Page 99 of Dirty Eoin

Water.

I used to hear it constantly like some sort of auditory hallucination. A non-existent reminder, perhaps of the number of lives I’ve ended within the confines of this grey concrete tomb.

It’s the reason I moved to the docks. Bodies are easier to dispose of at the riverside location. You can also breathe in air that’s not permanently laced with the stench of death.

Jaine doesn’t look around. She witnessed all this place had to offer firsthand when she went toe to toe with my da. That’s not the only reason she doesn’t take in her surroundings. It’s because her gaze is immediately fixed on the man bound to the chair.

Or should I say boy.

Dylan gave me the heads up. It’s the reason I asked him to stay away. To let me handle this unwelcome news with her on my own. We both knew she was going to be disappointed and upset by what she found.

“Abel.”

She closes her eyes, evidence of disbelief and regret etched clearly across her face. That Ace was betrayed by one of his own.

A biker.

“I’m sorry, Jaine,” he whispers.

She stares at him, then slowly walks across to stand in front of him. He can’t be any more than nineteen years old. He’s wearing a cut that still looks new.

The Undertakers.

His blonde buzzcut is smattered with blood. Going by the lump on the side of his head, it’s obvious he’s been clattered by something. Aside from the usual stench of death and Lysol that lingers in this place, the smell of urine is also strong. He’s already pissed himself.

She stands there with her head in her hands, looking completely broken. What’s going through her mind? Is it to do with Ace? Or is it over what’s she’s going to have to do here today?

Even a trained murderer like me, a person with numerous killings under his belt, wouldn’t find it easy ending the life of someone so young. Someone who’s simply made a careless, foolish mistake.

But in our world, we do what we have to do.

With a loud sigh, she crouches down in front of him, and he stares back at her, wide-eyed, confused, and disorientated.

“You gave him a ride to the Whisperers’ compound, didn’t you?”

He nods.

“Do you know who was behind it?”

“The Colombians. I… I don’t know any more than that, Jaine. Honest I don’t. I just picked him up from behind the diner and then dropped him back there after. He wore a helmet the whole time. He didn’t speak, and I didn’t see his face.”

He starts sobbing, tears and snot running down his young face.

“Why the hell did you do it, Abel?” She runs her hand through her hair in desperate frustration.

She won’t want to do what she has to, but she has no choice.

“They pulled me aside. They threatened to kill my folks and traffick my baby sisters if I didn’t do their bidding or if I told anyone. I didn’t know what else to do, Jaine. I thought he’d just fire some warning shots when we got to Ghost’s place. I didn’t think he was going to point the trigger at Ace.”

She closes her eyes tightly when he mentions his name, regret now replaced by raw pain. She’s letting her guard down and showing her emotions because no one’s here to see.

It’s just me and this dead boy walking.

Eventually, she speaks. “You see any faces?”

He shakes his head. “Nothing. They wore balaclavas the entire time. I only knew it was them because of their accents. Their type used to come calling at the clubhouse regularly when Reaper was prez.”

“Is there anything else you can tell me, Abel?”

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