Page 44 of Cruel Charming Psychos (Necessary Evils 2)

She stands firm in her resolve to be the most irritating human on the earth currently. We’ve come a long way from childhood best friends. “You need to get out of this place before you destroy everything left standing. Your soul is already gone, but that girl is still young, and she can turn her life around. She just can’t do that when she’s being influenced by someone like you, someone that’s addicted to self-destruction.”

I drag my palms over my face and let out an exasperated sigh. “I have given you grace even when you’ve been a complete bitch to me, because I thought I’d always love you because of the friendship we shared when we were kids, but now I know better.”

“I’m so far past who we were when we were younger. I saw you and thought I’d do the right thing by approaching. You are playing with fire and you’re going to get burned. If you can’t bring yourself to care about the wellbeing of that girl, then at least consider the dangerous game you’re playing with that family. They have the power to destroy you and they won’t stop until they get what they want.”

“Why do you care?”

“I’m starting to ask myself the same question.” She backs away slowly, gesturing with both of her hands outwards. “Don’t say you weren’t warned.”

ChapterTwenty

NICK

I was born into wealth. It’s been a part of my life since the day I first came into this world. I’ve never had to care about money or worry that it would run out. Never had to wonder if there was enough money to put food on the table. Hell, I’ve never put the food there myself. Things have changed.

All the cards are shut off and bank accounts frozen. My parents moved faster than I could have ever expected. I figured it would be a day or two before they got around to cutting the cord, but it seems that as soon as they found out that Emily had been discharged, they pulled the trigger. It’s their way of controlling me. They probably think I’ll come running back, but that’s not going to happen this time. There’s too much to lose and Emily doesn’t deserve their wrath. She’s nothing more than a pawn to them.

I know I can’t be gone for too long. Addison needed to go grab some things from the motel and I needed to find a way to make some quick cash. The longer I’m gone, the more danger Emily is in. I don’t think my parents will think to check the place Asher was staying, but I can’t be too certain they can’t find us. Not to mention, Emily can’t be entirely trusted to do the right thing. In the moment, the right thing is to stay put and out of sight. She was napping when I left so I’m hoping to get back to her before she awakes. She’s prone to doing stupid, rash things. She can’t do those when she’s sleeping.

I check my parents’ location on my phone. Father is out golfing and mother dearest is at the same country club, most likely chatting it up with likewise horrible women. So much for caring about their daughter. I’m surprised they haven’t turned off my phone yet, but it must have slipped their minds.

I know I’m being watched as I pull through the gate and park the car outside the house. There’s always cameras and they’re always on. By the time they realize what I’ve done, it’ll be too late. The code still works at the front door, so getting in isn’t an issue.

Once inside, I make my way to my father’s office and log onto his computer. As secretive and secure as he likes to keep his things, he’s not very good at it. He’s been using the same password on the computer for the past ten years. I log into the security software and kill the cameras.

* * *

Their shared closet is obscene, as big as a studio apartment. The majority of the racks are outfitted with my mom’s clothes while my dad gets the back wall to himself. There’s at least two million dollars’ worth of clothes, bags, and shoes in this space, but that’s not what I’m after. I’m looking for something a little more liquid that can be sold for a quick profit, nothing obscene. I just need enough to live on for a little bit until we can figure something out.

To the left is a built-in alcove nestled between racks of expensive shoes. The alcove is filled with expensive vases collected from throughout the world. Each one is probably worth a small house. Such a shame I’ll end up selling them for pennies on the dollar, but not my problem.

I grab a hard-shelled suitcase and then begin wrapping vases up in cashmere sweaters to make sure they’re ready to be transported. I’m only able to fit five vases in the suitcase before I run out of room. I step to the other side of the closet and pull open a built-in drawer in the wall. Inside the drawer is thirty or so watches that belong to my father. They are enclosed in a glass case that requires a code to access.

Like I said before, my father isn’t the brightest when it comes to security because the code is as expected; 1031, the date of my brother’s birthday. Of course, that would be his code. It’s the same code he uses on all of his debit cards. I might have been born first, but Carter was always my father’s pride and joy. It’s almost like he believed that he fucked up so bad with me that Carter was his second chance to get it right. He failed miserably and then proceeded to fuck up another child, Emily, before finally calling it quits.

Sometimes I wonder if being born on Halloween isn’t partly to blame for the monster that Carter became. It’s almost like some evil spirit found its way inside him the day he was born. If only my mother could have held on for a few more hours, and he would have been born in November instead. I still remember that day not so fondly. I was a spoiled brat and absolutely hated that I had to be in the hospital waiting for the baby brother I didn’t want when I could have been out trick-or-treating with friends.

I shake the memories from my mind as I grab a few of the watches, notably the ones that are ornated with the most diamonds. Again, they’ll be sold for pennies on the dollar, but my father will never be someone hurting for money. I suppose he won’t even realize they are gone for months. I toss them into the suitcase, zip it up, and then get the hell away from the scene of the crime.

It's only when I’m pulling out of the front gate that I realize I forgot to turn the cameras back on.

* * *

The thing I love the most about pawn shops is the shady characters that seemingly visit there on the regular. If nothing else, they are interesting folks lost in a constant game of liquefying assets, never to return to retrieve them. They always mistakenly believe they’ll be in a better financial position in a few days but can never break the cycle. Take the junkie standing in front of me. He’s trying to pawn an old DVD player and is shaking his fists with rage because the man behind the gated counter is only offering him five dollars. What exactly did this man expect?

Anyways, I’m tired of being patient so I offer the man ten dollars for the damn thing so he can get out of the damn way. He begrudgingly accepts my offer and makes a scene on his way out the door, slamming it closed behind him. I push the DVD player out of the way and open the suitcase to begin unloading the stolen items.

The man behind the counter looks to be fifty. He’s balding in the front and what little hair he has is in a state of dismay as if he simply can’t be bothered to keep up appearances anymore. He reeks of cigarette smoke just like Addison when she comes to the apartment after visiting her mother. It’s a godawful smell but smokers don’t seem to care. Whatever, it’s not my lungs that are being ruined.

The man eyes me suspiciously with squinted eyes as he reaches for the first vase to examine it. He inspects another vase and then sighs as his gaze falls upon me. “I’m going to assume these are stolen.”

“Excuse me?”

“You look much better off than the typical person that comes in here, so I don’t doubt that you have money stashed away somewhere, but these are valuable items that people don’t drop off at pawn shops. It makes me question why you need the money so bad that you would offer me these for a fraction of what they’re worth.”

It’s none of your businessis what I want to say, because it’s not his business. However, I need to not come off too suspicious or he’s not going to bite. And if he doesn’t bite then our plan is screwed because we won’t have the cash to get Emily somewhere safe. “Honestly, I have wealthy parents and they gave these to me as gifts over the years. We’re having a little bit of a family squabble and they’ve cut me off. I’m not really attached to these things, but I need money to survive on until I manage to get on my feet again, or until they write me back into the will. I’m sure they’ll do that, and when they do, I’ll come back to get all this stuff.”

He groans, and I’m unsure if he’s buying the story I’m selling.

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