Chapter 9 (part 1)
1084 Words
~THE SHADOW~
I've committed homicide. Cold-blooded murder. On many men who have worn different faces of the devil. And I've done it for various reasons. Whether they raped a child, killed an innocent, or destroyed someone's life that didn't deserve it.
But I've never killed someone out of jealousy.
First time for everything, I guess.
Archibald Talaverra has his lips on my girl and his hands down her pants. He's touching her. f*****g her with his fingers. Saying dirty things to her that elicits a pretty little blush of color to her cheeks.
And at that moment, I decided he wasn't going to live tonight.
The second I saw them together it took all of my control not to storm into that club and drag her ass out of there.
Because not only was another man trying to lay claim to my girl, but Archibald Talaverra is a f*****g psychopath.
A real one.
He beat his ex-wife to a bloody pulp on several occasions and made her life a living hell when she finally decided to divorce his ass.
The woman is still in a psychiatric hospital receiving treatment for severe PTSD. He literally broke the woman, and while she spends her days trying to heal from his abuse, he spends his nights in clubs and picking out a different woman to take home and f**k.
Last I heard, he's not a nice f**k either. His form of rough play isn't pleasurable by any means when the woman walks away with a bloody nose and a busted lip.
The as.s.hole deserves to die. And I'm happy to get the f*****g honor.
This man and his family's crimes were small crumbs in the grand scheme of things. His family gets involved in petty crimes and sees
themselves as Seattle's mafia. But they're ants compared to the f*****g dinosaurs walking around in this city.
I've left them alone because there are much bigger fish to fry than low-life criminals who think they're crime lords. Their threat to humanity is minuscule compared to the people I track and kill, and until they start trading in more than just powder, they've never been on my radar.
Until now, that is.
There's no stopping Addie from opening her mouth and telling the cops she has a stalker. Doesn't matter that I've destroyed all evidence of her police reports.
And if the Talaverra's get wind of that, they'll kill Addie for something way out of her control. It doesn't matter that the family has enemies. Any possibility will be eliminated when they find that the heir of the Talaverra empire has been murdered.
So tonight, I'll rid Seattle of the little pests that have been congregating so I can focus back on the bigger things. Making Adeline mine and dismantling the pedophile rings.
I crack my neck, storm over to the front door, and bang my fist into the wood as hard as I can. I pour all my anger into it, not giving a f**k if I crack the wood beneath my fist. Just like the night that small d**k asshole was here. Running out of the house naked with only one sock on, cursing Addie's name.
I was relieved to see Addie kicked him out herself. It was the only reason I didn't kill him that night. But it doesn't mean I didn't cut out his tongue for the names he called her.
She still isn't aware of that since I ran him out of town and forbade him from contacting her again.
I duck back in the shadows beyond the porch.
I know Archie's type. He'll come storming out, ever the savior for
the damsel in distress. Ready to take on the big bad wolf like he's not the old granny about to get eaten. Really, he's just a rabid fox posing as a wolf. His bite hurts, but
nothing compared to that of a real predator.
Right on cue, Archie whips the door open, his hands wrapped around a gun.
"Come on out, fucker. I know you're out there."
Come get me, Archie.
He hesitates on the doorstep, sensing the danger residing in the shadows.
But after a few moments, he develops a v****a and charges out the door and down the porch steps. His head turns, his eyes widening as he catches a glimpse of my face with a single red rose in my mouth, the stem caught between my teeth.
I bare my teeth, a feral grin that would chill even the devil. Before he can react, I dart out, grab his arm and twist him around. My hand slaps over his mouth as I pull his back to my front.
Twirling my knife, I stab him twice in the stomach. Both precise areas that won't cut through vital organs. He grunts beneath my hand, the shock rendering him mostly silent.
Before the situation catches up to him and he starts shouting, I
push him off of me and deliver one sharp punch to the back of the head.
Done in a matter of ten seconds, not a single peep out of his mouth.
My arm snaps out and I catch him by the back of his suit jacket before he can face-plant the cold, muddy ground. Out cold and bleeding profusely.
I need to staunch the wounds before he loses too much blood.
But first, I slide the rose from my mouth, and dip the petals in the crimson spilling from his wounds.
Can't have my little mouse thinking there aren't consequences for letting another man touch what's mine. She'll find out soon enough
that I don't make idle threats.
I rest his body against the porch for a second while I walk up and throw the rose at her doorstep. I'm too pissed to do much else.
And then I grab his body and start the brief trek through the woods where my Mustang awaits. By the time the cops get here, it'll be too late.
A blood trail will lead them to tire tracks, and they might be able to narrow down the make and model based on the tread impressions,
but the evidence will run cold after that. It will all be destroyed soon enough.
The cops won't know which direction to look. And Archie's family will assume their enemies caught up to him.
And they wouldn't be wrong. They just won't be able to guess who until I'm standing in front of them with a knife in their necks.
- Writer
