Page 35 of Soulless Angel

With a lazy half shrug, Jet exited the lot, pulling into traffic. “Suit yourselves. I can guarantee what we’re doing is nothing like what you’re imagining, but it’s probably better that way. I don’t like outsiders knowing my business.”

“Good call,” I said. “We already know more than enough about you.”

Jet made a face, his laugh mocking. I knew better than to entirely underestimate a guy like him. The fucker ran a cult. He had enough charisma and power to convince people to follow him in whatever endeavor he and his friends were involved in.

On the outside, I saw an arrogant asshole who was obsessed with his stepsister. There was more going on with Jet beneath the surface. I was sure of that. I just didn’t want to know how much more.

“Ryan works part time at a restaurant downtown. He gets off in twenty minutes. That’s when we’ll grab him.” Jet shoulder checked before changing lanes as he prepared to take a left at the end of the block.

“We?” Cash repeated. “You mean you will grab him, and we will wait right here. We’re only here to help you get rid of the body, remember? You’re doing your own damn dirty work.”

“Fine,” Jet muttered. “Whatever.”

The rest of the drive was spent in silence. I had nothing else to say to this guy. Not until this was over. Then I would make my feelings clear.

We pulled into a parking lot littered with cars. The restaurant was relatively busy. Grabbing someone in a place like this was risky. Jet parked near a silver SUV. He checked the time before staring hard at the rear entry of the building.

Nodding at the SUV, he said, “That’s his car. I’ll grab him. You guys open the back when I do so I can throw him in. Don’t fuck me over.”

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll do our part.” Blaze sounded less than enthused. I shared his lack of enthusiasm.

I tapped my fingers on my thigh, waiting impatiently for something to happen. The waiting really was the hardest part of any mission. I would much rather have been at home with Clover.

“There he is.” Jet perked up, his gaze laser focused on the restaurant’s exit. “Get that door open once I grab him.”

He surprised me by pulling out a syringe filled with clear liquid. I had to hand it to him, he’d come prepared. Slipping from the vehicle, Jet kept himself out of sight, waiting until Ryan reached his own car. That’s when Jet crept up behind him and jabbed the syringe into the side of his neck.

There was a small struggle as Ryan whirled around, his face lit up with shock. He went to take a swing at Jet, but the drug in the syringe was already taking effect. Instead, he slumped against his car before sliding to the ground.

Jet glanced around to make sure nobody would see him drag the unconscious Ryan over to the Escalade. Cash popped open the back from the inside, helping to drag Ryan into the vehicle. In a matter of seconds, it was done.

Once back in the Escalade, Jet calmly drove us out of there. He seemed exceptionally chill for having just abducted a man. I eyed him curiously. What a fucking maniac. I had to respect him a little for how dedicated he was to this task.

“Where are we headed?” Blaze asked when Jet continued to drive in silence.

“You tell me. I can kill him anywhere. You guys are the experts at hiding a body.”

I turned in my seat to face him. “Sometimes we don’t hide them at all. We dump them and let them be found. Of course, in most cases, there’s nothing to tie us to the victim at all. In this case, you definitely have ties. If you don’t want him found, head for the woods. Not the area close to town. Further out. A good hour or more.”

“Seriously?” Jet raised a brow. “That far?”

“Do you want him to be found or not?”

“Not.”

“Then do it.”

Jet muttered something beneath his breath. I wasn’t too thrilled at the thought of spending that much time with him either. If we were going to do this, we’d do it right.

Since we weren’t stupid, none of us had brought our phones. I’d made sure that Jet didn’t bring his either. That would be a dumbass move if anyone looked into phone records. I doubted anyone would consider the three of us in Ryan’s disappearance. We had no ties to him at all. Except through Jet. If that fucker got caught and ratted us out, I would make him regret his birth.

Ryan didn’t start to come around until we’d pulled off the gravel country roads into the trees. We could only go so far before we had to walk. Jet used a string of rope he had in the back to tie Ryan’s hands. Then he shoved the barely conscious man along in front of him as we moved deep into the forest.

Cash carried a gas can from the back of the Escalade. I’d told Jet to bring one and to make sure he obtained it from a place without cameras. He said that he swiped it from his father’s garage.

Since we didn’t have a flashlight of any kind, I tried to use the placement of the moon and stars to help us find our way back without issue. The moon was almost full, beaming down enough light for us to pick our way among the trees.

“You’re a goddamn psychopath, Reinhart,” Ryan grumbled, tripping over a tree root.

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