“No!” The force in her voice instantly eased the panic swelling inside me. I was too far away to get there in any decent amount of time. The idea that she would be anywhere near danger again set me on edge and made those dark thoughts seep into my brain, instantly taking over.

  I struggled to push them away. I couldn’t afford to lose myself when Anna needed help. She was my lifeline, my sunshine on a cloudy day. The Ginger to my Fred.

  “Tell me you’re okay. The kids⁠—”

  “We’re all fine,” she said calmly, instantly soothing the growing desire to kill. “Reed Security is here.”

  Aaand…my hackles rose once again. “You’d better fucking tell them to keep their hands to themselves!”

  “Fox, no one is interested in touching me. They’re all married, remember?”

  “Not that one fucker,” I grumbled.

  “Rob? He’s hardly a threat. Besides, he’s got some woman from Brazil or something.”

  I suppose that made me feel better, but still…It took me way too fucking long to calm down. I didn’t like anyone other than my family around Anna. She was too fucking precious to me.

  “Who called them, anyway?”

  “I don’t know for sure. I think Knight called in reinforcements before he left.”

  “What?” I snapped. “Why is he going anywhere? He’s supposed to be recovering⁠—”

  “I know, and that’s really not the point.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  “The point is, someone knows how to get to us. Fox, tell me you’re taking care of this.”

  “I am. I swear it.”

  “Just…don’t lose yourself. We’re safe. No one can get to us.”

  I let her words wash over me, repeating in my head until I was sure I believed them. Still, the Phantom was growing inside me, calling to me when I desperately needed him to stay hidden for just a little longer.

  I fought to push him away, to keep him at bay for just a little bit more time. I had to find this guy following Cash first. Then I could let the Phantom loose.

  Looking at the tracker, the man had stopped. I pulled back onto the road and concentrated on the sound of Anna’s voice. “Talk to me, baby. Tell me something.”

  She always knew I needed her when I asked her stuff like that. “Um…I took out three men.”

  My chest eased at her words. “Three? That’s fucking amazing.”

  “All with the new style you taught me.”

  I barked out a laugh, surprised by her words. “You threw them all at once?”

  “Well, I didn’t have much of a choice. They were all there and…well, it worked out.”

  I bit back the need to grind my teeth together, knowing she didn’t have a choice but to unleash a new technique when I wasn’t even there to watch her. Now wasn’t the time for jealousy.

  “I hope you kept some souvenirs.”

  “Well, there wasn’t really any time to collect them, but I believe the Reed Security guys threw them on ice.”

  “Good. We’ll have some fun when I get back.”

  “Be safe, Fox. Make sure you come home to me.”

  “Always,” I grinned, feeling lighter than I had when she first called.

  But as I hung up the phone, a strange feeling washed over me. Like maybe I wouldn’t make it out of this one alive.

  I shook away the ominous premonition and focused on the task at hand.

  Following the tracker, I headed across the city of Batumi. It was really the perfect place for a weapons deal, considering how safe the city was considered. No one would suspect a thing. Finding a location to take this asshole to when he finally stopped would be a little more difficult, but nothing I couldn’t handle.

  My trunk was all prepared for a situation just like this.

  When he stopped at a hotel, I waited for a good hour before heading inside and convincing the beautiful woman behind the desk to give me the room number for my good friend who’d had just a little too much to drink at dinner.

  She was touched that I wanted to check on him, giving me these starry-eyed looks as I explained that he had a drinking problem. She handed over his card in a flash, giving me a beautiful smile that didn’t do a thing for me.

  With a skippy whistle, I headed up to his room, knocking to let him know housekeeping was there with fresh towels. When he didn’t answer, I let myself into the room and carefully closed the door behind me. It smelled like a pretentious asshole in the room and I vowed to introduce this man to Funyuns and shawarma before I killed him. He had to die knowing what was truly amazing in life.

  Of course, I wouldn’t be killing him until he revealed every last thought in his brain to me. Only then would I be able to help my brother.

  I grinned as I stepped into the room, breaking out some of my best dance moves as I sailed across the large expanse of the room to the big windows that stretched floor to ceiling.

  The man had good taste, but why he wasted so much money on a view like this was beyond me. Sure, the city was gorgeous, but who wanted to look out the window when there were amazing musicals at your fingertips? With just the click of a button, he could be enjoying a sing-along.

  I crept over to the bed and lifted the heavy duvet to slip underneath. Man, this bed was so fucking comfortable. I settled in, pulling a bag of Funyuns out of my jacket as the man beside me snored.

  That was really fucking annoying and would definitely disturb my musical marathon, but I hated to interrupt a man when he was getting a few z’s. Grabbing the remote that laid on the bed between us, I turned on the TV, making sure to keep the volume low so I didn’t disturb my new friend.

  He would be resting in eternal peace soon enough, but there was nothing wrong with allowing him these few peaceful moments before I had some fun with him.

  I flipped through the channels until I found The Greatest Showman. While I absolutely loved this new musical, it wasn’t one of my classic shows that really got me going. I would kill right now for some Oklahoma. Then again, I loved to sing it so much that I might disturb this man’s final hours of rest.

