Page 13 of Murder & Mayhem
This time, Jamie snorted and rolled his eyes and Ari muttered something snarky. What? I was telling the truth. I pulled my spare shirt out of my bag. A long-sleeved black one that should cover any blood splatter that landed on my body. I hadn’t expected this kill to be so messy, which was why I had worn my suit. Joey’s death had been supposed to look like a suicide. He wouldn’t have even known I was there, so therehad been no reason to change into my Dexter outfit, like Gid called it, and then I’d gotten too wrapped up in Jamie to bother afterwards. There was something about taking a life while still in the clothes I wore to the office that was satisfying to me. Plus, I looked fucking good in a suit.
My shoes were also discarded, just in case, and I replaced them with a pair of basic Nikes that everyone and their grandfather had. Hands washed, bag packed, I finally turned my attention back to Jamie.
He was no longer ogling me, but back to staring at Joey. Yeah, I needed to get the kid outta here.
I blocked his view of the body. “C’mon, let’s get going.”
“We’re just gonna leave him?”
I shook my head. “No, Gideon is on his way, remember? He’ll be here in a minute. We’ll take care of everything.”
Jamie looked a little panicked. “The gun. I-I wasn’t wearing gloves. My fingerprints are probably all over it. And, oh fuck, the kitchen, when I was looking for the pot.”
“Jamie.” My tone brokered no argument, and the boy immediately shut up. “I know this is terrifying, but it’s okay. Believe it or not, my brothers and I are really good at this. I swear to you, I wouldn’t leave if I didn’t believe Gid would take care of everything. You’re safe. I promise.”
Trusting was hard. Believe me, I understood. I still wasn’t positive if I could completely trust myself. But sometimes there was no other choice.
Jamie huffed out a breath and angrily wiped back tears that were spilling without his permission. I dug my fingers into my palms so I wouldn’t reach out to wipe them off like I so desperately wanted to. Finally, he nodded.
“Okay, let’s go. If I don’t find my brother, then I won’t survive long enough to spend life in prison anyway. And if I do, then it’ll be worth it.”
Fuck. My throat was suddenly clogged with emotions as I kind of blindly followed a now determined Jamie to the back door. Not once did he turn around to look at the lifeless husk that had once been his abuser.
“This place better be spotless,” I whispered to Gideon, who gasped dramatically.
“Jeez, I’m not a fucking amateur. I won’t let you or your boy toy go to jail.”
I rolled my eyes, even if he couldn’t see it.“Don’t worry, Nicky. We got this,”Ari said a lot less sarcastically, proving once again why he was my favorite brother.“I’m wiping the cameras now. Gideon is around the corner. He’s going through the front.” That was my hint to make sure I avoided him. That was ideal for a few reasons. One, in case a nosy neighbor did see something, we didn’t want them to spot us together, and two, because I didn’t want my brother interrogating poor Jamie when he was still so shaken. It wasn’t his fault my fucked-up brain had imprinted on him.
Jamie stormed out, the screen door slamming back nearly in my face. By the time I walked out into the overgrown yard, he was halfway to the street. That was when he stopped, spinning back to me. “I don’t know where I’m going,” he admitted, sounding defeated.
The whiplash of emotions was giving me a headache. In just minutes, he’d gone from crying and panicky, to pissed, to whatever the fuck was happening now. His lips quivered, and I wanted to pick him up over my shoulder and shield him till he was okay. What a trippy fucking feeling.
“I have a car a few blocks from here. C’mon, beautiful.”
Jamie rolled his eyes at me but followed me in the right direction. “Why do you keep calling me that? It’s weird. And not true.”
“Yeah, Nicky, it is kinda weird,”Gideon inputted.
“You know what, I don’t need y’all right now. Text me if there’s an emergency.” I ripped the earbuds out and shoved them in my pocket. Almost immediately, my phone began vibrating, but I ignored it. I’d kinda gotten used to having my brothers in my ears at all times, but sometimes I needed their nosy asses not all up in my business.
I stopped walking and blocked Jamie’s path. Once again, I was overcome with the urge to touch him, but I’d already broken my promise not to without permission a few times today, so I sure as fuck wasn’t gonna do it again when it wasn’t an emergency.
“First off, that’s total bullshit. You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.”
Jamie scoffed and tried to walk around me, but I wouldn’t let him. “But,” I continued, “if it’s bothering you, I’ll stop.” Or I’d try to anyway.
Jamie pursed his lips, his arms wrapped tightly around him, making him drown even further in his hoodie. “It’s whatever. I’ve been called way worse.”
I was stunned enough that I let him slip around me and walk away.
I followed after, wondering if that was permission or afuck you, you creep.
We both stayed quiet, the only sound my directions as I led him the few blocks to my SUV. I kept my eyes on my surroundings, but no one was around. This neighborhood was pretty deserted, which I guessed made it a good place for a trafficker to do his business. And the people that were around were gonna look the other way for the most part. Worked to my advantage today, at least.
When we got there, I gestured to the passenger door. “Well, go on in.”
Jamie hesitated, a whole array of emotions crossing hisface. It made me stabby seeing how fucking afraid he was. Don’t get me wrong, even the most stable and well-loved kid should be taught not to get in the car with a stranger, but what Jamie was battling with wasn’t some hypothetical his parents had engrained in him just in case. He knew what could happen firsthand if he got into a car with someone he didn’t know—hell, even did know—and despite understanding that this was the best way to save Bailey, he was struggling.
