Page 94 of Vengeance

Walking back to his pickup, he sits and eats his snack while he waits for nightfall. He sees Charles walk up to the house and look around when he reaches his door before going inside. At least he knows someone watches him. Or could be watching him. It makes the hunt a little more fun when the prey knows they’re being hunted.

He pulls out the information Brock gave him on Charles Helmer. Not only did he assault and kill women in Mexico, he’s a registered sex offender here in the States. The US government doesn’t know where he is, which means he hasn’t checked in with anyone. No one knows he’s here or that he’ll soon be missing.

One of his victims was a woman who looks a lot like Lacey, and the damage he caused her is almost identical to the damage Lacey’s father caused. This should be a satisfying kill, and the moment the sun goes down and the street falls silent, Psycho climbs out of his pickup through the window. Staying along the boarded-up house’s perimeter, he avoids getting within camera shot of the neighbor’s house and sneaks around back.

No lights show in the house, and Psycho can’t imagine Charles decided to fall asleep at eleven at night. Sickos like him thrive in the nighttime darkness, and Psycho walks quietly to re-evaluate the house. Finally, he sees the light. A basement window barely large enough to fit through, and what he sees makes him want to break the glass.

A brunette woman sits locked in the room with this sick bastard. Psycho sees a large steel door with a lock bolt on it, and all he can think about is Lex and the others in that basement in Black Valley.

“Where the fuck is the key?” he mutters as he searches and calculates how quickly the man could unlock the door and escape.

The key catches the light, hanging around Charles’s neck. If he can break the window and slide in, he may create enough surprise to knock him out before he can unlock his way out of the room. The woman cries and begs to be let go, saying she won’t tell anyone, and the moment he says the words, “I learned a long time ago that’s not something I can trust,” Psycho loses his mind.

Kicking in the window, he slides into the room, and sure enough, he surprises Charles, who fumbles for the key around his neck. The woman screams, and Psycho smashes Charles’s face with his fist, knocking him out as he slides to the floor.

“Shh,” Psycho says. “I’m not going to hurt you, but I need you to stop screaming.”

“You aren’t?” she asks, her entire body trembling.

Shaking his head, he reaches down and yanks the key from the chain around Charles’s neck. “No, I’m not. I do want to hurt him, though, but I need a favor from you.”

“Wh-what’s that?”

“You never saw me, okay?”

“Never,” she whispers.

He nods his head and walks to the door, unlocking it. “Are you okay to leave on your own? Do you need help?”

“I don’t know how long I’ve been down here.”

This woman poses a risk, but he can’t kill her. And he can’t risk her going out to be attacked by one of those drugged out assholes. “Okay, I will give you a ride anywhere you want to go, but I have to take care of him first.”

“You’ll take me anywhere?”

“Well, anywhere except the police station, but I can drop you off at the hospital or at someone’s house, if you prefer.”

“I don’t have anywhere to go,” she whispers. “My parents died, and I don’t have any other family. He lured me in because he offered to take me to get something to eat, but then he brought me here.”

She’s homeless. This asshole preyed on a poor girl who only wanted food. “I can bring you somewhere safe for the night, and I can get you something to eat.”

“And I don’t have to... I don’t have to do anything in return?”

The tremble in her voice makes him glad he agreed to do this for Diego. All apprehension disappears, and he almost thinks Diego won’t owe him. It’s his pleasure.

“The only thing I need in return is that you agree you never saw me here.”

“I can do that,” she says quickly.

“What’s your name?”

“Shannon.”

He smiles. “Hi, Shannon. Everyone calls me Psycho. I need you to unlock this door and go to the black pickup parked at the end of the street and wait, okay?”

“Okay,” Shannon says and takes the key from him with shaky hands.

He waits for her to leave, and he looks down at the body of a man he’s happy to inflict pain on. “God, I hope she doesn’t immediately turn me in. Lacey will be pissed.”

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