Page 43 of Dark Things
Time for me to disappear before they realize I’m here.
I jump from the pallets, landing quietly on the concrete, and make my way over to the trees. I need to get to the butcher shop and then home to Reb. This is not fucking good at all. But before I can take a step into the shadows headlights illuminate where I am in the tree line.
My balaclava is up on my forehead, but it’s too late now. They’ve seen me. I wait, daring them to say or do something. If I have to, I’ll put them down. I know it’llpiss off Reb, but there’s no way I can let them hurt her or come between what we need to do to get out.
Colter catches my eye, and we both just stare at each other before I put the balaclava down. I slip through the trees to my truck, my mind racing.
Let the games begin.
The butcher shopis an abandoned slaughterhouse that Stan inherited from the owner when he ‘accidentally’ died in a freak accident. It smells like rusted pennies and body odor. Even though cows no longer get butchered here, it’s convenient for body disposal. We had something similar in Kentucky, so the setup looks familiar.
“Get in here,” Stan yells from behind the plastic sheeting hanging from the ceiling. It partitions one of the main rooms into smaller ones, probably for easier cleanup.
I make my way over, grabbing a pair of latex gloves and blue shoe coverings for my feet before moving the plastic over stepping into the room.
A woman is strapped to the chair, her hair a matted mess around her shoulders. One eye is swollen shut and she has a few gashes on her arms.
Jesus. Fucking. Christ.
This is a new fucking low, even for Stan. Usually, he keeps the women and children out of it. But by thelooks of it, he found out about Michael’s abduction, and this is his wife. If not, I have no clue what would warrant this woman getting a beating like this.
“You have any idea the fucking shit storm we’re in now!” Stan screams, rounding the table, a knife in his hand as he approaches me.
I remain impassive, my mask fully in place. Standing at attention, I don’t say a word. He doesn’t want to hear about it, anyway. This is Stan’s version of a tantrum, and it’s always best to let him work it out without interrupting.
“Her fucking husband is missing, and she won’t tell me where the fuck he is. He’s a crucial part to our plan for New York, and I need to find him. That fucker can’t get away.”
I take in a deep breath and try to let it out slowly. If I’m going to save this woman’s life and her children’s, I have to play this right. I can’t let on that I will, but I can leverage the information.
“Do you want me to take care of this?” I ask, not looking him in the eye, but staring right over his shoulder.
He smiles, patting my cheek, then turns to the woman. “My son is a smart boy. Always looking for ways to improve the business and help out. He’s a true heir. But he’s also a monster. The best I ever created…well, except his partner. Pitch is something special. She’s the best tool I’ve ever made.”
I clench my jaw and tighten my fists behind myback. If I could get away with killing him right now I would, but he holds the secrets that we need to get Magnus back before we can get rid of him.
“Please! I already told you everything I know. He’s gone. I’ve been calling him all night. It was only when I dropped the kids off at the hospital with my parents that I went looking for him. He’s not at the office or any of the bars I know he goes to. Please!”
She’s screaming by the end. I want to pick her up and drop her somewhere safe, but Stan would slit her throat before I made it out the door. I have to make him think this was his idea.
“When was the last time you saw him?” I ask, walking closer to her. She watches me for a moment, and I see the determination in her eyes before she flicks them back to Stan.
“Around six tonight. He ate dinner with us, got a call, and left the house. He didn’t say where he was going or who called, but he was scared out of his mind. I’m not a part of the business; I take care of the house and the kids. I have nothing to do with any of this. If there was something I knew, I’d tell you in an instant.”
I cock my head to the side and study her. “Why would you do that? Isn’t he the father of your kids?”
“That fucking moron loves his gambling and whores more than he does his family. This isn’t the first time he’s disappeared, but it’s the first time since his daughter’s cancer diagnosis and she needed to go tothe hospital. I left my baby at the hospital with my parents. She's dying. If I didn’t find Michael he could possibly never see her again. And she was asking for him. It was the only reason why I left.”
My heart cracks in two. I have to get this woman out of here before Stan gets stabby and kills her, leaving her sick kid an orphan.
“Sir, may I speak with you in private?” I ask, turning my full attention to Stan.
He grunts, throwing the knife down and walking through plastic sheeting. I square my shoulders and prepare for the fight.
“Go on,” he says, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it up, blowing the smoke in my face. I don’t even flinch.
“I can find Michael by the end of the night. It’s not hard to flush out a rat in a town this size. Let me do it; we don’t need the woman.”
I don’t bring up the sick kid, because Stan doesn’t have a decent bone in his body. He’s a sociopath who has no empathy for anyone, not even himself.
