Page 53 of Vow of Vengeance
I ignore his offer; some small part of me is grateful to know he’s the same old Wes.
Wes was born into privilege. Sure, he was also born into a world of disgusting predators, but his struggle has been different than mine in about five thousand individual ways. And yet, we ended up rooming together in college. I know now that was by design.
"I need to know how to get away with murder. You ought to have an answer for that, right?"
On the other end of the line, Wes sobers. I can hear it in his sudden silence.
"What sort of body are we talking about? Someone that people are gonna miss?"
"I fucking doubt it." I grunt.
Sure, Soren will miss him. She wouldn't if she knew what he did to her, but I can't tell her that. I can't tell her that the two people she loved most in the world made a game of taking what they wanted from her body. She'll mourn her best friend especially hard since Marissa is still missing, but I think that will also blunt the pain a little bit.
I'll keep her under lock and key so that I can be sure she survives his disappearance, and I'll have Georgia for therapy as many sessions as she can possibly stand. I won't let her shut down, won't let her suffer any more.
Other than Soren, I don't think anyone will miss Khan. He seems to only have Soren and Marissa anyway. I've asked my little bird about him, very carefully, and surmised that he doesn't speak to his parents. His father doesn't even live in the States, and his mother's last recorded location was at the bottom of a bottle.
"Okay. Well, then you've got plenty of options. Public execution? I can give you the name of a guy that's former military. Can hit a moving target from two football fields away."
"No." I shake my head even though he can't see it. "I want him to know it was me."
"Hmm." Wes muses. "Alright. You could go more personal then, have them deliver a message. Stage it as a home invasion, robbery gone wrong."
"No. No staging, no paying someone else to do it. I want to do it myself."
Wes snorts. "You're not a killer, Declan. But I can appreciate wanting him to know why he's going to die."
"I'm not a killer yet." I agree. "That's why I called. Tell me how to get away with it. I know you've done it, or else you know someone who has."
"Evers..." He laughs in disbelief. "You're fucking with me, right? Is this call recorded to try and bring me down or something?"
"No. I'm serious. There's someone that I want dead. And I want him to suffer. You can either give me the crash course on getting away with murder or you can promise me that if I get caught, you'll personally guarantee the safety of someone I care about. You owe me that much."
Wes is silent, debating his options.
"We can't discuss this on the phone. Listen, don't do anything until you hear from me, okay? I know you said you want this guy gone, but-"
"Ineedhim gone."
"Okay." Wes blows out a breath. "Like I said, don't do anything until you hear from me. Got it?"
"Fine." I agree.
If waiting for him to compose a plan that allows me to get away with murder means I can stay out of jail to protect Soren when Khan's body is found, then I can wait.
"I have one more question." Wes ventures.
"This guy... he obviously fucked with you pretty bad. You're not exactly a white knight, but you've always been on the other side of the morality spectrum than me. So, what gives? What did he do to warrant his death?"
I don't hesitate. "He touched what belongs to me."
There's no sense in explaining it was before she belonged to me. She's belonged to me from her first breath.
I just didn't know it until I found her in the parking garage.
"This guy..." Wes ventures. "Is he a bad guy, or just stupid?"
I laugh at that, dragging a hand over my face. Fuck, I'm tired.
