Page 15 of Always Watching

The last one is a stroke of luck. I have to go back through the chat log to figure out where he lives, and I notice the asshole actually gave it away by saying where he worked. He signed up with his first name. It’s a local name—a car dealership run by a local family. I’ve seen the advertisements on television before. I’ve seen the asshole and his smiling face, with pictures of his wife and kids behind him.

And I can see the vile shit he’s said to Ranen, all the requests and money he’s poured into watching him while his wife was probably sleeping a room away.

He’s in the city.

And honestly, it just makessensefor me to make sure I pay him a visit once Ranen is more settled in, doesn’t it? I note his name and address for later and stare at the list of three names I have left.

If I didn’t need to be here, I could hunt them down; I could make a vacation of it.

But I’m here, and I’d be lying to myself if I said I was going to leave anytime soon. Which means…

I don’twantto call Wylder—my brother is an asshole. He left the house when he was eighteen becausehis skills are better used for hire than playor some shit like that. Where I handle my urges whenever I please, and occasionally take a stray job if it’s handed to me, Wylder has made a name for himself in certain rings as someone dangerous, someone deadly.

Someone who can always get the job done exactly the way you want it—no fuss, all mess.

He’s an asshole, and he’s charming, and he looks like he could be a model instead of someone working construction. I half wonder if he’d left because he didn’t want to get his hands dirty with anything other than blood, but… he’s really my only option. And honestly, I have to admit he’s probably the only person I know who is just as dangerous as I am. He’s one of the only people I can trust with this.

I check the doors to make sure Ranen’s apartment is all locked up, and step out on the little ledge where the fire escape is so I don’t wake him while I speak. The phone rings three times before my brother picks up.

“Did you kill someone?” Fuck, why is that always the first question my family asks me?

“No, butyoucan. I have a job for you… Well… three jobs.” Isoundcranky about it. If it were up to me, I’d be the one killing them. At least I know Wylder will do a good job.

“What?” All concern fades from his voice, and he laughs. “You have a job forme?”

“Look, I’d take care of it if I could, but I’m…” I don’t want to explain to him what I’m doing orwhyI’m doing it, so I shrug instead like he can see me and frown. “I’m otherwise preoccupied. Can you do it or not?”

He doesn’t even hesitate. “Oh, I’ll do it, baby brother.” I fucking hate it when he calls me that. He’s only four years older than me. “You don’t even have to pay.”

Suspicion rises in my chest. “I’ll pay.”

“Oh, no. If you want me to do this, you owe me afavor.”Ah, shit. This is why I didn’t want to call Wylder. Him and his favors and games.

But my eyes drift back into the apartment, to Ranen’s door slightly cracked open. Behind my lids, I can see his battered, bruised body. I know my answer before I give it.

“Fine. But I have a condition too.”

Wylder doesn’t even hesitate, and I can almost see his whiskey-colored eyes sparkling when I speak.

“Make it hurt.”

Wylder laughs. “That’s the only way I know how to do it, North.”

By the time Ranen wakes up, I’ve gone through his apartment and straightened up everything. My bags are neatly tucked away in the corner, and there’s no trace of what happened to him to be found. I didn’t want him to look around and see something knocked over and suddenly spiral back into the memories of his attack. It doesn’t take someone with real empathy to know that’s not a good idea, and I saw how easy it is for him to trigger a panic attack. I can’t stop it from happening, but I can do my best to make it easier on him.

I’m in his kitchen, going through his cabinets to see if there’s anything that remotely resembles coffee for me to drink, when I hear the sound of soft footsteps behind me after his bedroom door opens.

He looks sweet, all bleary-eyed and just a little confused. When I turn, he’s standing beside the counter with his bottom lip pulled between his teeth and an almost startled expression on his face. Fuck, he’s like a little rabbit, caught in the eyes of a wolf. I just need to find a way to make sure he knows I’ll only bite if he asks.

“Do you have coffee?” I say, and he shakes his head, little twists of his red hair falling across his brow when he does it.

“I need to go shopping, I—” He cuts himself off and frowns. “You’re actually here, aren’t you? When I woke up, I thoughtmaybe I’ddreamedthat a man randomly moved into my apartment without asking first.”

“Yeah, I’m really here.” I can understand why he’s confused. Everything over the last few days has probably been overwhelming for him. Hell, I’m still a little confused about what I’m doing, and I’m the one who packed my bags.

“You’re… actually staying here?” He takes a step closer and glances around at the cleaned apartment, at my bags in the corner, and finally back to me.

“Yeah, I’m staying.”

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