All Hallows Eve, Vol. 3

Chapter 6

Six

Phoenix

Leaving Jamie and Shane this morning was hard.

I snuck out before they woke up, so I could avoid questions. They were fine with me being there in the heat of the moment, but that could all change when they were awake. I haven’t been able to get Jamie out of my head since the first moment I saw him, and when I was laying in bed last night, I needed to touch him again. I called one of my buddies for something to keep Shane asleep for a while because I knew there would be a fight. What I didn’t expect was sinking inside him and him moaning like a fucking fiend.

I get comfortable on my bed and pull up the video feed in Jamie’s apartment that I put in there after the club. Jamie and Shane are curled up on the couch with Jamie in Shane’s lap. Every once in a while, Shane will kiss Jamie softly on the lips or forehead. Jamie smiles at the big guy every time, making his entire face light up.

I can’t have that life with Jamie and Shane. I’m not good enough for either of them. I realized that when I woke up this morning. I’m still a fucking criminal, and eventually, my luck will run out again. I don’t have my mom to bail me out anymore, and I don’t want to put that on them. My chest twists painfully at the thought of my mom, and I rub my hand across my heart. Her services are tomorrow, and I don’t know how I’m going to make it through.

My phone pings with a message and as I check it, I set my computer to the side and jog to the front door. I pull it open, and Evan is leaning against the door frame.

“You look like hammered shit,” he comments, pushing his way inside. Evan is already a creepy fucker with his weird eyes. They’re so blue that they’re almost white, and pair that with his dark hair, he looks like a movie villain. His raspy voice that is barely a whisper on the best of days doesn’t make it any better. The scar across his throat that’s ear to ear, courtesy of his father, is the culprit. “When’s the last time you slept?”

“Days,” I admit. “I didn’t call you to come over here and bust my balls.”

Evan walks into the kitchen and pulls himself to sit on the kitchen counter. He digs in his jeans pocket and pulls a joint out with a lighter. He lights it, takes a deep inhale, and holds it out for me. When I shake my head, he shrugs and takes another drag. Evan pulls a stack of papers from his back pocket and hands them to me. “Why did you have me digging into a pretty little twink?” Anger flairs through me at Evan calling Jamie pretty, and he holds his hands up. “You know they’re my weakness.”

“You keep your goddamn hands to yourself,” I grit out and start flipping through the papers. Jamie’s whole life history is here, and I get more pissed by the second.

“Wait.” Evan says. “Are you fucking him?”

“He’s mine.”

Evan jumps down from the counter and slaps his hand down onto the papers so I’ll look up at him. If I wasn’t half scared of the psycho, I’d punch him in the face. “Since when are you gay?”

“I’m not.”

“I hate to break it to you, but no matter how small and cute he is, he’s a dude.”

I push his hand off and continue looking through the file. My blood boils when I see the third police report on the abuse Jamie endured with his ex. Devon Murphy . He’s the motherfucker who’s about to die bloody. “You up to having a little fun tonight?”

“Does it involve murdering the guy who beat the shit out of your princess?”

“You’re really starting to piss me off.”

“You’re always pissed off. Where have you been anyway? The boys have been planning another job and wanted to know if you wanted in.”

I set my hands on the counter and hang my head, debating on what I have to say next. “My mom died.” I don’t want pity, and the only reason I’m telling Evan is because I’m not even sure he’s capable of any type of empathy. I look up at him and his brows are furrowed. “They took her off life support.”

“Damn.” Evan massages the scar on his throat, something that he does often. “I’m sorry, man.”

“Are you down or what?”

Evan raises a brow at my blatant attempt at ignoring his apology. “Yeah. You know I am.” Which is exactly why I called him. “This is a big jump from petty theft and larceny.”

“I’m well aware, jackass.”

“You want it quick or make him suffer.”

I stab my finger at the file. “You saw what he did to him. There are two years worth of shit in there. He beat and raped him on the regular.”

“So suffer,” Evan says dryly. “You could have just said that.”

“Do you have empathy at all? Or are you too far gone?”

“I’m a hitman for hire. I don’t have room for goddamn empathy. Do I feel sorry for the kid? Yes. Am I going to enjoy teaching this asshole a lesson? Yes. Am I going to feel bad for watching the life drain from his eyes? No.”

I don’t know much about Evan except for the little that he’s told me. He grew up with a junkie mom and an abusive dad. Not just abusive. The man tortured Evan on a regular basis. When Evan got older and bigger, he started fighting back. That’s when his dad tried to slit his throat to kill him. He left him in a rundown warehouse to bleed out, but Evan survived. The moment he could, Evan took him out, and from that story, it was gruesome. It was also probably what turned Evan into what he is today. “We’ll leave at nightfall.”

I might not be able to take care of Jamie in some ways, but I can do this for him.

Evan and I left my apartment at midnight to drive over to the wealthier part of the city. Devon lives on the fourteenth floor of a fucking high rise, so getting to him is going to be tricky. Evan pulls into a parking spot a block away from the building and throws his car into park.

“Are you stalking him?”

“What?” I ask, my head whipping to look at him.

“I looked through your laptop when you were in the shower.” Evan grins, making me shake my head. “I found the video feed. I’m guessing that was Shane with him.”

“You really are a fucking asshole. Yes, that’s Shane.”

“So, if he’s yours, why is he with the big dude?”

“We’re both fucking him.”

“Did you let Shane top you?”

“No. I topped him. Are you getting off on this?”

Evan laughs, and it’s probably the creepiest sound I’ve ever heard. “I’ve hit on you more times than I can count, and you’ve turned me down at every turn. The fact that you found a huge piece of man meat and a twink makes my cock rock hard.”

