Verek (Savage Kings MC - South Carolina #3) - Lane Hart Page 0,15
what we’re planning is, and I know she wouldn’t go through with it unless she was certain. I watch the emotion on her face as she watches him – the anger, the sadness, the fear. That last one is the reason he has to die.
“He’s going in,” she says when her hand flies out and grabs on to my arm instinctively and holds it tight. “How long should we wait?”
“I say we give him ten minutes to make sure there are no other employees coming in running late, then we move, get this over with.”
“That makes sense,” Tessa agrees, still not letting me go. “But I doubt a town this small would need to use the funeral home more than once or twice a week. If there are any other workers, they would probably only be part-time and work at night, you know, for viewings or later in the day for funerals.”
“I hope you’re right about that. I don’t want to involve any innocents in this shit,” I say. And because I know she’s panicking at the thought of seeing him again, I tell her, “When we get inside, I want you to wait at the door until I call out when I find him. Then, you’ll need to check for security cameras. If anything goes wrong, you run out of there, you hear me?”
“Yes,” she agrees with a jerky nod.
While I do want her to check for cameras, mostly, I don’t want her to see me kill him. She can see his body once he’s no longer breathing, unable to hurt her again, but it’s too dangerous until then. He doesn’t look like a big guy or one in great shape, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be paranoid and armed after all the heinous things he’s done.
The whole ten minutes we’re waiting, I keep looking at my watch and going through all the shit that could go wrong. The worst is, what if I fail and he gets to Tessa? Unable to deal with that possibility, I reach into my bag and pull out the smallest gun I have – a snub-nosed .38 revolver.
“Do you know how to use a handgun?” I ask when I hold the handle out for Tessa to take it.
“Yes,” she answers when she takes it gingerly from me. “A little.”
“It’s loaded, and this one doesn’t have a safety. All you have to do is pull the trigger,” I explain. “Just don’t put your finger on the trigger unless you’re planning to pull it.”
“Okay,” she agrees, laying it on the cement beside her. “Are you planning…is that how you’re going to kill him?”
“No, that’s not what I have in mind. It’s just a backup plan,” I tell her as I slip on a clean pair of black leather gloves and give another old pair to Tessa. “Put these on and don’t touch anything inside, okay? If all goes well, I’ll choke him out, leaving no blood and no bullets.”
“That’s…smart,” Tessa says as she swallows loudly.
“Are you sure you still want to go inside with me?” I ask to make sure she hasn’t changed her mind. “I can do this on my own.”
“I know you can,” she says, her words sounding so sincere I want to kiss her. I push the thought away; I know better than to even think about that. “I can handle it,” she reassures me.
“Okay,” I say. “I won’t ask you again, but if you have to leave, run back to the hotel if you need to. The key will be right here,” I add when I place it in the saddlebag instead of risking it falling out of one of our pockets in the building. “Do you have any jewelry or anything else that could get accidently left behind?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Tessa replies as she spreads out her fingers, which are all bare. Still, I know she’s thinking about the diamond ring that used to be on her left hand.
“That’s good,” I say as I check my watch again for the time and to make sure it’s secure. “It’s been eleven minutes, so I guess we should get moving. Now or never.”
“Now,” she agrees, getting to her feet. “I’m ready.”
“Me too,” I reply.
What I wasn’t ready for was Tessa grabbing my gloved hand in hers and clasping our fingers together. She gives my hand a squeeze and says, “Now we look like a couple heading into the funeral home to make arrangements for a loved one.”