Page 13 of Keep Me (Rebel Hearts Heists 2)
Cat and Mouse
Pierce – Somewhere in New Jersey
Home sweet fucking home!
I’m sitting at my desk in the study of the condo I used to share with Sloane. I can still feel her presence everywhere, when the little bitch left she did so in such a hurry that she left behind most of her clothes so I’m surrounded by all her things. A part of me wants to torch this whole place, I want to see everything Sloane has ever touched and loved go in a blaze of glory, my glory.
If I think about those men’s dirty hands on my woman, I feel my blood begin to boil, but I have to stay calm, I have to act with method. We’ve all seen what happened when I allowed myself to lose control and I can no longer afford it. My father wasn’t pleased to have to disturb his friends in high places to get me out of trouble and I can’t bear to look like a loser. I could see the look of disapproval in his eyes at how I failed to defeat my enemies.
So I’m approaching this rationally and I’m making a list of my enemies, of all the people that will have to die when all it’s said and done:
River Rhodes
Royce Barrington
Blaine Barrington
Special Agent Vance
Special Agent Walker
Sloane Donnelly?
I put a question mark next to her name pressing my pencil so hard on the paper that the end snaps, making a hole in the sheet.
How very fucking fitting, considering it resembles the hole she left in my heart,in my life.
On a rational level I know that I should kill her, that her betrayal is unforgivable. Not only did she run away from me, making a fool of me in front of our families and our whole social circle, but she had to get involved with Vance and his gang of criminals. Those bastards contaminated my pure, beautiful Sloane and I’m not sure it’s possible to undo the damage. They soiled her, they took advantage of her and they ruined her. In that vault, she chose them, in that boathouse, she still chose them, so it might be too late for redemption.
But the heart wants what the heart wants and I’ll give my little bitch one last chance to choose me. I bet she will when she sees all her men begging for their lives. When she sees that I’m strong. This game of cat and mouse will soon be over and I can’t wait to have my little mouse back in my claws. Even if I end up having to kill her, I’ll play her first and have my fun. It’s game over only when I say it is.
I feel myself start to harden at the thought of all the games I’ll play with my little mouse once she’s back in my clutches and I grit my teeth, trying to tame my excitement. This isn’t the time for it, this is the time for control and for planning, there’ll be time to play later. When sweet victory will make the games all the more fun.
Method, Pierce.Remember that method is the key to success and I already have the perfect plan to make sure that I’ll be the one who laughs in the end.
I’ve been expressly ordered to stay away from Special Agent Vance and his operation. My boss threatened serious career repercussions if I’m caught interfering in any way. I smirk at the thought that they think they can control Pierce Hunter. They will soon learn that nothing can stop me when I set my mind to it. And if they catch me? A phone call from Daddy Dearest will make it all go away. But they won’t catch me, my plan is too perfect to fail.
So I write a suicide note, blaming it all on Sloane and her precious Special Agent Vance. I get my hunting knife and grit my teeth as I open a gash on the palm of my left hand. I make sure to get some blood on the letter and a trail of it leading all the way to the garage, where my car is parked. I drive it to a remote place on the coast, by a desolate, high cliff that drops into the stormy Atlantic Ocean with jagged rocks. The entire drive, I am plagued with thoughts of fury at Sloane’s betrayal, as well as ones filled with desire for when I finally get her in my grasp. The bitch has no idea what’s coming.
I’ve thought about everything, I grin as I open the trunk and extract the body of a poor, drunk idiot I followed out of a bar last night. The asshole looks nothing like me but it doesn’t really matter, he’s a male and he’s around my age and height and that’s all I need for my plan to work. I pulled out all his teeth just to make sure that they won’t be able to identify him, if they find any remains, that is.
So I settle ‘Pierce’ in the driver’s seat and douse him in gasoline, then throw a match into the car. When the fucker is ablaze, I push the car down the cliff. The vehicle explodes before even reaching the bottom of the cliff, plunging deep into the ocean and disappearing into its stormy waters.
Whatever the fire didn’t destroy, the sea and its creatures will take care of. If they ever find any remains, they might be miles away and it will be only an unidentifiable body,a John Doe. But they might never find my car or that body. I just put it there for authenticity. In reality by throwing the car in the water, there wouldn’t have been any need for a body but you know me, I like a job well done. Once I’m satisfied that the car is gone, I begin to walk to the rental car I hid in the woods nearby. Now that Pierce Hunter is officially gone, I can begin the next phase of my plan.
I dial a number on my new burner phone and wait to be connected. “Mr. Van Der Beck’s office, Amanda speaking.”
I try to sound professional and contain my excitement as I say that I have really important information about a security threat to Mr. Van Der Beck. Something related to his upcoming wedding. The secretary is obviously reluctant to put me through to her boss but I play the FBI card. I could tell Van Der Beck about Vance’s plan but what would be the fun in that? Cat and mouse, cat and mouse. I’ll play with my prey before I sink my teeth into her.
“This is Casper Van Der Beck. Who am I speaking to?”
“Hi Mr. Van Der Beck, this is Special Agent Yates Stevie …”
* * *
River
I put a finger between the collar of my shirt and my neck, tugging a little to try and loosen it up but it still feels tighter than I’d like. Royce and Blaine owe me big time for being forced to wear suits and tuxedos, I’m a jeans and t-shirt kinda guy, for fuck’s sake! But if I want out of this fucking mess we got in, if I want to provide for my niece Josie, this is a necessary evil so instead I try to not grin at my reflection in the mirror, attempting a poker face. Truth be told I’m not here just because of the deal that Kaden made with his bosses to grant us immunity.
