Okay but try not to murd.., p.1
Okay, But Try Not to Murder Anyone 3, page 1
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Chapter One
My hands shook with rage as I sat back from my computer screen. It took a lot of willpower not to slam my fist on the desk, but I could still feel all the kinetic energy stored up from the fight with Young.
What I didn’t need right now on top of everything else was a broken desk.
I was confident Leiber_49 would see the public message on the forum, but I knew he would be too stuck up his own ass to take my threat seriously. Someone like that, who preyed on weaker women in the hopes of gaining power, he would think he was invincible.
But he hadn’t met me.
I needed to plan my next course of action, but I was too full of energy and anger to sit still, so I stood and paced around the room. I realized I should send these messages to Sammy Dabrowski, the FBI tech agent I worked with on the Hero Project, so he could analyze and try to trace them. I took pictures of the messages on my phone and texted them to Sammy, and then I continued to pace the room.
If there was any doubt that Leiber_49 was the Sigil Killer, the real one, it was gone now. This guy knew about the cuffs, but, worse, he also knew about Mary. My blood boiled at the thought of this prick creeping outside of Mary’s building or following her to work. God knows her useless ex-boyfriend Raymond wouldn’t protect her.
I had to make sure she was safe, especially since the police weren’t going to do anything.
The Bellamy Police Department were still sticking to the story that Darryl Young was the Sigil Killer, but Young was just some creep with an obsession over an old, dead girlfriend. The women he killed only served to feed his sick delusions, they weren’t the work of the methodical Sigil Killer.
At least I had Detective Calvino on my side. Calvino knew Young was the copycat and that the real Sigil Killer was still out there.
A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts, and I walked over and opened it to see my beautiful girlfriend Elaine smiling up at me, but her face quickly changed when she saw mine.
“What’s wrong, baby?” she asked, and I could hear the concern in her voice.
“He messaged me,” I growled and stepped back to let my girlfriend in. “That vain prick sent me a private message.”
“Who, Leiber_49? The Sigil Killer?” The exotic woman’s face changed from one of concern to one of outright fear, and her brown eyes widened.
“The very one,” I said as I clenched my fists. “He threatened Mary. He says he knows where I live, and if I don’t give him the cuffs, he’s going after Mary.”
“Oh, my god, Jonah,” my girlfriend breathed before she threw her arms around me and squeezed tight.
“Hey, it’s okay,” I soothed as I wrapped my arms around her narrow shoulders and squeezed back. “I’ll be fine. Invulnerable, remember?”
My words were gentle and teasing, but my girlfriend wasn’t in the mood. She just pulled back from the hug and shook her head, and I heard her throat click as she tried to swallow down her emotions.
“It’s not okay,” she said with a furrowed brow, and my heart leapt at the obvious concern she had for my safety. “This psycho serial killer is stalking my boyfriend, and I’m sick of it! He deserves two in the back of the head.”
“Whoa, there, cowboy,” I chuckled as I pulled her back in and cupped her face. “I appreciate the anger on my behalf, and I partially agree with the sentiment, but we have to be smart about this. This bastard has evaded capture so far, so he’s obviously not stupid. But he does seem cocky, which we can use to our advantage. That is… if you want to keep working with me. I know this keeps getting more and more dangerous--”
“Jonah, stop,” Elaine said and held up a hand. Then she placed her palm against my chest and looked up at me with those big, dark eyes. “I knew what I was signing up for since the first time we were shot at, and I haven’t regretted any decisions I’ve made since. This Sigil Killer… unsettles me, but I’m happy to be here with you now and through everything so far. You’ve taught me so much, Jonah. Plus, I have my very own superhero now. That’s every girl’s dream, right?”
“I don’t know about that,” I chuckled and squeezed her tight against me, “but it does come in handy when I need to impress my new, hot girlfriend.”
The beautiful woman finally smiled, so I bent down and kissed her forehead, and she leaned into the kiss and purred. Then she lifted her beautiful face to mine and kissed me deep on the mouth before she nuzzled into my chest one more time and looked up at me.
“So, what are you going to do about Mary?” she asked,
The message from Leiber_49 flashed in my mind again, and I felt the rage building up again.
“I think I should go get her,” I said. “I can’t bring her here, not if he knows where I live, but I don’t feel comfortable leaving her at her friend’s, either. I have to assume he knows she’s staying there. Maybe I’ll call Laura, see if Mary can stay with her in Chicago for a while? Until we catch this bastard.”
My girlfriend nodded thoughtfully before a teasing smirk tugged at her lips. “I’m sure Laura won’t mind. She’d do anything for you.”
I couldn’t help but also smirk as memories of last night’s threesome played in my mind, but I shook them out of my head after a moment.
I had other things to worry about right now. I needed to get Mary to safety.
My beautiful girlfriend picked up on my train of thought and nodded vigorously.
“You should go,” she said and disentangled herself from me. “I’ll stay here and do some more research on the occult leads.”
“Keep your gun nearby,” I told the tanned woman. “The Sigil Killer didn’t mention you, but if he’s been watching me, he’ll know about you soon enough.”
