Throughout the day, the blond-haired guy keeps watching me as he plays on his phone. It makes me even more uncomfortable he hasn’t picked up the books I recommended. Those are the ones I actually read when I became obsessed with fantasy, and I know they are good. If he doesn’t like them, he has no taste in books.
I read enough about crime and serial killers to read people. They don’t even look like his type. They normally fit in with the crowd and are the guy next door. It’s often people you would overlook. He’s charming but not enough to alarm me.
“How was last night?” Raven says.
I tear my eyes from the guy and peer at her. I didn’t notice she walked into the shop.
She follows my line of view, and her cheeks turn crimson. “Who is the hunk?”
She straightens out her navy scrubs and fixes her hair, which is in a high ponytail.
He’s good-looking but not as gorgeous as Viper. I really need to get him off my mind and stop obsessing over him. We probably won’t see each other anytime soon, so I need to move on.
“I have no idea.”
She sighs. “Why do I have to look like shit when a hot guy is around?”
I tilt my head to the side. “You’re dating Ryan. Remember?”
“We’re having fun.” She shakes her head.
She’s gamophobic, which is why she doesn’t keep a boyfriend longer than two months.
“Did you do it? Lose your virginity to the guy you met last night?” she asks, not taking her eyes off the blond guy.
My cheeks flush. “Yeah.”
Her eyes beam with excitement. “Is his dick big?”
Thoughts of last night linger on my mind, and the back of my neck burns.
I peer down at the counter and back at her. “I’m not telling you that. A girl never kisses and tells.”
She squeals, and a few heads turn our way, including the blond guy, and she smiles at him. He shakes his head and finally picks up one of the books I recommended. Now, I get to look at his face as he reads. There is something exciting about watching people read; they get this look in their eyes as if they are in a different world.
“I’m so excited for you! Do you want to go out tonight?”
I need to unwind tonight and read the books Mr. Arthur gave me.
I shake my head. “I’d rather stay home tonight.”
“Right. I’m going to speak to the hunk sitting at the table. Wish me luck.”
I pat her hand. “Good luck.”
I grab my Coke and sip it as I watch her work her magic.
Viper
I’m obsessed with No Name. My bad—I mean Autumn Spencer. After she came one last time, she dozed off to sleep, so I took a picture of her driver’s license from her dress pocket and ran a background check on her. She’s from Georgia, and she works at a bookstore off Price Street. The only relative she has is her aunt Savannah, and her parents both died from a shootout with the police a few days after she was born. The thought of her suffering makes pain ping in my chest, and I want to hold her. I guess we have something in common. I never knew my parents—my mother dropped me off on the steps of a fire station, where my adoptive mother, Ashley, took me in, and I was raised by her alone.
I tried to convince her to stay for breakfast so I could get another fill of her, but she told me she was going to be late for work. I’d hoped that once I fucked her so good she would leave my system and I’d forget about her, but I haven’t. She’s been in my mind all day living rent-free.
She has a podcast on Spotify, and I pop my headphones in my ear and listen to her smooth voice speak about the Barbie and Ken Killers. I watch a few crime shows, but I’ve never heard of them. Her voice soothes my ears, and blood rushes south. Before I left my place, I jacked off at least four times thinking about her.
I’m on a job, and I slip into a penthouse with a disguise on. I have on a dark black suit with a mask over my face that I can see through, and I slide on my leather gloves. There won’t be any evidence of me spilling the blood of a guy who owes money to Marcello, don of the Barbieri family. I work with the five mafia families of New York City and take on projects where rich people call me to kill people.
I take out my gun and place a silencer on the tip and go to the bedroom where the piece of shit is sleeping. I shoot him in the head three times and leave the building. Once I’m in the car, I remove my headphones, stuff them in my pocket, and take out my phone from my other pocket. Clicking on the text message icon, I then hit the microphone button and say, “The job is done.”
