The Dirty Saint (Dirty #1)

6. Chapter Six

6

Chapter Six

After

EZRA

I stand in the doorway, unable to move.

“What are you doing here, Killian,” I ask, trying to keep my tone contained. I look to Noah, who is oblivious.

Oh, thank God.

I breathe a sigh of relief.

“You never told me you had a son—a cute one, might I add. Noah was just telling me all about rockets; says he wants to build them when he’s older.”

I grit my teeth, my body shaking but doing my best to hide it.

“Mom,” Noah smiles. “Uncle Killian is the coolest.” I wince at the words coming out of my child’s mouth. “How come I’ve never met him?”

I put the bag of groceries down, searching for Addison, Noah’s babysitter.

“Oh, I sent her home,” Killian answers. “Told her she could have the night off.”

“Why are you here?” I demand.

A smirk forms on Killian’s lips, and I tense.

“Why to meet your little boy, of course.”

Shaking my head, I say, “Well, it’s his bedtime, and a school night, so as his mother, ” I drag out the word. “I ask that you say your goodbyes.”

Killian pouts. “Surely you can allow the kid to stay up for a few extra minutes.”

“Please, Mom? Please ? I promise to wake up tomorrow without any complaints. Zero.”

I look at Noah and then at Killian.

I have my answer.

“No,” I spit out. “And that is final.”

My son may not realize it now, but I am doing him a favor.

Everything I do is to protect him.

“You have a sweet boy, Ezra. He even looks just like you.”

Once I am certain Noah is gone, I reach for my kitchen knife.

“What did you do to Addison,” I bark.

“I told you I sent her home.”

I shake my head. “That isn’t your style. Where’s her body, you piece of shit? You stuff her in a garbage bag and throw her out the window? You dismember her parts and stick them in my freezer? Where is she?!” My heart is screaming, but I tone it out as well as I can. “Where. Is. She?”

Killian grabs a bottle of liquor from the cabinet and takes a long sip. He then slams it down, which causes me to jump.

“Whatever happened to the pretty babysitter is not my fault, Ezra.”

“Then whose is it?” I snap.

Killian smiles. “It’s yours.”

I swallow the bile that has risen in my throat.

“How the hell is it mine?”

“Because,” Killian takes another sip and then wipes his lips with his hand. “You weren’t supposed to make it out of that basement.”

“And yet I did.”

Killian puts the bottle down again, nodding.

“All because Joey failed to do his job.”

“Don’t you dare bring him up,” I growl.

“And what are you gonna do about it?”

“Keep talking, and you’ll find out.” I twirl the knife around in my forefingers. “And I wouldn’t underestimate me if I were you. I am not the same person I was in that cell.”

Killian laughs. “Well you couldn’t have changed that much, sweetheart.” He eyes me up and down. “After all, you still look like a woman to me.”

“Hey, dude,” a voice calls out. “Early America called, and they want their shitty misogynistic views back.”

I turn and smile at Briggs, who has a gun pointed at Killian’s head.

She must’ve sensed I was in danger.

“Who the hell are you?”

My cousin smiles. “That’s not important.”

Killian snorts. “Well, I don’t mind taking on two bitches. I’ve done it before.”

“We’ll see.”

Briggs then drops the gun down and pulls the trigger, sending a bullet into Killian’s cock. He lets out a grunt before falling to the floor.

“That was for raping my baby cousin.” Briggs holsters her gun and hoists Killian up by his shirt. “You make another peep, and I’ll saw your dick off.”

He spits. “If you think a bullet is going to keep me down, then you’re even dumber than your cousin.”

Briggs grips him by his hair, and pulls his head back to reveal his neck. She then sends a shot to his throat. “I said shut it.”

Killian angrily looks my way.

“I should have killed you when I had the chance, you stupid bitch!”

“You’re right,” I say as Briggs throws me the gun, and I pry the prick’s mouth open, sticking the butt of it inside. “But you didn’t. Because I’m still here, Motherfucker.”

Killian thrashes, but I tighten my grip. “So, so much for breaking me.” I roll my eyes. “I bet hell is going to have a fun time with you. I heard Satan likes to be blown by prissy blonde boys.”

Killian’s eyes fill with fear for the first time since I’ve had the displeasure of knowing him.

“If you kill me,” he coughs. “You’ll be no better than me.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.”

I jam the gun further down his throat.

“I will always be better than you.” A tear slides down my cheek, and I grip the gun even harder. “And that’s a goddamn fact.”

Another silenced gunshot goes off, and I watch as my former torturer’s body falls to the ground, limp. Briggs crouches down to check his pulse, but I stand still. She shakes her head.

“He’s dead.”

I nod in acknowledgment.

“I need to check for Addison, Noah’s babysitter. Can you take care of this?”

“Of course.”

I peek my head into Noah’s bedroom and find him fast asleep. I blow a kiss before gently closing the door, not wanting to wake him up.

Once I make my way to my own room, I close my eyes and take a deep breath. God knows what I am about to discover.

