The Fall(18)

“The bathroom cabinet, the bottom left drawer.” She folded her arms across her chest finally conceding defeat. “The key is—”

“I don’t need the key.” I waved her off; the key was the least of my problems. I was more concerned about her need to make things difficult. I didn’t need the bitch suddenly developing a feeling of empowerment and deciding to follow. And that kind of surprise wasn’t happening.

“Now let’s get you downstairs so I can get this shit taken care of.”

There was no need to elaborate; the flick of fear in her eyes was enough of clue that she knew where my head was at.

“I told you where it is.” Her words might have sounded confident but her body told me otherwise, her feet taking a step backward.

“Downstairs, Sofia.” I didn’t yell, there was no need to, the words crystal clear there would be no further argument.

Those pretty hazel eyes narrowed, her slim body throwing off attitude even though she was far too small to be anywhere near intimidating. And I could tell she wanted nothing more than to take that loaded nine from her waistband, aim it at yours truly and pull the trigger. But she wouldn’t, more to the fact I knew she couldn’t. She wasn’t like me, she needed a good reason to take someone’s life and as of yet, I hadn’t given her enough of one.

“Keep your gun loaded and don’t argue.” I motioned to the stairs, ready to get this show on the f*cking road. “And anyone other than me comes through the door, shoot first and ask questions later. This isn’t the time for you to have a conscience.”

“When this is over, I’m going to make sure you burn in hell like the rest of them.” She released her arms, taking a tentative step forward.

“I don’t believe in hell, sweetheart.” My lips curled, my laugh unable to be contained. “But you go ahead and tell yourself whatever you need to.”

Her mouth goldfished, the words she’d wanted to say not making it out. I didn’t care if it was to cuss me out or try and convince me I was wrong, nothing she said mattered to me. I wasn’t the kind of man who could easily be swayed by words. And I was beginning to think that deep down she knew she was better off saving her breath. I watched as she moved to the stairs, her eyes roving constantly as her hands twitched at her sides.

She didn’t speak, she didn’t cry and she didn’t argue. Her feet stepped steadily down into the basement with me behind her. And as much as I was a cold-hearted bastard, not even I could deny how well she was handling all of this. I’d seen men twice her size and double her age fold like a pack of cards, and I hadn’t even seen her chin wobble. Or at the very least, she had enough mental fortitude to keep that shit to herself.

“I’ll be back soon,” I said, surprising myself with the explanation. “Stay out of trouble.”

She didn’t answer, her eyes locked on mine as I closed and secured the door with her behind it.

I didn’t like people in my personal space, especially women. And the one who was currently locked in my basement was no exception. The sooner I could wrap it up and get her out of my hair, the better. Not to mention the additional heat it would undoubtedly send my way.

Thanks a lot, Jimmy, you piece of shit.

So, rather than contemplate how much I disliked socializing, I locked up the house and armed the security system. I had it rigged to remotely notify me if some * even breathed an inch over my property line, so at least there was that. And with my ass in my car, I was back on the road, not excited at the prospect of getting to know her neighbors.

Like the night before, I took a few unscheduled turns and detours on the off chance I had someone on my ass. As far as I could tell there was nothing suspect as I stopped a few doors down from Sofia’s residence. Not so far that I couldn’t access a quick getaway, but not advertising where in particular I had business either. The place looked even more rundown in the light of day.

I couldn’t help but shake my head, still pissed the trip was needed as I made my way to her front door. I didn’t bother asking for the key. I’d managed just fine without it, preferring my way of doing things. And with my hand rake and pick, the lock popped open with little effort. It was a talent. I’d been able to get myself inside doors before I’d known my times tables, although my tools were a lot better these days.

Once inside, I didn’t bother wasting minutes, double-timing to her bathroom and retrieving the tiny silver thumb drive that had caused the headache in my frontal lobe.

Then, before I left, I made some adjustments to her house.

She’d raised a good point last night. Her boss would probably come sniffing around wondering sooner or later, and we had enough f*cking problems without attracting the Chicago PD.

It was a risk. My actions would no doubt invite some kind of investigation, but I hoped that the chaos would burn in on itself. Ironic really, considering my methods.

No one would really know what happened to her. Not with any certainty, and that’s all that we needed for now. Plus the confusion could possibly chill some of the others’ attempts. These guys hated attention and it was harder to kill a person when she was the leading news story.

And before I became part of that leading story, I got back into my ride and left. The trip back to my place took a little longer on the return on account of the f*cking traffic.

Even though Jimmy hadn’t given me any sort of direction, my plan had been to relocate her somewhere else today. There had been no good reason for it other than a feeling I got that shit wasn’t right, but then decided against it. Moving in the daylight would be stupid at the moment. Unless there was reasonable intel to suggest anyone knew where we were, the best thing would be to stay put, at least for the next few days. And there was no way in hell I was doing anything during the day.