“You’re more fucked up than I am.”

“There’s no doubt about that. Let’s get this going.”

Evan shoves out of the car, and I follow behind him. We stick to the shadows and wait by the side of the building until someone leaves. Evan rushes over before the door closes and slides inside. Staying right on his heels, we go to the stairs and run up the fourteen floors. From Evan’s research, Devon lives here alone, but we’re prepared just in case. Evan checks the floor before opening the door that will take us to the apartment that we need. When the coast is clear, we make a fast clip down the hallway, and before I even stop walking, Evan is picking the lock. It clicks open, and Evan pushes the door open.

The apartment is pitch black, except for the lights from the city streaming into the living room windows. Evan motions me toward a hallway, and we find Devon fast asleep. He’s smaller than I thought he would be but bigger than Jamie. My boot squeaks on the floor, and Devon’s eyes flash open. He sits up and opens his mouth to scream. Evan reacts faster than I do, clamping a gloved hand over his mouth and lowers his mouth to his ear.

“I suggest you keep your goddamn mouth shut.” A shudder of revulsion runs through Devon’s body at the sound of Evan’s voice, and I know the feeling. I’ve gotten used to it now, but the first time I heard it made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. “My friend here has something to say.”

Evan moves around the other side of the bed so Devon has me in his line of sight, but Evan is ready to move again. “I’m here because of Jamie Sears.”

“W…w…hat about him?”

“You like beating up people half your size?”

“I n…never touched him!”

I pull a picture from my back pocket and hold it up for him to see. It’s the last time he touched Jamie, and the documented photos made my stomach roll. Jamie’s face is one bruised and bloody mess. His poor little nose is crooked, and his lips are so swollen they look like he got stung by bees. That’s not even the worst part. His entire body was littered in bruises. “Don’t fucking lie to me,” I bark.

Devon shrinks back at the tone in my voice, only to bump into Evan’s chest. Evan buries his nose in Devon’s neck and sniffs. “I love the smell of fear.” What the fuck? “I read in Jamie’s file that you raped him? Is that true?”

“No!”

My fist snaps out before I can stop it, smashing right into Devon’s nose. He screams, and blood starts pouring down his face. He tries to cover his face, but Evan grabs his arms, wrenching them behind his back. “You see, Devon, you fucked up. You messed with what’s mine .”

“I didn’t do anything,” Devon sobs, but I can see his resolve to continue lying waver. Devon starts sobbing harder. “He was weak.”

Evan pulls harder on Devon’s arms, and when Devon tries to scream this time, I’m there to cover his mouth. Evan nods at the bag he dropped at the door, and I grab to pull out the duct tape. I rip a piece off and slap it over his mouth. “Jamie’s not weak. He’s stronger than some piece of shit who put his hands on him. You’re about to find out what it’s like going up against someone your own size.”

Evan shoves Devon face down in the bed, snapping me into action. As much as I want this asshole to suffer, we can’t get caught here. I grab the rope from the bag, wrap it around his wrists, and then his ankles, effectively hog tying him. Evan starts digging through the bedside table, and when he pulls out a massive dildo with a grin, I shake my head. Evan leans down until he can see Devon’s eyes and brandishes the dildo. “Do you know that the last time you raped Jamie, you caused tissue damage?” Evan asks. “You fucked him dry like a fucking psychopath.”

When Evan stands up, grabs each side of Devon’s underwear and pulls, ripping them apart, I know his intentions. I can’t even find it in myself to be repulsed at what he’s about to do, but I can’t stay in the room for this. Evan nods, already knowing where my thoughts are going, and I leave the room. Even with the duct tape over his mouth, I can still hear Devon screaming from Evan fucking him dry with the dildo. I pace the room for a few minutes until Evan calls for me to come back.

When I get back to the room, the dildo is still lodged deep inside Devon, and large wracking sobs are wracking his body. “You good?” Evan asks, leaning against the window with his arms crossed over his chest without a care in the world.

“I’m fine,” I grouch. “What now?”

Evan shrugs. “This is your show now, but we need to move soon.”

I lean a hand on the bed, making Devon’s teary eyes land on my face. “I’m going to take this tape off. If you scream, Evan’s going to continue annihilating your asshole.” Devon nods fast, and I rip the tape off. “You just felt an ounce of what Jamie felt, you sick piece of shit. But you’re about to feel the rest.”

Evan cuts the ties from Devon and rolls him to his back. I grab him by the hair and drag him to the floor. I lean down over top of him and let loose. I let all the pain from losing my mom and the pain the motherfucker caused Jamie go. My fists land everywhere. His face, chest, ribs, stomach, and right in the fucking dick. Devon’s sobs and whimpers quieten, and hands pull me away. “It’s time, man.”

Evan hands me his knife, and without hesitation, I slice right across Devon’s throat. I listen to him gurgle and watch his hands come up to try to stop the bleeding. When he stops struggling, I finally stand up. Evan and I gather everything without a word and leave the apartment in a hurry. We run down the stairs and don’t stop running until we’re sliding into Evan’s car. He pulls out, whips a u-turn, and starts driving back to my place. I rip my gloves off, my eyes focusing on my shaking hands.

“It’s the adrenaline,” Evan says, and I look at his hands on the wheel, which are steady. “You get used to it.”

“I had to do it for Jamie.”

“I know, but revenge is a slippery slope. Trust me.”

I flex my hands, trying to get them to stop shaking. I’ll hunt down everyone that’s ever hurt Jamie; I don’t care what kind of path that leads me on.

I’ll do everything I can to protect him.