Chapter Eight
The fucker was going to die a slow and painful death by my hands.
Very, very soon.
After Worthy had gone to sleep, I’d contacted my client and asked him a few leading questions about whether his husband had any scars or identifiable features. He’d written back telling me he did know of a few scars on his back, but most of them were self-inflicted. He’d then gone on about the passwords and the need for haste because he had bills that were due. That brought to mind another question I’d had. I asked if he didn’t have any money, where had the half million he sent me come from. Borrowed was the only answer I got before he told me to hurry the fuck up and got offline.
After that little conversation, I checked my account. Motherfucking thief and conned the wrong man. Not only had he lied to me about Worthy and his guilt, but he’d stiffed me on the deposit for the job.
I immediately messaged him about it. After a few minutes, he finally came back and claimed Worthy must have stopped it from going through wherever he was. I immediately wrote back that the contract was broken and to find someone else dumb enough to work for free.
Son of a bitch was going to die. Fucking lying cunt was going to pay for all of it. But first, I had to get the word out. I needed to let my coworkers know the deal so they wouldn’t take up the contract now that I’d turned it down. I was going to do something I’d never done before. I was going to claim a mark as untouchable.
I got onto the private chat we’d created and started with the basics.
CROW:An asshole named Terrence is an abusive liar who’s trying to have his innocent soon to be ex-husband killed. DO NOT BELIEVE HIM. It’s all a lie, and the husband is innocent.
RAVEN:How do you know the guy is lying? The husband could be lying just as easily.
OSPREY:I think I heard about this deal. The guy searching is a real asshole. I think he has enemies in Vegas. I’ll stay away from that shit. Thanks for the heads up, Crow.
RAVEN:I still want to know how you know it’s not legit. Even assholes can pay.
CROW:I took the job without my usual background check. The guy’s innocent, and the asshole stiffed me on the deposit.
RAVEN:Ohhhhhh, FUCK. Okay. Happy hunting, man.
CROW:Yeah. Soon.
EAGLE:Crow, you went ahead without checking? That’s not like you.
CROW:I’m dealing with it. Everyone just spread the word that Worthington Winters is off the market and untouchable. Yeah?
RAVEN:Whoa, really? Fucking hell, man.
OSPREY:Wow, that’s some serious shit.
EAGLE:Dammit, Crow. What the hell have you gotten yourself into?
CROW: Guys, I’ll explain later, just do it as fast as possible, okay?
OSPREY:Of course, dude. Consider it done.
RAVEN:Done, man. I’ll spread the word.
EAGLE:I’ll take care of it on my end. If you need anything, let us know. All for one.
RAVEN, CROW, OSPREY:One for all.
RAVEN:So Osprey, why you hating on Vegas? We had fun the last time we were there. Don’t you remember?
OSPREY:Shut the fuck up about that Vegas job, Raven. It went tits up the second we landed. The only reason we didn’t die in the desert is because Eagle made that call. It cost him a bundle to save our asses.
I logged off the chat and closed out my browser, then turned off the computer. I didn’t need to rehash the Vegas trip last year for the thousandth fucking time. Raven had fucked up, and Osprey had almost died. He didn’t want to admit it was all his fault, and I was tired of listening to his bullshit excuses. He was reckless and needed to rein it in before he got killed or got one of us killed in the crossfire. Fucking twinks like him would be the death of us all.
After locking my office and making sure the alarm was in place, I looked in on my guest. He was lying on his side, snuggled under the covers, a small smile on his face. I couldn’t see it under the covers, but I knew he was still wearing that ridiculously adorable puppy sweatshirt. I’d almost pulled him to me and kissed the shit out of him when I’d seen him wearing it. Those perfectly pouting lips were too much of a temptation at the wedding, but I’d resisted. Now that he was here, it was almost impossible.
I wanted to crawl into the bed, curl up behind him, and hold him while he slept. My very own snuggly to hold in the night. I could have done it. I’d given him painkillers with a sleep aid in them so he’d get a good deep sleep tonight. I couldn’t do it yet, but I’d work up to it. He was what I wanted and needed in my life and never knew until now. I wanted someone of my very own to come home to. I could be happy coming home to him, if I could just convince him it was what he wanted, too. Now that I knew he wasn’t guilty, I was going to do everything I could to sway him.