I wrap my hand around the nob and twist.

I cover my mouth at the sight of Addison hanging from my ceiling fan.

“No, no, no, no, no.”

I rush over to her, carefully letting her down so that I can examine the damage.

Her neck has been snapped, and her body is covered in bruises, her dress smeared with blood. A pang shoots through my chest, and I have to put my hand out on the wall to keep myself from falling.

I brush the strands of hair from her face, cradling her to myself for a few moments, hoping she can feel a little bit of comfort before she goes to heaven.

“I’m so sorry, sweet girl,” I whisper.

I close her fear-filled eyes so it can look like she’s at peace. No more pain. No more torture. No more torment.

I hold Addison a tad longer before I notice a bloody note. I pick it up, reading it aloud:

Ezra,

It would seem as though you’ve discovered Addison. She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?

I’m sure she was a lovely girl. Too bad I never really got the chance to know her.

I have to say, though, she was a tight little fuck. And my god, she was so pink down there…

I wipe a tear from my eye, so beyond angry I can hardly breathe properly.

I hope this day will be burned into your mind for the rest of your life. The image of the girl you got murdered because you couldn’t survive the one bad thing that was done to you as a teenager.

It’s a shame, really. I heard Ms. Mitchell wanted to go to art school.

Now, she’ll never get to…

-Killian

I put the note down with bated breath.

“Fuck you,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Ezra, you in there—Oh, Ez,” Briggs looks at me. “What happened?”

I put the note down and stand.

“He raped her, and then he killed her. She was hanging from my fan when I opened the door. He left me a note.” I hand it over to Briggs, who takes it from me. “He said this happened because of what I did to Caleb.”

Briggs reads the note once over and then turns to me, “Ezra, do not think for one second that that girl died because of you.”

Tears run down my cheeks in violent numbers. “How am I supposed to tell her family that their daughter is dead because of me ? Because of my past?”

“Ezra.”

“All she wanted was extra money for art school,” I whisper.

“Ezra, you didn’t do this.”

I shake my head. “God, I don’t even have their numbers. I’ve never even met them before. I—”

“I will look into Addison’s family. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“They’re gonna want her body, Brianne,” I pace around the room, trying to calm myself down. “They’re gonna want to bury her.”

“Ez,” Briggs says, stopping me. “They will get it. But right now, I have to deal with Killian. Are you okay with staying here alone, or do you want to come with me?”

I stare at Addison.

“No. I’m good right where I am.”

During

JOEY

I dig my knife further into Killian’s leg, ignoring the sound of the blade ripping through flesh.

“You feel like telling the truth now,” I snap.

Killian spits out the blood from his teeth. “She admitted to having past relations with Caleb Santo. She told me they dated for eight months before he died.”

“Did she say anything else about their relationship? Did they end on good terms? Was the split amicable? Was there cheating involved?”

“She told me they grew apart.”

“Anything else?”

He shakes his head. “No. The bitch kept her mouth closed after that.”

I backhand Killian in the face, and he lets out a grunt.

“Shut the fuck up,” I snap.

I don’t know what makes men think that they can refer to a woman in a negative way and that every other man will say it is okay. Believe me, I am no saint, but claiming a woman as a bitch is fucking childish.

Killian spits a broken tooth out. “Why the fuck are you defending her, Joey? Ezra Maya is the enemy, not the prize.”

His question catches me off guard, even though he’s right.

It’s just that the way he talks about her sends a fluttering of disgust into my stomach, and I can’t explain it. The way he degrades her…

“Anyway,” Killian snaps, “Why the fuck would I answer to you?”

“Because,” I twirl the knife around inside him, and he growls. “Because right now, I’m the one with the power, and your life is in my hands.”

I’ve discarded plenty of dead bodies.

I’m not opposed to cleaning up another one.

Killian bares his teeth. “You think everyone’s afraid of you, Joey, but they’re not. You aren’t as intimidating as you believe yourself to be.”

I get in his face, making sure he can feel every word that exits my mouth. “Then tell me why there’s a puddle of piss collecting at your feet?”

Rapists are nothing but cowards who hide behind the fact that no one has ever willingly wanted to engage in sexual fantasies with them. They think it makes them powerful when, in reality, it just makes them weak.

“I bet you the whole time you were inside of her, she was cringing. However, you kept going because you’re a sick piece of shit who got off on her pain while you were too busy trying to ignore your own.”

“She didn’t finish, if that’s what you were wondering!”

I flare out my nostrils. “You piece of shit!”

“I even put on a show for the Maya family.” Killian smirks. “That was quite the FaceTime call. I screen-recorded it, so you’re willing to take a look if you’d like.”

I rub my hands over my eyes until they grow watery and in pain. It takes a great deal of strength I didn’t know I had not to shoot him right then and there.

Dropping my tone into almost a whisper, I ask, “Did you hurt her?”

He smiles.

“If by hurting her you mean pleasuring her, then yes. I did. And I enjoyed every minute of it.”