Page 1 of Beg for Death
Chapter One
Ezra
Three years locked away, and I still emerged hungry. No, starving. My bones ached for it, for the revenge that I so desperately needed after thathijo de putason of a bitchbetrayed me. It stuck in my brain. The day Jasper looked at me with horror in his eyes as I dragged a man toward the cellar. His expression had gone from shock to horror then to fear in the span of thirty seconds. Before I could even react, he was gone. Calling the police. And my fate was nearly sealed. Forever.
I watched from afar as the boy walked out of his classroom. His head was in his phone, lips moving as if he was talking to someone. I smirked. Was he talking to his father right now? Was Jasper on the other line? Every inch of my body ignited at the thought. I wondered how Jasper would feel if he knew I was staring at his son, watching him walk the sidewalks of his prestigious college. Would he be terrified? Would he beg? I sure as hell hoped so. However, telling him right now wasn't in my best interest. No, I needed him to suffer. Really suffer. So antagonizing the son of a bitch would have to wait.
Felix was so into his phone that he stepped off the sidewalk and faltered. I watched as he nearly went down, his hands held out in front of him. Panting, he picked himself back up and shook his head. It happened twice more as he walked toward his dorm. I frowned.
What the hell is wrong with him?
My eyes swept over him. He was young—twenty-two, from what I could remember—chubby and soft. And his skin was spotted with white. Vitiligo, Jasper had said once. His amber eyes were bright, his brown hair streaked with pieces of blond. He looked like every other college student—or dressed like one, at least. But he was different in his own way. Not that it mattered. By the time I was done with him, he would just be victim number twenty-seven.
Felix ducked into his dorm, and I watched as he made his way to the room I knew was his. First floor, in the corner, and more secluded than the rest. I was lucky in that aspect. Still, I had to wait. It was too light outside, too risky. I wasn't willing to risk another prison stint because I was too eager. Pulling out my phone, I tapped on the messaging app.
Tony: Hey, Felix. What you up to?
Felix: Hey! Nothing, just about to do some homework. What about you?
Tony: Not much. Bored. I thought maybe we could finally meet up. I was going to head over to that café downtown, the one with the cookies in the window? Wondering if you wanted to hang.
I watched his surprise through his window as he responded to me, a small smile tugging on his lips. I'd been watching himfor weeks, tracking his every move, and on top of that, joining the app I'd seen him on before. It was a dating app, but his profile said he was just looking for friends. I made my own profile, stole someone's pictures, and posed as a fellow twenty-two-year-old student. We hit it off right away, but of course we did. I'd already learned so much about him. What he liked, what he disliked, what scared him, what made him laugh. Felix was an open book to me.
Felix: That would be cool. I could actually eat. What time?
Tony: They stay open late so if you need to study, go ahead. I have this project anyway.
Tony: Maybe around 9?
Felix: 9 sounds great! See you then.
I put the phone away. Good, the trap was set. All I had to do now was get ready. I checked the time. Seven. I had two hours to make sure I was prepared for Felix. Though, I had been prepared for him for a while now. Still, there were variables in taking someone. Things that could and would go wrong every damn time. Snatching someone never went down the way you thought it would. This time, though, I was going to try to make sure it did. I had to be very careful.
Leaving the dorm, I let myself out to the parking lot. My car waited down the road, away from cameras. I drove it further down, parking on a side street underneath the light I'd broken two nights ago. Glittering glass still twinkled on the sidewalk. My boots crunched over it as I shifted against the alley wall between two buildings. Both were derelict. Felix didn't have a car, and the bus stop was on the next block over. He usually tooka bus to his destination if he was out late and took a rideshare back when the buses weren't running. I knew everything about him.
The sun was down by eight-thirty, and sure enough, I heard Felix before I saw him, heading for the eight-forty-five bus. His headphones were on, music blasting as he stared at his phone. He was so deep into what he was doing he didn't notice me standing there. The bass thumped as he grew closer to my destination. Once he passed me, I reached out, grabbed his arm, and yanked him against my body. For a moment, he went completely rigid before he seemed to reboot.
"Let go! Let?—"
I slapped a hand over his mouth. Uncapping the needle with my teeth, I slid it into his neck. Felix cried out against my palm, his breath warm and wet against my flesh. I squeezed harder as he thrashed and struggled. Grunting with effort, I dragged him toward the waiting car. The trunk opened, and I tossed him inside. He stared at me, his eyes wide. I pulled the gun out of the back of my jeans and showed it to him.
"Be real quiet when I take my hand off or I'll use it. Do you understand?"
He nodded slowly, the drug already working in his system. When I removed my hand, he licked his lips, and his eyes were glazed and unfocused. He sniffled.
"Why are you doing this?"
"You'll find out soon enough," I said as I secured his wrists and ankles to each other with rope, hog-tying him. I tested the give and nodded. "You be quiet, you do what I say, and maybe I'll let you live."
"O-okay," he whispered.
I raised a brow. Just like that? No fighting, no begging, no pleading. Just obedience. Something turned in my stomach. I shoved myself up and slammed the trunk. Rounding the car,I moved to the front seat and slid behind the wheel. The car rumbled to life, damn near coughing smoke just to do it. I pulled off. A low, keening moan filled the air, and I knew he was being pulled under. Good. He should get all the rest he could. I had no intention of keeping that promise. Felix was going to feel every second of pain, humiliation, and fear that I could wring out of him. And then, I would slit his throat and drop him off on daddy dearest's front door. Before I killed him too.
No one was going to get out of this alive.
The car rumbleddown the dirt path, bouncing back and forth as if there were no shocks in the damn thing at all. Finally, we pulled up to a cabin. It sat back in the woods, the lights mostly off save for a single lamp turned on near the front window. Climbing out, I moved to the trunk and opened it cautiously. Sure enough, Felix was knocked out. His lips moved. He was talking in his sleep. I stared down at the line of his pink lips for what felt like an eternity. As my eyes roamed over his face, I recoiled at the innocence. So young, so stupid, not tainted by betrayal yet. Just a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
Shaking my head, I forced myself to get moving. I reached in and grabbed Felix before I hauled him over my shoulder. His soft tummy pressed against my shoulder as I carried him into the cabin. When I closed the door, I closed the heavy locks. They thunked into place and the red light beeped. Locked in. I'd had to make some upgrades. Thank god, I kept money stashed all over the city before prison. I hadn't come out with nothing to my name like I could have done.
