back into old habits.”

I roll my eyes. “I’m not. This is about?—”

“This is about an old man who doesn’t get he’s not who he once was. This sounds like a fucking mess! Your wife is dead, and why? Was it worth it?” There’s a sound of disgust on the end of the line. “You’re on your own with this shit. There’s no way I’m letting you drag me down with you.”

I blink in surprise and pull the phone away to glare at it before I return it to my ear.

“I’m going to let you rethink your answer,” I snarl back as fury unravels. “Because maybe you forgot who you were talking to.”

There’s a bark of laughter, full of incredulousness. “Last time I checked,Angel Eyes, you needed me. Not the other way around. Here’s my advice; find a nice nursing home. Regale the staff with your tales of bloody victory and let them think you’re senile and then die. Ok? This is fucking nuts. I can’t believe you called me for this.”

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