“My hero,” Elaine said as she smiled up at me. “Always so worried about me. You are too sweet, Jonah. I’ll be fine. If the Sigil thinks I am just another distressing damsel, he will be in for an unpleasant surprise.”
“You are definitely not a damsel in distress,” I agreed with a laugh before I gathered my phone, keys, wallet and pulled on a jacket. “I’ll text you when I have Mary and we’re on our way to Chicago.”
“Okay, baby. Be safe.”
I kissed my girlfriend goodbye and watched her until she was inside her apartment. She gave me a final wave and blew me a kiss through the crack in her door, and I returned them both before I took off down the stairs two at a time.
Then I pulled out my phone to call Mary as I used my key fob to unlock my car across the parking lot.
“Jonah!” the curly-haired woman answered on the second ring. “What’s up? You usually text before you call, is everything okay?”
“Well, Mary, not really.” I blew out a big breath and tried to come up with the best way to explain what was happening to my friend without scaring her. “I actually have something I need to talk to you about, can I come over?”
“Right now?” my friend asked, and I could hear the surprise in her voice.
“Sorry, yeah, it’s kind of important,” I explained. “I can come to you, though, I’ve got my car.”
“Okay,” Mary said slowly. The woman was clearly surprised, but not unhappy about the impromptu meeting. “I’m at Lacy’s, well, I guess it’s my apartment now, too. I’ll text you the address.”
“Great,” I said. “I’ll see you soon.”
I hung up the phone and within seconds received a text from Mary with a North Bellamy address. I recognized the area, it was a student neighborhood with plenty of noisy bars and foot traffic, and my stomach knotted at the thought of how easily it would be to snatch a young woman from the busy, alcohol-fueled streets.
Mary wasn’t like Elaine and Laura. She didn’t have firearms or hand-to-hand combat experience. She needed my protection more than any of them.
I turned the Lincoln on but didn’t drive yet. Instead, I dialed Laura’s number as the car heated up. I needed to let her know what was going on and make sure it was okay for me to bring Mary to the Penthouse until we had eyes on the Sigil Killer.
My blonde lover answered the phone almost immediately.
“Jonah,” she breathed. “I was just thinking about you.”
I grinned at my lover’s words, but I couldn’t let myself be distracted from the situation.
“Does that mean you’d be up for a visit from me tonight?” I asked.
“Yes,” the FBI agent said instantly, and then her voice dropped into a seductive purr. “What kind of visit is it?”
“Not that kind, unfortunately,” I sighed. “I’m actually on my way to Mary’s. Leiber_49 sent me a private message on the forum site I’ve been visiting. He knows my name and where I live, and he knows about Mary. He threatened to kill her if I don’t give him the cuffs.”
“Oh, my god,” Laura gasped, and all traces of desire evaporated from her tone.
“Yeah,” I said. “So I was thinking I could bring Mary to the Penthouse to stay for a bit? I need to keep her safe, but he knows where I live.”
; The blonde woman hesitated for a split second before she spoke. “Of course. Bring her over, I’ll get a guest room ready.”
“Thanks, Laura. I’ll let you know when we leave Bellamy.”
“Okay, Jonah, see you soon.”
Twenty minutes later, I pulled up in front of Mary’s building, but I didn’t exit the car yet. I wondered if Leiber_49 was here now, watching. Waiting. I scouted the street, and there were a few small groups of people walking to or from the bars and some parked cars on the street, but nothing jumped out at me as overtly dangerous. The cars were all empty, and the pedestrians were more interested in their next drink than anything else.
It was equally possible the Sigil Killer was waiting outside of Arbor Shoals, with his eyes fixed on my window while he waited for me to hang that red cloth. The thought made my skin crawl, and I felt another wave of anger rise in my chest.
I didn’t care if the Sigil Killer came after me. With the safety of my cuffs, I wanted nothing more than to face this woman-killing bastard one on one. But if he so much as touched a hair on Mary’s, Elaine’s, or Laura’s heads, then I would murder this prick. I would unleash the full power of my kinetic strength, and damn the consequences.
Once I was satisfied there was no one outside Mary’s building, I got out of my car and jogged to the door. Then I pushed the buzzer for her flat and heard Mary’s voice through the speaker.
“Hello?” the cute brunette said.
“It’s me,” I replied.
“Hi, Jonah!” Mary answered happily. Then she buzzed me in, and I climbed the stairs to the second floor.
I found the door with the number on it from Mary’s text, but the curly-haired woman opened the door before I could knock. She looked cute as hell in an oversized anime t-shirt and short cotton shorts, and her curls bounced around her face as she smiled up at me.
“Come in.” She gestured to me through the door and shivered, and I could see the goosebumps that had formed on her arms and legs. “It’s cold out there.”
I followed the green-eyed girl into her apartment, and she led me through to the living room, where another pretty girl sat on the couch with a book.
The woman I assumed was Lacy stood up when I came through the door and walked over to stand next to Mary. Lacy was a couple inches shorter than Mary’s already tiny frame. The woman had blue eyes and a chin-length red bob that suited her face and was dressed for comfort, like Mary, in a baggy band t-shirt and curve-hugging leggings.
