Dirty Dealers

A shiver starts in my back, low in my waist, but I fight it. “Who are you?” I say louder. I inhale deeply, searching for a scent.

His scent greets me at the same time his humorless laugh ripples across the space between us, turning my blood to ice.

Blix is here.

“You never cease to amaze me, Kass.” A shuffling noise, and he rises. “Just when I’ve decided you’re useless to me, you turn out to be so… fucking… valuable.” He’s standing in front of me, and with his final words, he does a little tap on my nose.

The meaning of what he’s saying isn’t lost on me. I feel the nausea tightening my throat. I know what happens when I’m no longer useful to him.

Still, I jerk my face away. “What are you doing here?” My keys remain clenched in my fist, and I imagine jamming the one into his neck. “What if I hadn’t been alone?”

He walks away from me, over to my small window overlooking the street. “Don’t worry. I keep close tabs on your boyfriend. I know everywhere he goes… and who goes with him.”

His voice hardens on the last phrase, and my pulse ratchets up again. “He’s not my boyfriend,” I argue, protective fear swirling in my chest.

“Your fuck buddy, then.” He returns to where I stand fighting for control.

“You being here is dangerous… for my assignment.” I’m grasping at any reason to keep a safe distance between the two of us. “Anyone could see you.”

“I want to be sure you’re still focused on the job.” A click of metal, and I gasp, drawing away from the point of his knife against my cheek, biting in to the soft skin at the base of my eye. “Keeping your eye on the prize.”

Eyes you own. “The job was to reconnect with Logan.” Acid rises in my throat as I say the words. “Find his weakness or distract him with our past.”

“He’s a sexy beast, I’ll give him that.” Blix leans closer so his breath is on my face. “Don’t. Forget.”

It takes everything in me, every ounce of strength I’ve mustered over the last several years to push back, but I do it. I force calm into my voice, cocky assuredness. “You’re worried the tables will turn?” I even manage a smil

e. “That he’ll distract me instead?”

I feel it the moment Blix’s composure changes. “Sneaky bitch.” His teeth clench, and he’s back in my face. He’s so close I can make out the furrow of his brow, the cruel line of his mouth. “You’re too fucking good at this. I should cut your eyes out so I know you’re telling the truth.”

Panic flares to life inside me, but I beat it down. “You’re smarter than that,” I say, impressed by how casual I sound. “Why would you ruin a valuable asset?”

“What makes you so valuable?”

“I look innocent. People trust me.” I do a little shrug as if it should be obvious to him. “Who would suspect me of working with you?”

Quiet fills my small apartment. The second hand on my old-timey clock beats loud in my ears. Will he relent or is my time up?

He takes a step back, and I allow myself to breathe. “Fuck up this job, and I will cut out your eyes. I’ll use my knife and dig them out slow. I’ll scrape the bones so I’m sure you feel it.” The casual way he describes it, the undertone of pleasure, summons the ghosts of the men I’ve heard him torture. Their screams echo in my ears, and my throat closes.

“Have I ever let you down?”

“I can think of a few times.”

It’s why I’m standing here taking this shit.

“Neither of those times was me letting you down. It was the others.”

“Others exploiting your weakness.” He’s back, and I feel the anger rising in him again. I struggle to hold on a little longer. “It won’t happen again,” His voice is cold, and he clutches my cheeks between his fingers and thumb. The pressure of his grip is painful on my face. “If it does I’ll handle you. And I’ll handle your little brother. I’ll start with him so you can hear the consequences loud and clear.”

He releases my face with a push that sends me staggering back, arms flailing, against the wall. He’s to the door in two paces, and when it slams shut, my knees give out. I slide down the slick, white wall until I’m sitting, my face pressed against the backs of my hands.

My shoulders shudder as tears flow freely down my cheeks. My throat closes, and I fight the vomit. I touch my closed eyes. The sounds of torture are in my memory, and I’m racked with the same fear that gripped me every one of those nights. It’s so strong.

I went to Blix at a time when I couldn’t think about the future. I’d lost everything. I was losing my vision. I wanted to die. I actually hoped one of his jobs would kill me. None did, and I’ve lived my life as his slave ever since.

Now the cost of my hopelessness is Cam. He’s in danger, Logan is in danger…