Page 1 of Right Number, Wrong Man
1
COLT
Tonight,I’ll kill my brother for cheating on his wife—the woman I’ve secretly loved since I was fifteen.
Talk about starting the year off strong.
Murdering my shit stain of a brother stopped being a new year’s resolution by the time I left for the military, but I never gave up hope. Now, he’s finally given me a reason to indulge my violent impulses. He was safe as long as Hailey wanted to be with him, but their breakup is his death sentence.
Therapists recommend cutting out toxic people and that’s exactly what I plan to do for her.
I’ll excise this parasite called Mike from Hailey’s life like a festering tumor. Because if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s killing people.
Snow crunches under my boots and my breath steams as I rush after Mike through a dark alley. A glacial breeze cuts across my face, but I barely notice it against the rage boiling in my chest. I grab his shoulder.
“You can’t tell me what you’ve done to Hailey and expect to walk away!” I grit out.
Mike breaks loose with the ferocity of a cornered animal. “And why the fuck not?” he hisses, the stench of cheap liquor hitting my face. At least he’s sober enough to keep his voice down and not wake the neighborhood.
I plant my feet. “Cause I won’t let you.”
“Incredible! Can’t you be on my side one fucking time? Just once? You came after me, asked what happened, and I told you the truth. Isn’t that worth anything?”
My leather gloves creak as I shove my hands into my jacket, my right palm closing around the switchblade in my pocket. I’d prefer to use my pistol, but a gunshot would startle the whole town. In the rush, I didn’t bring my silencer.
I scoff. “Yeah, you confessed to cheating like you’d confess to spilling a glass of water. Like it’s trivial. But your actions have consequences. Guess you can’t see that with the oxy ‘n booze blinding you.”
Mike sneers. “Spare me the lecture! You’ve been back for a few weeks and you’re on my case every day—just like when we were teens. Leave me the hell alone! It’s none of your business if I cheat.”
My skin crawls. I’m ashamed that we’re the same blood. They say one rotten apple spoils the whole harvest, but I hope that ain’t true. I like to think we have less than nothing in common.
Mike lets out a low, sarcastic laugh. “Do you realize how humiliating it is when Dad complains that it’smyfault you got a hardship discharge? Oh, the golden boy put his career on hold to take care of his druggie brother! How fucking charitable!”
He spits at my feet. I don’t react, but that riles him up more.
“The special forces bullshit got to your head, Colt. Idon’t owe you respect because you can pull the trigger of a sniper rifle! Anybody with a finger can do that.”
I shrug. “Right now, I’m just a simple man seeking to right a wrong.”
“Do you want me to apologize to Hailey? I tried, but she was hysterical after she found the text from my side piece. I couldn’t get a word in. Then she kicked me out into this cold ass night!”
My jaw ticks. He’s the one cheating but he callsher hysterical? Typical. Always playing the victim.
“How did you even find me?” he asks.
I rub my left hand along the scruff on my jaw. Fuck it. Whyshouldn’tI tell him the truth? He can take my confession straight to hell with him.
A feral grin splits my face. “Every day, every free minute I have, I use my rifle’s scope to watch Hailey from my apartment. Seeing you storm out the door earlier was a coincidence. I simply followed you cause I thought something bad happened.”
His eyes widen. “You’ve beenstalkingmy wife?”
My pulse pounds in my ears like war drums. “You haveno rightto call her that.”
“She’s stillmywife and I’ll call that bitch whatever I want,” Mike retorts.
I bite the inside of my cheek until I taste iron, the sting grounding me against my fury.
Emotions are a hindrance in the field. When you line up the perfect shot, there ain’t no room for doubt. No room for mistakes. And for all the men I’ve killed, punishing my brother is the most important mission of my life.