I was relieved she didn’t fit the Sigil Killer’s MO, otherwise I would not feel right leaving her here on her own.
“Jonah, this is Lacy,” Mary introduced us. “She has been helping me so much lately with my breakup with Raymond. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”
“I have heard how much you’ve been helping Mary,” I addressed the pretty girl, who blushed. “Thank you. I’ve been trying to get her to leave Raymond for years, but you finally convinced her.”
I held my hand out to Lacy, and the redhead giggled before she looked me up and down appreciatively.
“And I’ve heard a lot about you,” Lacy answered in a suggestive tone as she took my hand and squeezed more than shook it. Then she retracted her hand and whispered something in Mary’s ear, and both girls ogled me briefly and giggled.
I grinned at them both. Mary had clearly filled Lacy in on our flirtationship, and it was nice to be appreciated by two very pretty women. I just couldn’t believe my luck with women lately, but I couldn’t focus on that right now.
My friend needed me.
“Good things, I hope,” I said, and the girls devolved into another fit of giggles, but Mary recovered first and faced me again.
“You said you had something you needed to talk about?” the curly-haired woman asked me.
“Yeah,” I said, and I shifted my weight on my feet and glanced at Lacy. I wasn’t sure how much I should reveal in front of my friend’s roommate, but this also kind of involved her, especially if the Sigil Killer was stalking Mary. The killer definitely knew where she lived when she’d lived with Raymond, but had he followed her to her new apartment yet?
I couldn’t take the risk.
“I’m going to go do the dishes and give you guys a minute,” Lacy said, and I was relieved at the woman’s perception. We could fill her in on the important details after I told Mary what was going on. Though I was sick of giving women bad news, maybe I would just let Mary explain the situation to her roommate, after I got her to safety.
Mary and I watched as Lacy left through a door on their left, and I waited until I heard the water start to run before I turned back to Mary.
“So, what’s up?” She looked up at me with imploring eyes. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Mary, but I think you’re in danger,” I blurted out. “I’d like you to come with me for a while. I have somewhere nice you can stay in Chicago until I can get this all figured out.”
“What?” The curly-haired woman frowned, but then a smile pulled at her lips. “Are you messing with me? I feel like I’m on a TV show right now.”
“Unfortunately not. Look, I can’t go into too much detail right now.” I shot a look toward the kitchen, but the water was still running, so I was confident my friend’s roommate wasn’t eavesdropping. “But I would really like it if you came with me. It’s got to do with the Sigil Killer.”
“What are you talking about? They caught that guy, it was on the news…” Mary trailed off at the sight of my face, and her confusion turned to fear. “Right?”
“It’s complicated,” I said. “I can explain more, just… not here. Mary, please.”
I stared into her pretty green eyes and tried to make her understand.
The woman was quiet for a moment. The confusion on her face made my heart ache, and I wanted to reach out to her and wrap her in a hug. She didn’t need this in her life, not after all she’d been through with Raymond, but she was part of it.
I just had to make sure she survived it.
Eventually, the small woman nodded and looked up at me.
“Okay, Jonah. I trust you. I guess I’ll just go pack a bag. Make yourself at home.” The woman gestured to the couches in the living room while she turned and made her way to a line of doors down the hall. “I won’t take long. I guess it’s a good thing I’m off tomorrow.” She laughed before she disappeared into her bedroom.
I had too much pent-up energy to sit down so I paced around the living room. Then the water from the kitchen shut off, and Lacy appeared at the doorway again. She wiped the remaining water from her hands across her shirt and batted her eyelashes at me.
“Where’s Mary?” she asked.
“She’s packing a bag,” I explained. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to steal her away from you for a couple of nights.”
The redhead was surprised for a moment before she smiled. She had a cute smile and a friendly face. I was glad that Mary had someone decent like Lacy in her life, especially after the nightmare she’d had with Raymond.
“Oh, really?” Lacy asked suggestively and looked me up and down again.
I returned her smile and stood up straighter but shook my head. “Not like that. It’s… a work thing.”
“You have to take her away for… the copy shop?” The woman smirked and gave me an exaggerated wink.
“No, not that.” I searched for words to explain, but I was saved from the awkward situation by Mary reappearing in the living room. She’d changed into a pair of leggings and an oversized sweater with an anime scene on it.
“It’s his fancy new government contract job,” Mary lied easily. She carried a travel bag that had old-looking maps, postcards, and planes printed all over it, and I remembered my friend’s desire to travel, which must have been why she chose that bag.
Lacy looked at the bag and back to Mary and shrugged, and I was relieved the redhead didn’t question me about my job or why I needed Mary for it at this time of night.
“We should get going,” I said and took Mary’s bag from her. “It was nice to meet you, Lacy.”
“You, too, Jonah, I’m sure I’ll see you again soon,” the short woman giggled and followed us to the door, and then the two women hugged and said goodbye.
“Be sure to lock your door,” I told Lacy. “I don’t like the thought of you being alone in this area at night.”
