Page 1 of Murder & Mayhem
CHAPTER 1
DOMINIC
My phone buzzed as I was closing out my computer for the day.
Ari: It’s time.
A smile spread across my face. Fucking finally. It had been way too long since I’d let my monster out and had been able to take out a monster in return. This particular one had been a long time coming, and I had been anxiously waiting for the all clear from my brother that it was finally safe to take out the target.
It would be easy to get ahead of myself, which was what Ari was for. He was my conscience and my safety. I had no doubt without him watching my back, I would be in jail or dead by now, but Ari was a stubborn son of a bitch and wouldn’t let me go that easily.
I quickly sent him back a message, a thumbs-up, before pocketing my phone. Once my work computer was shut downand closed, I grabbed my worn gray backpack I’d had for years now, my lunchbox, because wasting money buying food every day was outrageous, and I headed out of my cubicle, hoping to avoid my coworkers.
Obviously, I wouldn’t have that kind of luck.
“Hey, Dom,” Meghan, one of the other employees in the marketing department, popped out from her cube, smiling flirtatiously at me.
Ari would be proud that I didn’t react to her calling me Dom. I hated that nickname. My brothers called me Nicky, and everyone else called me Dominic. Or they were supposed to, but sometimes these people had a hard time wrapping their brains around the concept.
“Dominic,” I reminded her drily. I didn’t have time for this. I had a child rapist to murder.
She laughed, waving me off. “Oh right. I’m sorry. That’s such a mouthful, I sometimes forget.”
It really wasn’t. Dominic was a perfectly normal name. She was just trying to be cute. It wasn’t working.
“What do you need, Meghan? I have plans.” Ones that relied on me not straying from our timeline, even by a few minutes. Ari had the details for every job planned down to the second. Things went wrong all the fucking time, but I tried very hard not to be the one who caused the issues. I didn’t always succeed, but still, I didn’t want Meghan, of all fucking people, to be the reason this job wasn’t done correctly.
Her face fell at my harsh words, but I couldn’t give a fuck. She was a nuisance and never seemed to get the hint that I wanted nothing to do with her. I had asked Ari to look into her, in hopes he could find something worthy of me getting rid of her, but unfortunately, she was clean. A few speeding tickets and she stole her neighbors’ Wi-Fi, but that was hardly akillable offense. Still, it was tempting sometimes to break our code just to get her to shut up.
I glared at her, hoping she’d get the hint. She was not, nor would she ever be my type. Not only did she have the wrong body parts, but I could never deal with her personality. Not that I had found a man that I could tolerate either, but at least I was able to get off in a nice, tight hole or by spanking a round bottom. Meghan only irritated me without offering anything in return. Her brown eyes widened, only for a second, at my expression, but she quickly schooled it and soon had her flirtatious smile firmly back in place.
“Oh, what a shame. What about tomorrow? A few of us are going to McLean’s for karaoke night. It would be so fun if you joined us.”
Kill me now.
“Sorry. I’ve got plans then too.” And every other day she tried to invite me.
Listen, I understood why this job was necessary. I had to stay under the radar, but fucking hell, sometimes it would be worth raising suspicions just so I didn’t have to deal with anyone on a daily basis. Maybe I could convince Ari that working from home would be acceptable. He did IT work from his place, so why couldn’t I?
“Alright. I gotta go. See you.”
I shouldered my backpack and was out of there before she could say another word. Luckily, I made it to the parking garage without being interrupted again.
As soon as I was in my Toyota Highlander hybrid, I told the car to send a group text to my brothers, Ari and Gideon.
Me:
Are you sure Ican’t quit this job?
Ari:
Yes. Suck it up, buttercup.
Gid:
You could come work with me.
As a teacher? Yeah, I didn’t fucking think so. If I thought my fully adult coworkers were too much, I had no idea how I’d manage a bunch of sixth graders.
