The Acceptance

Until the degenerate fiend got his hands on a woman to torment, he’d wreak havoc in every other way imaginable.

He needed a hooker.

Perhaps it was time for Gaby to take up a new profession.

* * *

Utilizing infinite care, Oren stowed the syringes in a small case. If they thought the mayhem would end with one measly fire—a fire that hadn’t even killed the bitch he’d stowed inside the building—then they’d be in for a delightful surprise.

Not that the woman’s life would matter much, one way or the other. He’d found her nearly insensible with drugs at a crack house. Being near there had frightened him, but also given him other ideas. Addicts were easy to manipulate. So were transients. And here, in this slum area, both were plentiful.

Tonight, tomorrow, and the day after, he’d wreak havoc. He’d keep that fucking cop and beanpole bitch so preoccupied, they wouldn’t have time to worry about a group of worthless whores. In fact, now that he’d seen the beanpole take money from the cop, she ranked right up there with the other sluts.

If he could get to her, he would. She’d be his first pick.

But it’d be tricky. He wouldn’t underestimate her.

Against all odds, she’d charged into that fire and carried out the junkie as if misplaced heroism ran through her veins.

Interfering cunt. When he had her locked securely in his basement, he’d teach her what it meant to get in his way. He wouldn’t let Aunt Dory or Uncle Myer end her tutelage too soon. She’d pay, long and dear.

By the time he finished, she’d be begging for death.

Excited by his own plans, hands shaking and smile tremulous, Oren finished his preparations in a rush. Leaving his private rooms, he headed down the stairs—and overheard his aunt and uncle talking about him. Temper prickling, he paused to listen.

“Do you know what she’s going to do?”

“Don’t you ever learn?” Uncle Myer snapped.

“I just forget sometimes, that’s all,” Aunt Dory whined. “It’s . . . confusing.”

Staying firm, Uncle Myer grabbed her arm. “If you slip up in front of him, he’s likely to beat you to death. Do you want that?”

“You wouldn’t save me?”

“I’m trying to save you now. Thanks to Oren, we have a big house and plenty of money to spend, and we can feed our fetishes. Do you want to ruin it all with your stupid mouth?”

“No.” Aunt Dory, never knowing when to shut up, asked, “But doesn’t Oren need us, too?”

“Not anymore. Oren can be anyone he wants, and he can start over anywhere he wants.”

“But . . . we know things about him.”

“He knows the same things about us! Before he’d let us blab to anyone, he’d kill us in our sleep. Now shut up about it and do what you’re told, what Oren tells you to do. Soon he’ll have another playmate for us. Won’t that make you happy?”

Glee tinged her voice when Aunt Dory said, “Yes. Yes, that’d be perfect. I can’t wait. I hope Oren bags a body for us soon.”

“Trust me. He’s good. He knows what he’s doing. It won’t be long now.”

Thanks to that last volley of compliments, Oren’s fury faded. They respected him and what he could do. They nearly revered him. Because of that, he’d let them live.

For now.

But Uncle Myer was right. He no longer needed either of them. Living without them wouldn’t be his choice right now. He liked things the way they were. But if he heard Dory blabbing about females again, he’d cut her fat throat and watch her gurgle to death.

Oren pictured it in his mind: Dory’s fat face jiggling with fear, her blood running warm and wet down her flesh, her life slowly draining away until finally, her eyes went flat and empty. Yes.

He’d enjoy that.

He’d enjoy that a lot.

It was something to think about. For the future. When he got bored.

Luckily for Dory, he had other, more pertinent things to attend to right now.

Chapter 10

Stationed out front of the flophouse, mirrored sunglasses reflecting some of the late-afternoon sunshine, Gaby slumped against the outer wall. Gaze ever watchful, senses attuned to any misdeed, she heard Jimbo raise his voice and turned her head to listen.

He issued orders to the hookers, demanding that they move up the block to get more business.

Stupid prick. Lazily rousing herself, Gaby climbed to her feet, dusted off her ass, and looked toward Jimbo with a caustic intensity she wanted him to feel.

Uneasily, his gaze slithered her way. He ignored her notice and went back to berating the women, who hesitated to budge from the safety of Gaby’s realm.

She’d spooked them all, being deliberately graphic in her depiction of the dead woman’s body in the river, and the attempted abduction of Bliss. She wanted them to be scared enough that they’d defy Jimbo’s orders in favor of their own safety.

It worked, as now all the women packed together and refused to budge.

Trying to brazen his way past Gaby’s disapproval, Jimbo straightened to his full, meager height and raised a fiduciary fist at Alma.

“I wouldn’t.”

Jimbo redirected his anger at Gaby. “Stay the fuck out of this.”

Pushing her sunglasses to the top of her head to sear him with the full impact of her hostility, Gaby strolled closer to the contretemps. “You and I need to have a talk, Jimbo.”

“Fuck that. You might’ve spooked Carver with your witchy mumbo jumbo bullshit, but I’m not buying it.”

Witchy mumbo jumbo? Seeing the fear in Jimbo’s eyes, Gaby decided hey, whatever works. She stepped closer. “You do buy it, Jimbo. Even now, your pulse is sputtering and you’re getting sweaty.”

“It’s hot out here!”

“Wise up, Jimbo. What good will dead hookers do you? As long as they’re close by, I can keep them safe. But if you scatter them, I can’t be everywhere—”

He slashed a hand through the air, coming within a millimeter of striking Gaby. She didn’t flinch, didn’t move other than to narrow her eyes, and that gave him visible pause.

He gulped, and argued, “One dead hooker doesn’t put the rest in danger.”

Fed up with his recusant stupidity, her gaze level with his, Gaby tsked. “You couldn’t be more wrong, dumb ass. The same person who killed Lucy also tried to get to Bliss. He wants another body to play with. Then he’ll want another after that. And after that, too.”

“Unless you stop him? Right.” Jimbo tried to shove her out of his space, but Gaby didn’t budge an inch, and that, more than anything else, washed the color from his face. “Look, you don’t even know for sure it was the same guy after Bliss.”

“I know.”

“How’s that possible? Bliss doesn’t even know who came after her.” He tried for a laugh that fell flat. “I heard that one minute she says it was a guy, and the next it was a woman. You know what I think? She’s fucked up and saying whatever she needs to say so she can keep resting on her lazy ass.”

Deliberately bumping her chest into his, Gaby snarled through her teeth, “You want me to kill you, Jimbo, is that it?”

“God damn, bitch. Bring it down a notch, will you? I’m just saying—”

“You’re saying all the wrong things.”