Page 29 of Don't Speak
I slowly stalk that direction, walking light on my feet. When I peer around the corner of his door, I see him kneeling on the floor, his hand in the safe.Yeah, I called it.
I slowly make my way behind him when he stands and turns, his eyes widening as he sees me. I punch him quickly in the throat, and the air immediately cuts off from his lungs as his hands move around his windpipe. I send another punch to his stomach, sending him into a hunched-over position beforeI follow it with an uppercut to his nose. He goes down to the floor, still conscious. I grab him by the front of his shirt and haul him to his feet. He’s still choking from the punch to his throat as I throw him into his office chair. I grab the two pairs of handcuffs from my back pocket and throw a pair around each wrist, securing them to the armrests. Once I’m satisfied that he’s secured, I do some digging on Ben’s laptop as his head lolls from side to side, still trying to regain his ability to breathe.
I check his email first, finding nothing of value. His search engine history is just as useless. I close the laptop and move on to his cell phone. Bingo. There is a series of texts, all from an unknown number, giving him explicit directions to keep an eye on Nikki, including taking the photographs, delivering one to her front porch, and the other to the cabin’s location. There are no names used other than Nikki’s.
Finally having caught his breath, Ben looks up at me from his chair.
“Dean? What the fuck is this? What are you doing?” he asks in rapid-fire as he struggles against his restraints.
“You’ve been a sneaky man, Ben. Care to tell me why you’ve been stalking Nikki?”
His eyes widen but quickly return to normal before he says, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“No? Are you sure?” I grab my phone, open the camera footage from last night, and turn it around to show him the still frame of his face. “Is this not you?”
His face pales, and sweat begins to bead on his forehead.
“Listen, man. I had no choice! He threatened my family!” he yells, and his fear seems genuine.
“Who ishe? I ask curiously.
“I don’t know. He never said his name.”
Unhappy with his response, I punch him in the mouth, knocking out his front tooth.
“What the fuck?!” he screams, spitting out blood and the missing tooth.
“I’m going to need more information than that, Ben.” I make a ‘tsking’ noise as I walk over to my setup on his desk, grabbing a cigar cutter and giving it a few snaps. Turning, I walk back to stand before him, snapping the cutter a few more times before sliding it around his finger. He begins to shake, understanding dawning on him about what is to come.
“Tell me more,” I demand, squeezing the cutter just enough to put pressure around his finger.
Shakily, he says, “I received a phone call a few weeks after she started working here. I was to watch her and report back to him. He calls once a week at the same time, and his voice seems, I don’t know, masked? He called me several weeks ago. Said I needed to start taking photos of her and leaving one on her porch. He provided me with a location for the cabin and instructed me to take a second copy there personally. He said if I told anyone or went to the cops, he’d harm my family. He said that if I didn’t do as he asked, he’d harm my family. I had no choice! Please. Please, you have to understand!”
I can’t let him go. I risk Ben slipping up and telling whoever has been contacting him about this little predicament. Plus, he’s been one of the causes of Nikki’s fear recently, and I can’t let that slide.
“What did the man at the cabin want?” I ask bluntly, applying more pressure around his finger, causing it to slice through the skin. He sucks in a breath at the pain.
“He’s the guy I deliver the photos to,” he says in a rush before continuing. “He always asks for the photo and a detailed breakdown of everything she does. I was watching the house the other night. I saw you break into her house and leave a camera in the wreath. I figured you were working with these people, so I made sure to stay out of sight so that nothing could be tracedback to me. I didn’t see you plant another camera outside,” he says.
“That’s because I didn’t plant it that night. I planted it when I realized you were dodging the wreath.”
“I’m sorry, man. Nikki is a nice girl and all, but my priority is my family. I hope you can understand that,” he says hopefully, as though he intends to be let go.
“Yeah, well, I can’t take the chance that you’ll run your mouth, Ben,” I tell him before pulling the cigar cutter away from his finger. I walk back over to my tools, placing the cutter down and pulling out a plastic bag. His eyes widen again, understanding dawning on him over what is about to happen.
“I’ll make it look like a robbery. I wish things were different, but I hope you understand.” I smirk at that last part, echoing the words he used on me back to him. I do take some enjoyment in ending the man’s life who has been causing my lioness so much stress. In fact, this one might be the most satisfying so far, considering his involvement with Nikki’s distress. Satisfaction starts coursing through my veins, and a smirk tips at the corner of my mouth. While I can’t make it as messy as I want to, at least I’ll be able to feel the life drain from him with my own hands. With that thought, I walk toward him, grinning ear to ear this time.
“No, please. Please, don’t do this!” he screams as I amble up to him and throw the bag over his head, pulling it tightly closed at the bottom. He tries to scream, but he only inhales the plastic into his mouth, cutting off the oxygen. He fights against his restraints, attempting to lift his arm and pull the plastic off, but it’s no use. It doesn’t take long for his screams to turn to silence, and his neck slumps over. I check his pulse and confirm there isn’t one before I uncuff him and display his body hunched over his desk. I take the bag off his head and shove it into my bag.
I leave the safe open and take the money, stuffing it into my bag as well. There isn’t much, considering most of it is kept at the bank, but it’s a decent amount. I toss everything off the desk and throw things around the room, making it look like there was at least a struggle. His wife will be wondering why he hasn’t returned home. I expect Nikki to be getting a phone call sometime tonight with the news of his death. She’ll be upset, but I’ll be there to console her. I’ll be the shoulder she can cry on, just like it should be.
Surprisingly, I feel good. Killing Ben was a head rush. It was even better than the high I get from killing random pieces of shit for a living, but knowing my little lioness has one less thing to stress about because of what I did is enough to make my dick hard. He shouldn’t have fucked with my woman. He signed his death warrant the moment he agreed to the demands.
Walking out the door, and leaving it open to sell the robbery effect, I head back to my truck and throw my bag into the back seat. Now, it’s time for me to see my woman.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
I’m deep into my current read when there’s a knock on my front door. I hesitate for a moment before there’s another, followed by the vibration of my phone alerting me to a text.
