Page 142 of The Deceptions
I have my sights set on you, Huxley. You’ll never see me coming. Well, unless they check the cameras. Then, they’ll see me coming from a mile away.
Whatever. I love a good fight. Besides, I’d see them coming for me, too. Being in the bushes, lying in wait, does have its advantages.
I grin when all the lights in the mansion turn off downstairs, and the lights upstairs turn on in each of their bedrooms. Well, the two that look out over the front of the mansion, that is. JJ and Mack. They’re probably getting ready to go night-night, all snug in their respective beds.
Good.
It only takes them fifteen minutes for their lights to cease, letting me know the fuckers are tucked into their beds and ready for a pleasant night’s sleep. Two out of the three will get their wishes. The third? Well, he’s fucking mine to deal with tonight.
I check my watch with a frown. It’s been three hours since I slipped my best friend a sleeping pill or three. Wilder should be awake in the next hour or two. Maybe longer. I’m crossing my fingers for longer. I didn’t want to drug him to make him sleep. But desperate times call for desperate measures. He thinks kidnapping Hux is a bad idea.
I think it’s the best idea I’ve had all week. Besides, the asshole deserves it. For many things. But fucking with my sister? Well, that’s a whole new level of fucked up I never thought he’d stoop to.
He belongs to Franco, though. And I belong to my boss. Both are enemies. So, naturally, Hux is my enemy. JJ is my enemy.Mack is my enemy. They’re all on the wrong side of things. They’d say the same about me, but they don’t know who owns me. No one really does. My boss is a shadow of a man, running things through the army he’s built to take down Franco and his boys.
And what a pleasure that will be.
I hum as I make my way through the brush surrounding their home as quietly as I can. There’s an advantage to them living on top of a hill in the middle of the woods, with nothing but the trees surrounding them and the graveyard below. No one is here. No one but virtual eyes are recording my steps as I sneak around. Or it would be if I didn’t know every fucking blind spot it has.
That’s the perks of being one with the shadows and knowing my surroundings.
Like their home being outfitted with the world’s best cameras and motion detectors, or they would be the best if I didn’t know how to avoid their capture. I grin to myself as I sneak around the outside of their house, ducking the camera’s view of me.
Like many times before, I walk straight through their unlocked front door, quietly closing it behind me. What the fuck goes through their heads? Obviously nothing if they’re leaving someone the opportunity to sneak up on them. Idiots. Some would call me nosy. But I’m not. I’m observant. How’s that phrase go? Know your enemies and all that good stuff. So, yeah. I sneak in here a few times a month, looking for any obvious signs of their activities. There usually isn’t much. Mostly their schoolwork or whatever. But it doesn’t hurt to try. Boss would be so proud of me. Especially if I found information pertaining to him and what Franco might know. Which isn’t much from what I understand. That’s the way Boss likes it, though, for now. One day, he’ll walk out in the open with his army and take this town back from the clutches of Franco.
I smirk when the nothingness takes over my ears. They’re so comfortable with their status on campus that they don’t think any of us peons can infiltrate their space. The joke’s on them, though. Here I am, ready to take your leader.
Reaching into my pocket, I take out the medication and flick the syringe a few times, moving the air bubbles around. My grin spreads. It never hurts to break into the medical supplies either and take what I need. Like this knock out drug used by the students. Never this dosage, though. It’s a mere twilight experience when used correctly.
Huxley Crewes doesn’t know what’s coming for him.
It’s me. I’m coming for him. I hope he’s unprepared for that.
With every step I take, my grin grows wider. I could steal from them. Take the files that they have in their office and snoop more than I already do.
As I pass the kitchen, I rearrange things so that when they wake up, they realize someone has been in their house. Maybe they’ll notice Hux isn’t coming down for breakfast. Or probably not. I grin more when Waffles lifts his head from his dog bed and yawns at my presence. With an exaggerated stretch, he gets to his feet and slowly makes his way to me.
“Hello, boy,” I murmur, offering their loyal dog a handful of leftover steak. “Enjoy your snack while I enjoy a little B and E.” I grin more when Waffles takes the steak from my hand and goes back over to his dog bed.
Who knew bribing a dog could be so easy? And they say the fluff ball hates everyone. Not everyone. Not me. Or a certain someone roaming this campus. Of course, that’s for a completely different reason.
Every morning, Mack jogs through campus for over an hour. Eventually, he ends up at my little ghost’s grave with a sad look on his face and tears in his eyes. He’ll lay a rock on the top of her headstone and whisper words of love. I shiver, having listenedto his therapy sessions with her. I think he needs a fucking therapist and not a ghost to deal with his issues. Eh, whatever. Hope he’s miserable and all that. He’s made Wilder’s life hell for all the shit he used to pull.
JJ will meander down to the kitchen with his laptop and do whatever work he has on the net, forgetting the world for hours. And Hux? Well, the little bastard is slippery. You never know what he’s going to do. Sometimes he’s up early and away from the house.
Other times, he doesn’t emerge for hours, opting to stay in bed and sleep off the alcohol he guiltily consumes to quiet the demons in his head. Or I can only assume he feels guilty. He should, though. For a lot of things that’s happened as a direct effect of him being… well, him and who he associates with.
If they only knew how much I lurk outside, watching their every move. I always anticipate their next activity.
Because that’s the thing about me. I was brought up to observe the world around me as I was locked in my cage. So, I use it in real life too. With the help of my boss, he directed me on how to turn it into a good thing.
So, here I am. And oh, the things I’ve seen.
Slowly, I make my way up the stairs, counting the steps beneath my feet. The first room I pass is Mack’s. His door is shut, but I hear the muffled sound of music blasting in his ears. He won’t hear a thing from the outside world besides the music lulling him to sleep.
The next room I pass is JJ’s. His door is wide open. Peeking in, I note his hearing aids are on their charger. I grin. That’s another person who won’t hear what I’m up to as I tiptoe past his room and make it to Huxley’s. Usually, he’s sound asleep, but the frantic sound of footsteps pacing back and forth has my spine stiffening.
I lean in, putting my ear to the wood. But there’s nothing but muffled voices coming through. Hmm. I tilt my head, observing. There’s only one set of footsteps. So, whoever he is speaking with is on the damn phone.