  It was probably for the best.

  Peeling open the bag, I settled in for a night of musical enjoyment, constantly reminding myself not to sing too loudly. After all, it would be best if I finished my musical before I woke him up and destroyed his life.

  I wasn’t sure what woke him. If it was my munching on the Funyuns or the way I was singing along under my breath with the snappy show tunes. But somewhere about halfway through the movie, I felt the air shift.

  He was awake. Slowly, I turned to him, holding out the bag to him. “Funyun?”

  The screaming in the trunk was really getting on my nerves. He was interrupting the best of my music, making it difficult to get in the right mood. And I needed to be in the right mood for a job like this. Failure was not an option.

  I cranked up the music, singing along with Maria. West Side Story really was one of the best musicals of all time. Pulling into the storage facility parking lot, I punched in the numbers to grant myself access, then pulled through the gates to the back of the property where my large container waited for me.

  I left the lights on as I killed the engine, illuminating the container in front of me. With added spring in my step, I popped the trunk, immediately gagging the man inside as dozens of tarantulas crawled over him. I figured that might creep him out, which was exactly what I had been going for when I dumped him inside with the jars.

  I could have left the tarantulas in their glass confinements. That would have been enough to terrorize most people. But when he started talking about how he was going to kill me and all my family, I just got annoyed and decided to unleash some of them on him.

  And that turned into opening all the jars when I started watching him scream and squirm. Torture was a beautiful thing, and the spiders only increased the fear going into my rented shipping container.

  I hauled his body out of the trunk, brushing the spiders aside. I didn’t understand why he was squirming so much. They were adorable little creatures, and it wasn’t like they would actually kill him. Though the furry little guys were a little terrifying with their beady eyes.

  “Alright, out we go,” I said, hauling his shaking body toward the shipping container.

  Once inside, I hooked him up to an electric hoist and headed back to close up the car. On my way in, I shut the door behind us and flipped on the work light.

  The man squinted at the bright light shining right in his eyes. “Oops. Is that too bright? Let me move it for you.”

  I adjusted it so it wasn’t shining right at his face. After all, I was a nice guy, and I wanted his time with me to be at ease. For a while, anyway.

  “Are you comfortable? Can I get you anything?”

  The man scowled at me, his eyes bruised from where he had struggled, and I punched him. I regretted it, but there was nothing I could do about it. “You have no idea who you’re fucking with.”

  “Au contraire. You don’t know who you’re meddling with.” I grinned widely at him. “Did you see what I just did?”

  “You repeated my words,” he spat.

  “Yes, but I did it with flair. It adds a little something, don’t you think?”

  The man dangled precariously from the hoist, but he didn’t truly look scared. More angry and constipated than actual fear. That was going to have to change.

  “Well, I assume that you’d like to get on with things. No point in just hanging around, am I right?”

  Again, I grinned at him, but the man just scowled in return. “Man, someone is a little cranky tonight.”

  “I will cut you and boil you to pieces,” he spat.

  I was more than a little surprised by the venom in his voice. Usually, they begged for mercy. It was refreshing, to say the least.

  “Oh, we’ll get to the boiling later. It happens to be a specialty of mine. But first, I thought I would give you the opportunity to tell me what I need to know.”

  Walking over to the bench, I grabbed a bag of Funyuns and peeled it open, popping one of the treats in my mouth. “Now, usually, I go straight for the fear factor, you know? But I thought this time around, I would give you the opportunity to tell me what I need before I get to the whole vat of acid. It’s kind of messy, and honestly, as much as I love watching a man boil to death, this setup is not my usual way of doing things. Funyun?”

  I held the bag out to him, but he just snarled in response. It was quite rude.

  “You know, you could just say you don’t want one.”

  “Why would I want a Funyun?” he snarled.

  Frowning, I stared down into the bag. “Well, they’re tasty. There’s really nothing else like them out there. And I always find that working on an empty stomach is a bad thing. Now, I’ve never been in your position, other than the few times I’ve tested my own experiments, but I would assume that some comfort food right now would be a happy experience.”

  I held the bag out to him, then laughed when I realized he couldn’t reach into the bag while his hands were bound. “I’m sorry. How inconsiderate of me. Let me get that for you.”

  I snatched one of my precious Funyuns from the bag and held it out to him, but he refused to open his mouth. That was just rude. I started pressing it against his lips until he finally yielded and popped his mouth open. But the moment it touched his tongue, he spat it out.

  Now I saw red.

  “You know, I came in here with the intention of making this a fun time for all. And instead, you spit out my proffered treats. How is that being respectful?”

  “Go fuck yourself,” he snapped.

  I rolled my eyes in disgust. Man, this guy was just full of piss and vinegar today. “Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.”

  “I woke up with a psychopath in my bed! How did you even get in?”

  “Well, it all had to do with my dashing good looks and charming personality. The ladies just can’t deny me.”

  “I’ll fucking kill you,” he snapped.

  I tried to keep a straight face. I really did, but this man was just too funny. “Okay,” I mocked. “Now, I think since this isn’t going according to plan, we should just move things along. What’s your name?”

  “Go fuck yourself!”

