Bending down, I scooped up the plastic-wrapped asshole and followed Amanda out of the house.
Kyle was heavy, but it was nothing I couldn’t manage. Cleaning up was my least favorite part of the gig, but it was hella necessary to make sure your ass stayed out of jail.
At least I wasn’t going to have to chop this guy up or dig a grave.
My new best friend Ryan would be helping me with this one. I grinned to myself at the thought.
He was gonna be so mad. I snickered at the thought.
Vox was already kneeling in front of my Bentley with a lit cigarette hanging from his lips and a screwdriver in his hands, working on swapping out my plates.
I dropped Kyle’s corpse unceremoniously down in front of the Mercedes Brabus G Wagon that Vox had brought over for me. It was one of several cars I had in my collection at Apex, and since I was going to need to retire the Bentley, I figured I would opt for something roomier for my main ride. It didn’t haveanythingto do with the tall, cranky, and broad-shouldered ginger man that I couldn’t stop thinking about. Nope. Had nothing to do with him at all.
Okay. Maybe it had alittlebit to do with making sure he was comfy when I inevitably convinced him to give me road-head. But it also had tons of room to cart around dead bodies, so it was a win-win all around.
“Keys?” I said, turning to face Vox and holding out my hands to catch. Vox stopped what he was doing and took a deep haul on his dart before reaching into his back pocket to grab the keys. He tossed them to me, and I sent him the Bentley set.
Vox was leaner than me, with deep olive skin and dark brown hair that he often bleached unicorn white.
He looked like a young Billy Idol on a good day and a sun-bronzed Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer on a bad day.
Where I was always in some kind of band T-shirt, Vox was usually in plain black. Black cotton T-shirts and close-fit leather pants tucked into combat boots were his uniform. Today, he had on a studded leather jacket, which hid the two full sleeves of tattoos I knew he had on his arms.
Without looking at Amanda, he clicked the unlock button for the doors to the Bentley and got back to work on the plates.
“Um…” Amanda hovered, clearly not knowing what to do, and I gave her what I hoped was a kind, reassuring smile.
“He doesn’t speak. Don’t take it personally. Hop in the back seat. He’s going to drop you off at my sister’s; she doesn’t live far from here.” Amanda nodded, wringing her hands together nervously. Then, without warning, she threw her arms around my waist and hugged me. She shook slightly and buried her face in my chest, and I stood frozen, unsure what I was supposed to do. After a long, tense moment, she whispered a gentle‘thank you’before tearing away and scurrying into the back seat of the Bentley.
“Anytime… I guess,” I said, scratching the back of my neck awkwardly. That was the first time a vic had hugged me. Sometimes it was easy to forget that I was actually making a difference with my deranged little hobby. It felt strange accepting her thanks. I wasn’t doing it for her. I was doing it for the tiny version of myself who had spent the first ten years of his life locked in a cage. Helping people like Amanda and Caleb was just a nice bonus.
Vox smirked at my dumbfounded expression as he finished up with my front plate. He moved to get in the driver’s seat, but I stopped him.
“Hey, after you drop off the car, can you swing by my place and check on Naomi?”
He scowled at me, flipping me the bird.
“What! Come on, man, please? I’m not gonna be home for ages, and Cass said she was going to murder me if I brought my bullshit anywhere near her.”
Vox’s liquid grey eyes simmered with annoyance, and he shook his head.
“Dude, what’s the big deal? We both know you don’t have any plans. I’m like… youronlyfriend.”
He rolled his eyes and flipped me off again before climbing into the driver’s seat.
Leaning my hands on the door, I forced my head in through the open window as he punched the ignition.
“Just chill in the house until I get home. You can work from the kitchen, no? I’ll owe you.” This made him pause. He raised those silver eyes up at me, and a dangerous smile cocked on his perfect lips.
Vox was hot asfuck.It was a literal crime that he was straight. And I don’t mean like,‘I’m straight, but I still get a boner while wrestling with my sexy home invader’straight. He wasstraight, straight.Like, dude didn’t even like seeingmyweiner, and my dick was a thing of fucking beauty if I did say so myself.
He raised an eyebrow at me and waited for me to read his mind, as usual.
“What are you going to give me if I watch over your little sister for you, Cal?”I quipped out loud in the voice I used whenever I was pretending to be him. His grin spread wider, and his eyes sparkled.
Little fucker.
“Hmm. I’ll make you dinner for a week.”
