Page 2 of Cut Me Down

I gently grab her wrist, taking the gun gently and passing it behind me so she doesn’t start shooting in her panic. The last thing this woman needs is something as tormenting as murder on her conscience. I place my hand behind her shoulder and lightly gesture her forward to help lead her out. She looks back up to me with shaky eyes, but then releases a held in breath, and nods, signaling her understanding.

Step by step, we walk out of the room where Henry hands me one of our blankets. I wrap it around her and hold it closed as I walk her out of the building. A part of me wishes we had softer blankets, but these are designed to trap heat. So, while they’re not necessarily for comfort, they give the women the warmth their cold and depraved bodies need. I gently raise my hand up to my earpiece so I can dispatch through our technical specialist.

“Carter? Time for a cleanup crew.”

“On it, D.” His concerned but stern voice chimes through as we step out into the dry night air. The outdoor lights hanging from the warehouse’s exterior walls flash around us, showcasing the building’s neglect.

Once we reach the van, the girl easily climbs inside with the others, and holds onto one of the younger ones. This one can’t be older than fourteen years old, and she has dirty blonde hair with blue eyes that should be much brighter than they appear now. The sight of her sends a sting of pain through my chest…

“Thank you.” She tells me, and I nod once to her, quickly ending the conversation and shut the door. My hands lingers on the cold metal door, bracing myself from the memory. The pain fighting to resurface, even after all of these years. I quickly shove it back down, swallowing it with a harsh gulp, and walk around to the passenger side door.

“Dani’s waiting at rendezvous three. Take them, get them clean, and she’ll help transport them. Make sure everyone knows to head to the house once they’re settled.” I say to Alex through gritted teeth, and he and Chris pull off into the night.

Grabbing the can of spray paint from Zeke, royal blue like we always use, I walk over to the warehouse walls and swiftly spray the calligraphy DH. The paint fights to stick on the dirt covered walls, but does anyway. Tagging is always the last thing we do, like it’s a sign that the worst part is over, and the mission is complete. Zeke, Henry, and I turn to head back.

“Good job guys. Let’s go home.” I say, leaving the past behind along with the other ghosts that now inhabit the building.

“I hope we didn’t miss it!” Henry says as he speed walks towards my vehicle.

“Nah, our phones would be blowing up. It’s Kit’s first, there’s no way it happened that quick. We’ll have all night before we toast. We’ll be drunk as hell before that comes.” Zeke says as he hops in the passenger seat.

“Who the fuck says you get shotty? I did the killing!” Henry whines and points to himself.

“Not much of it.” I snap back and he scowls playfully. “Let's go you little shits.” I don’t know why I love fucking with them so much, or call them little. We’re all around the same age. Hell, Zeke is my age, and twenty-seven definitely isn’t little, but I suppose with how close we are, it's easy to mess with them.

We hop into my Audi R-27, and the moment I turn the engine over, Zeke blares ‘Erase the Pain’ by Palisades over the sound system. Henry is more of a country guy, but he puts up with me and Zeke’s shit on nights like this. I'm dying for a fucking cigarette right about now, but if I hear Marissa, Henry’s wife, bitch again about the smell, I might yank my ears off.

The drive back to my house is peaceful, even with the loud screams and guitar riffs playing through the stereo. It’s almost Halloween, so the air is crisp with the cold, and the enticing smell of decaying leaves swarms the air. I wish I had taken my bike out tonight, but there’s no way I’d let Zeke or Henry ride bitch. If they were to wrap their arms around my torso and hold onto me like any other backpack, I’d knock them the fuck out. We're close, but nowhere nearthatclose.

As soon as we pull through the front gates, up the long driveway, and park in my garage, the boys hop out and storm into the house like a couple of kids, but instead of expecting sweets and grandma’s cookies when they walk through the door, they immediately ravage the fridge for beer and go through the cabinet of liquor. Marissa is going to be so fucking mad when he comes home drunk as a fish in the morning, but at least it’s for a good reason this time. She’s just mad she can’t participate.

Avoiding the door that leads to the inside of the house and the music pouring from it, I make my way into the side room of the garage. This is Carter’s second set up, the first being at the Basement. He doesn’t use this one quite as often, but on nights like tonight when we gather, it really comes in handy.

“Alright, give me the run down before you sign off.” I tell him as I walk up behind him in his natural element. He looks content sitting behind a desk with countless monitors staring back at him. His blonde hair is tangled in a mess from his headset. Though, from the look of his lean yet toned body, no one would ever be able to tell he sits around for ninety percent of his job.

“Clean up crew is already done and heading over. You guys did a really good job not leaving traces behind tonight. Cameras are wiped, and the moment the crew vacated, I called in the anonymous tip to the PD. They were dispatched mid call, so I can assume we’ll be seeing a news story on the six o’clock broadcast. Not to mention that little shit podcaster will be all over it by eight. Danielle met Lauren at the safe house, but a couple of the girls are really shaken up, so they’re not sure they’re going to make it back in time. Chris and Alex are already on their way.”

“Perfect, good job tonight.” I pat him on the back. “Now lets get fucked up.” I grab his shoulders and lift him from his chair, shoving him playfully through the door.

As we walk into the main house, ‘Disguise’ by Motionless in White plays over the stereo system, and I see almost all of my men hanging around. Either a glass or beer bottle in their hand and smiles spread across their faces. The moment they see me they all raise a glass, gesturing for me to join.

“I’m getting it! Shit, calm down.” They laugh as I make my way over to the liquor cabinet and pour my favorite whiskey into a glass.

The moment everyone seems occupied again, I make my way down the back hallway and out to my back porch. I’ve been waiting all fucking night to smoke. Normally after a raid, I’d smoke right outside after. The blood and adrenaline mixing with the smoke is one of my favorite vices, but now that Marissa is pregnant again, if Henry goes home smelling like it, she gets sick. So, I’ve been trying to be considerate. I don’t want her feeling like shit or getting mad at him. That woman gets on my damn nerves, and can talk shit as well as the rest of us, but she loves Henry. So, that’s got to count for something.

“What am I going to do with you? I’ve told you how many times to quit?” I turn to see my cousin, Melanie, walking out onto the porch and closing the sliding door behind her. Her long dirty blonde, almost brown hair stretches down her back and her button nose doesn’t account for how old she is. Granted, she’s not even thirty, but she shouldn’t look like she’s twelve either.

“Fuck you, you can’t tell me what to just because you're eight months older than me.” I chuckle and take one more drag before putting it out in the ash tray.

“Aw, don’t stop on my account, D. I’m just giving you crap.” She closes her arms and lightly shakes her head.

“I’m not smoking around my pregnant cousin, have you lost your mind?” I wave my hand around to move the smoke before she walks up to me.

“I was going to hang back until you were done.”

“Nah, fuck that.”

She steps up and gives me a hug as I plant a kiss to the top of her head.

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