Page 76 of Murder & Mayhem
She didn’t seem much like a Nancy Williams or a Slash right now. She was a defeated shell who knew she’d lost and was wishing it would end.
Whoever had secured her had her arms tied above her head to a beam in the ceiling. Her big toes barely grazed the floor, and she hung mostly limp. She was wearing nothing but her bra and underwear. It looked like it had been lacy and expensive at some point, but her time in captivity had done it no favors. Her hair was flat and dirty, hanging in clumps over her face and down her back.
She lifted her head a fraction when she saw us, eyes dead and hopeless, but she didn’t say a word.
“How long has she been here?” It had to have been much longer than my ninety-minute appointment.
“Since last night. But we had some . . . prep work to do before I could bring you in.”
That meant he’d had to torture her for information before he could kill her. Though, while she looked exhausted and dirty, she was in relatively good shape. I’d seen the people Nicky tortured, and they were usually unrecognizable when he was done.
“Did she break quickly?” I asked, curious.
Nicky shrugged. “I have no idea. I didn’t handle that. I was only called in to end this.”
I reached up, threading my fingers in Nicky’s hair and bringing him down for a kiss.
“Thank you, Daddy. This is the best present.”
Nicky licked at my bottom lip. “You’re welcome, baby boy. I wish it didn’t take so long. I know it stressed you and Bailey out.”
I shrugged. “That wasn’t your fault. All that matters is we got her now.”
I glanced at her sideways. “It’s okay for you to kill her? Don’t the alphabet agencies want her?”
“Yeah, I got the all clear. I don’t know why, and I don’t care. Above my pay grade.”
Laughing, I kissed him again. “I love you, Daddy.”
It had taken me a while to say it. Nicky had said it looooong before me. Like months before. It had felt like those words were a curse. Like saying them would make it all disappear and then I’d be back in Joey Byrne’s house, strapped to a dirty mattress.
But that hadn’t happened. The world hadn’t come crashing down. Nicky’s and my bond had only gotten stronger.
“I love you too, Jamie. So fucking much.” He looked over at Slash, who was still silent but watching us carefully.
“Are you ready to end this, sweetheart?”
“Fuck yes. Can I call Bailey?”
Nicky dug out his phone. It was the only one we trusted to make these kinds of video calls. We’d discovered fairly early on that Bailey couldn’t be in the room when we killed these fuckers. At first, I’d tried to hide what we were doing, but Bailey had figured out quickly that something was going on. He’d demanded to come the next time, but I’d told him no. We’d fought. It had been ugly. Eventually, I’d conceded because I always gave in to my little brother. But he’d gotten so violently ill that he’d agreed it was best not to come anymore.
Instead, we’d come up with this solution. He could still get proof that another nightmare from his past was gone without dealing with the scents, which was apparently what had pushed him over the edge. It was a win-win.
I activated the video call, and soon Bailey’s face filled myscreen. He was on his bed in his room in the big house we all shared. The camera was focused mostly on him, but I could see a flash of dark skin lying next to him. Mekhai. I didn’t know what their deal was. Bailey swore they were only friends . . . but I had my doubts. Mekhai basically lived with us at this point. They went to college together, worked at the same center for homeless LBGTQ+ youth, shared a bed, a car, their food and drinks. Honestly, they were more codependent than Nicky and I were, and that was saying something. But sure, just friends.
Didn’t matter now. “Hey, Bails, I got a surprise for you.”
His eyes widened and he partially sat up. Next to him, Mekhai shifted, ready to be there for his best friend. I flipped the camera so he could see Slash. “Holy motherfucking shit. Fucking finally!” I grinned.
Slash’s body crashed to the floor after Nicky cut it down. It wasn’t the worst I’d seen, but it would be hard for them to identify her. I stepped over the corpse and crashed into Nicky’s arms, who caught me easily.
I never killed any of them. I never even participated. I watched. I didn’t know why it felt so cathartic to me, but seeing the life drain out of the eyes of the people who haunted my nightmares had been healing for me in ways that all my time in therapy never had been.Don’t tell my therapist though.
Nicky cupped my face with bloody hands, his tongue immediately pushing in my willing mouth. He was always so fucking dominant after a kill and I loved it. I immediately yielded to him, letting him fuck my mouth the wayhe wanted.
“Fuck, baby boy. I need you.”
I nodded, rubbing against his body. “I-I need you too. Please, Daddy.”
