Honor

I found the town-house complex where the woman that had run me off the road lived and found the specific unit number in the info Chuck had sent over to me. I sent him another message that I needed him to have Stark do a little creative banking for me before he went on his way. I also sent a text to the estranged husband letting him know I wanted him to meet me at her house and waited for a few minutes for him to show up. When a battered, old Jeep Cherokee parked in front of me, I got out of Chuck’s SUV and waited for the man to make his way over to me.

He looked nervous but surprisingly better than the night I had had him in my dungeon at the club. Maybe being allowed to be who he really was had finally given him some peace.

“You aren’t going to hurt her, are you?” He gulped as I told him I wanted him to get me into the woman’s home.

“Do you care if I do?” I kept my voice even and took the key that he wrestled off his key ring and held out to me.

“Well, she’s a royal bitch, but we were married for a long time. I mean, I don’t want her dead or anything.”

I just lifted my eyebrows at him, which made him gulp. “I guess the two of you should’ve thought about all of that before you decided to show up and force me into the middle of your marital troubles.”

He held up his hands and backed away from me. “I don’t want you in the middle of anything. Whatever business you have with my soon-to-be ex-wife is between the two of you. In fact, I was never even here.”

He got in his car and roared away without looking back at me, so I crossed the street and made my way up to the front door. I put the key in the lock and pushed it open slowly so that if she was home I wouldn’t alert her to my none-too-subtle home invasion. Once I had the door all the way open, I stepped into the house and listened for any sign of life. All the lights were out and I couldn’t hear a TV or anything else that would indicate anyone was home, but I slipped through the rest of the two-bedroom layout just to make sure I was in fact alone. When my search for the homeowner came up empty, I returned to the living room and settled in to wait for my prey.

I sat on the couch, propped my Alden boots up on the coffee table, and took in the bric-a-brac that dotted the walls and shelves. It was a typical middle-income home. Comfortable with nice furnishings, but there wasn’t a single family photo or picture of the once happy couple anywhere to be seen. Granted, maybe she had taken them down after her man left her and told her he preferred men, but still everything seemed cold and sterile.

I wondered if that was how my home felt to Key. I didn’t have any kind of memories or things that I held on to. The place had been professionally decorated when I bought it and I never changed it much. It had no heart to speak of; at least it hadn’t until she asked to stay there. Now I felt her in every wall, every piece of tile, and I saw her reflected back at me in every pane of glass. It had been a pretty shell before she showed up to fill it full with life. I don’t think anyone would argue that she had filled me full with life too.

I don’t know how long I sat there contemplating my life and the changes one fiery former stripper had brought into it when I suddenly heard the snick of a key in a lock. I didn’t move but I did stretch my arms along the back of the couch and turn my face to the door so that she couldn’t mistake who was waiting for her once she entered.

She was on the phone bemoaning having to spend the last couple days locked up and having to get bonded out. She had her hands full of shopping bags and was oblivious to the fact she wasn’t alone until she was almost on top of me. When she had the door shut and locked behind her, she started to make her way into the living area of the town house. I saw the moment she realized something was wrong because she went still and her mouth quit moving . . . finally.

I smiled at her and her phone fell out of her hand as she turned to bolt for the door. I got to my feet and prowled toward her as she struggled with the lock. I even stopped to pick up her phone and disconnect the call she had been on. I slid the device into my pocket and put a hand on the door over her head as she finally got the lock twisted and tried to pull the door open.

“I’m calling the police! You better get out of here!”

She sounded nervous. She should.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve had my fill of you and your nonsense. I’m here to tell you exactly how things are going to go down from here on out, and you’re going to listen to me or you’re going to disappear and no one will ever find your body. Do you understand me?”

Her eyes got so big I didn’t think they were going to stay in her face, but even with me looming over her and my very serious threat hanging in the air, she still didn’t shut her mouth.

“You cannot break into my home and threaten me. You’re going to go to jail.”

If I was the type to roll my eyes, I would have. I towered over her, wanting her to feel caged in and trapped.

“I really liked that car you totaled. But more than that, if I hadn’t been alone and you’d hurt someone I cared about with all your crazy, there would be no end to the lengths I would go to make you suffer. I don’t think you understand who you’re dealing with, so let me lay this out for you in terms you have to understand.” I bent my head close to her ear and let my voice drop low and hints of my native language filter into it. “I have murdered guilty and innocent alike and never stopped to think about the difference. I am a man who has done and will do whatever it takes to stay on top and that makes me more dangerous than you can possibly imagine. I didn’t earn my place, I took it.” It was over-the-top but it was all also true. “I do not take people who threaten me or my business lightly, so you have two choices. You can disappear or I can make you disappear. It’s up to you.”