  Such a typical response. “I see you’re going to attempt to play hardball. It’s admirable. I admit it. I really do appreciate what you’re doing, but your friends aren’t going to care because I’m going to kill them as well.”

  “What friends?” he barked out a laugh.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Did I not tell you what I was after? How thoughtless of me,” I grinned. “Your shadow friends. I mean, I would have gone for a cooler name. You know, something that really sparks fear in my enemy’s eyes. You know, get them right in the heart. Like…The Funyun Phantom.”

  I grinned at the title. It really was perfection. “It combines two of my favorite things. Funyuns and musicals. Granted, it would be great if I could somehow work in shawarma, but The Funyuns-Shawarma Phantom would probably be overkill.

  “And while I really do love so many different musicals, the Phantom really represents something inside me that I just can’t shake. And I don’t think calling myself a Jet would be correct either. I am cool and I am crazy, but it’s not as terrifying—if you know what I mean.”

  When he didn’t answer, I continued. “You know, I was actually coming up with an idea for my own musical. I based it on my life. I thought I would start it off with a young child witnessing a murder. That would really bring out the darkness, just as I planned. And it would be about this man and his love for Funyuns. Of course, I would have to change a few of the details. Maybe the main character would have black hair instead of my dirty blonde hair. Ooh, and I bet I could change his name. Fox is such a cool name, but I don’t want to give away the story, you know? Maybe I could go with Hound or … You know, I can work that out later.”

  I hadn’t realized I was pacing until I stopped and wondered why he wasn’t getting into my fantastic new musical.

  “Do you not like the idea?”

  His eyes twitched in anger, but he said nothing. Clearly, this man was not a friend of the theater.

  “Well, since you’re so unenthusiastic about my ideas, I guess the torture shall commence. But first, I would like to know who I’m dealing with.”

  I strode toward him and grabbed his wallet from his trousers, grinning when he let out a muffled groan. “Oh, relax. I don’t swing that way.”

  I flipped his wallet open and studied his license. “Very interesting. You know, this picture really doesn’t do you justice. And those plugs really haven’t grown in well. Maybe consider a good rug. I’m just saying, if you want to be convincing.”

  The man scowled at me, but didn’t say a word. He was really sticking by this whole not-talking thing. I pulled out my phone and dialed Rae, ready to get to work.

  “Fox, what did you find?”

  “A man by the name of Arthur Brennan. I’ll send you a photo.”

  “Are you tailing him?”

  “Well, I was. But then he stopped at a hotel, and I really didn’t want to sleep in the car.”

  “Fox,” she sighed. “Please tell me you aren’t still at the hotel.”

  That made me laugh. “Seriously? What kind of psychopath do you take me for? No, I climbed into bed with him and watched a musical while I waited for him to wake up. Oklahoma wasn’t on.”

  “That’s sad.”

  “I know. You’re taking care of my girl, right?”

  “She’s taking care of herself. Don’t worry about her.”

  “Good,” I grinned, proud that she was holding it together. “Alright, get me what you can and let me know.”

  “Sure thing. And Fox?”

  “Yep!”

  “Try not to boil him before we get the information we need.”

  That struck me as funny. “How did you know I was going to boil him?”

  “Because it’s your signature move. Seriously, if the police ever catch on to you, they’ll always know when you have a fresh kill.”

  I scoffed at the ridiculousness that anyone could ever catch me. I was too good. “Yeah, like I would ever leave enough evidence for anyone to catch me.”

  “It’s been known to happen to great men.”

  “Well, that’ll be the day.”

  I hung up and pocketed my phone. “Now, where were we?”

  He didn’t answer. Not even a peep. I thought maybe he would want to chat before we got started, but he just stared at me. Like he was bored. It was insulting.

  “Would you like me to bring the spiders back in? I can do that if it would help you loosen up. You’re way too…blah.”

  “Blah? You have me hoisted up like a turkey!”

  I cocked my head, studying the way he was dangling. “No. This is definitely not how I would string up a turkey. I think you have them mistaken with cows. Or maybe deer, though I never kill animals unnecessarily. I reserve my killing for people. I find that killing animals only makes me queasy.

  “Though, if I’m in the wilderness and feel a little snacky, I’ve been known to take out a squirrel or two. A little gamey, not very much meat, but when you need sustenance…”

  I shrugged, but again, got nothing from the man. I really didn’t get it. It was like he didn’t want to talk to me.

  “Well, then I guess we should get this show on the road. I was going to have a little bit of chatting time, but since you don’t feel the need to talk to me, we can do this another way.”

  I grabbed the fork jack and hauled the pallet with the vat over to where he hung. After getting that in position, I installed the mirrors around the outside, pointing them down toward the base of the vat. I wanted to be sure that he could see his skin peeling from his body and his bones melting as I lowered him inside.

  When I glanced at him, he still didn’t look all that intimidated, but when I started adding the acid to the vat, the first signs of fear streaked across his face. With every second that passed, sweat coated his skin, finally drawing a reaction from him.

  “I see you’re finally getting a better idea of how this is going to happen. I have to say, I was a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to get the reaction I wanted. It would be such a waste to just drop you inside and not enjoy any of it.”

 

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