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“What was in the envelope?” I asked once again and waited for a response. After a few seconds and no response from the still whimpering man, I reached for his head and grabbed his left ear. “Maybe you’re having a hard time hearing me. Here let me see if this helps.” Tugging at the piece of flesh, I sliced at it with my blade, removing his complete ear. Once again, his wails of agony surrounded me. “Well, shit, that might make it harder for you to hear me.” I laughed as the sounds of his anguish stoked the fire within me to a new level. “One last time, what was in the envelope?”
“Nothing,” the elder attempted to snarl back, but his voice failed him, and his response sounded something like, “You. Get. Nothing. from me.”
“Okay.” I shrugged. “I guess I’ll have to live with that. It’s a shame you won’t be able to.” Lifting my Glock, I pulled the trigger, placing a slug between his eyes, and a feeling of triumph warmed me as I watched the life leave his body. I reached into his mouth and sliced out his tongue before taking his thumb. Then I cut a piece of plastic from one of the pallets, and carefully rolled the Russian body parts in it and placed them in my coat pocket.I’m coming for you, Vladimir.
Chapter Two
You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide
Streetlights linedthe sidewalk that led to Vladimir’s building. It hadn’t taken me long to find him after leaving the warehouse. His MO had always been the same, booze and women. The Golden Dolls was around the corner from the building he had been staying in; my money was on finding him there.
Neon lights lit the interior of the building, and it took my eyes a few moments to adjust. Women twirled on poles surrounding the large round bar in the middle of the room. Stairs leading to a second level caught my attention as a leggy redhead climbed one step at a time, wearing a glowing neon blue thong. Her arm reached for the gentleman behind her as he bent to pick up something off the floor. When he raised and reached for her hand, I knew it was Vladimir. I watched as he followed her to the top of the stairs. The dancer’s hand brushed over the gold medal rail lining the edge as a barrier between the balcony on the second floor and the bar below. When they reached a covered entry, the redhead pushed the curtains to the side and waited for him to step through before closing the fabric behind them. I waited several minutes before making my way up the same staircase, stopping outside the private hallway. My hand parted the drapes, giving me enough space to see what was behind them. Several curtain-covered rooms lined the walking path, but only one was closed. The other entrances remained open, indicating which room was currently in use.
Quietly, I snuck through the material-lined entrance and headed to the closed room. Moving the curtain just enough to peek inside, I saw the redhead had her ass backed against Vlad’s groin as he sat in a round upholstered chair. Slowly she gyrated her ass against him to the music. His head dropped back, and he closed his eyes. His arms lay on the armrests until she reached behind her, taking his wrists in her hand. Raising his hands, she placed them on her breasts firmly, until he began squeezing her mounds. The harder he pinched at her nipples, the faster her hips moved. Then his hands clawed into her tits as he growled out several curse words and then his arms fell to the side.
The stripper’s movements began to slow, signaling she’d done what he’d paid for. “I get you a towel to clean with,” she told him and turned toward me. Quickly I stepped into an unoccupied room beside them and watched as she walked to the other end of the hall. I knew I had only moments before she would return. Drawing my suppressed nine, I pushed the curtain aside and stepped in. Vladimir turned his head to see who had entered the room. Upon seeing it was not the redhead, he quickly sprung from the chair, lunging for the sports coat on the floor beside him. Before he could reach it, I fired off two shots, one hitting him in the chest. The other hit him in the neck. Satisfied that the two bullets were life-ending, I placed the gun in its holster and searched his coat for an envelope. Bingo, gripping it in my hand, I extracted the cellophane-wrapped body parts I’d taken earlier and tossed them on the floor beside him. Quickly, I walked through the closed hallway, making my way toward the stairs. I’d almost reached the top landing when I heard the first scream. Without hesitation, I sat at one of the tables on my left. A half-dressed brunette continued to dance atop the round table as if not hearing the screams that filled the top floor of the building. I waited and watched as two men dressed in black came running up the stairs. As they passed by me, I stood and slowly made my way down to the entrance.
Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I made it out onto the busy street. Not because I feared getting caught, but because I loved the rush it gave me when I took an underserving life. The Navy taught me to be a killer, and I started to enjoy it somewhere along the way. I’d become a monster, at least that’s what I called myself. As I strode away from the Golden Dolls, I recalled the incidents in my life that led to me becoming the skilled killer I am now.
Chapter Three
Where It All Started
Seventeen years earlier
I hadmy whole life mapped out and planned to go to Harvard, where my best friend Sawyer was enrolled. His sister Evie was the love of my life, even if we were nothing more than friends. I wanted to claim her as mine, but as my best friend’s sister, anything more than a friendship was out of the question.
The two of them couldn’t be more different if they tried. Sawyer was outgoing, and Evie was quiet and shy. However, both were extremely intelligent, so it made sense that when Sawyer breezed into Harvard Evie would eventually follow once she graduated a year later. I, on the other hand, had to work for my acceptance. It wasn’t because I lacked intelligence; I lacked the drive to focus on anything other than sports. Cross Country and Lacrosse were more important to me than books. My agility and passion for sports solidified my acceptance to the elite school.
A month before I was heading off to Massachusetts, my parents suggested taking a family trip to Florida. My little brother wanted to do Disney for his birthday. I had no desire to go, but I agreed to appease them. The night before we were supposed to leave, Sawyer and I went to a party at the fraternity house he’d pledged and drank too much. I fell asleep on the couch and woke to my phone ringing the following morning.
“Max, where are you?” my mother questioned frantically. “I’ve been calling for the last thirty minutes.”
I looked at my watch and hung my head. “I’m sorry, I just woke up.”
“We will miss our flight if we don’t leave soon. Is your bag packed already?”
“Yeah. It’s on my bed. Let me wake up Sawyer and get a ride home.”
I heard my father yelling in the background.Tell him to meet us at the airport, and we’ll bring his luggage.“Did you hear your father, Max?”
“Yeah, I heard him.”
My mother yelled at my brother Steven to get a move on and then spoke to me. “We’re going to head out now. I’ll bring your ticket, and we’ll meet at curbside check-in. See you soon, honey. Love you.”
I hung up the phone and went in search of my best friend. I found him passed out, Miranda Lynn lying naked on top of him. “Dude!” I yelled. When he didn’t stir, I yelled his name louder as I walked into the room. He opened one eye.
“What the hell?” Sawyer responded, his voice sounding huskier than usual.
“Get your ass up. I need a ride to the airport, or I’ll miss my flight, and I’ll never hear the end of it from my parents.” I stood there with my arms crossed and waited. The room was silent for a moment, and I heard Sawyer’s snore. “GET YOUR ASS UP!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, startling Miranda Lynn, who rolled off my friend at the sound of my voice and fell to the floor. If I weren’t so irritated, I would have enjoyed the sight of her bare breasts as she stood up and quickly covered herself with a pillow. “Sawyer, get up, damn it. I have to go.” I ran my fingers through my hair and blew out a breath.
“Fine, I’m up.” He reached for his jeans, tugged them over his legs and then stood to zip them. “Sorry, man, I didn’t mean to fall back asleep,” he said as he brushed past me, pulling his keys from his pocket.
I remembered thinking that day, that the big guy in the sky must’ve been looking out for me. Every stoplight was green, and we made it to the airport in twenty minutes when it usually would have taken us thirty-five.
“I don’t see your parents.” My buddy looked at the curb as we slowly crept up on the American Airlines drop-off.
“Me neither. It’s okay; they should be here soon. Just drop me off, and I’ll wait.”
