Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 89840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
“What the hell’s going on, Dominic?” John asked when Dominic told him to get somewhere quiet. “I was in the middle of a hearing.”
“That hearing will have to wait. Look, I wasn’t able to get the woman from last night to sign. Things escalated and well . . .” He wasn’t sure how much to phrase it over the phone. “Just do me a favor and keep my name off your visitation books, alright?”
“Sure, bud, but I never had you on them. As far as anyone knows, the house was vacant this weekend. And what do you mean you couldn’t get her to sign? What about the money? Did you offer it to her?”
“Of course, I did,” Dominic stated. “She just . . . she wouldn’t take it.”
“So, what does that mean? She can’t remember me, can she? She was hardly awake.” John was panicking. Dominic could sense it through the phone, in the lilt of his voice and his breathing. He needed to calm him down. If John felt threatened in any way, all would come crashing down.
“I’ll get her to sign, don’t worry about it. The money is still in my car, waiting for her. I told you she’d be a little fickle.”
“Sure, Dom. Alright.” But John didn’t sound so sure.
“The cameras have been off since yesterday morning, correct?” Dominic asked, just to confirm once more.
“Yes. Off since Thursday night, when you told me you needed a place to crash. Don’t worry, I control the security system of that property. You aren’t the only person having parties.” There was humor in John’s tone, and Dominic, though aggravated, was glad to hear it. It meant John wasn’t panicking anymore—that he too felt safe since the cameras were off. No cameras, no proof.
“Okay. Thanks, John. Sorry to interrupt your hearing. I’ll speak to you later.” Dominic hung up and ran naked through the house, going for his duffel bag in the master bedroom. He spotted the pool of blood and took note of the missing body and oatmeal rug. Boaz had left the bed as it was. Other than the blood, nothing was out of place.
He went to one of the guest rooms and showered, giving himself a thorough cleanse, scrubbing his hair, under his nails, his face, then he got out to get dressed. As he slipped into his pants, he couldn’t help wondering if people would see the smoke coming from the chimney, or if anyone would wonder why a person had the fireplace going in the dead of summer. He was being paranoid. Plenty of people lit fires for the hell of it.
Boaz was taking care of it. This was his job—to make serious matters or even people disappear. When Dominic had collected all his belongings and stuffed them into his duffel bag, he went to the master bedroom to get the glass Brynn had been drinking from, as well as his. In the kitchen, he washed the glasses with dish soap beneath hot water three times before putting them in the dishwasher. He was glad that, despite his shaky hands, the glasses hadn’t fallen and broke.
His phone buzzed in his back pocket, and he nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt the vibration on his ass. He snatched out the phone, spotting a familiar image of him and Jolene on the screen. His wife was calling. He couldn’t talk to her right now. Not after what he’d done. He’d done it for them, though, and as badly as he wanted to regret it, he couldn’t. The only thing he regretted was that the situation had turned so ugly so quickly. All Brynn had to do was sign and walk away. That was it.
Dominic let the call go on silently, slipping the phone back into his pocket and carrying himself to the den. Crickets chirped and cicadas croaked, and at exactly nine p.m., a knock was at the door.
He checked the peephole first and a thin man stood on the other side, holding an oversized kitbag. He was dressed regularly, but also had protective booties on his feet. Dominic cracked the door open, and the man faced him, wearing an industrial mask. His skin was pale beneath the mask, his gray hair sticking up at all kinds of angles, as if he’d been near static.
“Came here for a cleaning job,” the man said.
“Uh, yes. This way.”
The man stepped inside, looking all around. Dominic showed him to the master bedroom, and the man made a tsk tsk noise as he dropped his large bag on the floor. “What a mess,” the man mumbled.
Dominic stood by the door, watching as the man bent down to open his bag. The bag unraveled, revealing three sections with tools, bottles, baggies, and other items he’d never seen before. The man pulled out a black handheld device, unfolded it, and a blue light appeared on one end. He moved the wand around, revealing little white dots and splatters. The light went past the pool of blood and Dominic felt like he was going to be sick as the blood lit up like snow on the legs of the bed and even the dresser. The man was looking for stains in any and all places, and there was much more in the room than Dominic had anticipated. How had this become his life? He felt weak in the knees as the man closed the wand.