Page 2 of Ravaged By the Dark

Best way to get rid of gang members…start a war.

Standing, he smiled at his work, but his “art piece” needed one final touch. Grinning, he laid the gun down in the middle of the symbol. Stepping back, he appraised his work.

“Fuck, I love my job!”

As if he was strolling through a park, Arek sauntered away toward his waiting black Hummer. Its lights were displaying the three dead. His work here was done. Now it was the waiting game. He had to admit he loved the anticipation for what would inevitably happen next.

“Sweet Delilah, play something soothing,” Arek said as he slipped behind the wheel of his baby. He hated the rain, and he hated the mud. However, it would give him an excuse to spend more time with his girl. A little extra TLC never hurt any fine piece of ass: human or vehicle.

“Playing soothing album now,” Sweet Delilah responded.

“Save Your Tears” by The Weeknd began to blare through the speakers as the motor roared to life. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, the Hummer easily backing out of the now mushy area. The beauty of a rainstorm like this one, other than the eerie background it gave him for his kill, was the large amount of rain it was creating. It would wash away any sign of him ever being here. The high beams swung onto the distant residential area, and he briefly wondered if anyone who heard the shots would sum it up to the thunder still rumbling overhead.

“Sweet Delilah, send the saved texts and add my latest photo.”

“Sending untraceable texts now.”

“You are the sweetest bitch I know.”

“I’m sorry I do not understand this command. Would you like to try another?”

He laughed hard. It always slayed him when she responded with that answer.

“No, I’m good, darling.” He chuckled again, bobbed his head to the beat, and smiled wide. Right on cue, the social network he’d been following lit up with the images of the three dead men—hot damn, life was good.

He hit the automatic garage opener, tapped his finger on the steering wheel as he drove down the ramp, and slid her home into the designated parking spot. The underground garage that Trev had built into the house was a sic addition and had everything they needed to do the work on their black beauty.

He always felt like Batman when he returned and drove into the ‘secret lair’ of the secure underground space. He set the overhead sprayer on clean—a wonderful little modification he had installed himself. Why take the chance on his baby being recognized, or worse, getting damaged at a public car wash?

He laid his hand on the scanner, and the heavy door clunked as the locks released. He made a quick pit stop in the laundry room, disposed of all his clothing in the washing machine, and then tossed his boots in the fancy new boot cleaner. Arek caught his reflection in the mirror over the sink and walked closer to inspect himself. No blood, no cuts, and only one bruise, which blended in with his body art. He ran the tips of his fingers over the dog tags hanging down his chest before averting his gaze from the mirror. He grabbed a clean pair of jeans and wandered up the stairs.

“Well, good evening Sally, you’re looking unbelievably beautiful tonight. Did you change your hair?” Arek lounged against the elderly secretary’s desk and loved how her cheeks flushed. For a woman of her age, she was still beautiful, wrinkles and all.

“You’re a prat, young man! Go put some clothes on. Don’t you know it’s rude to tease someone my age? You could give a woman a stroke with talk like that.”

Arek laughed and jumped up to follow Sally as she placed the files from her desk in the filing cabinet. He wrapped his arms around her waist, laying his head on her shoulder. “Aw, don’t be like that, Sally. You know you’re still sexy.”

“Oh, for God’s sake, boy,” Sally said, flustered, and smacked at his arm. He released her, chuckling at the look on her face. He’d been teasing Sally since she started working for his brother three years ago, and it was always the same back and forth between them. He knew she secretly liked to feel his body, the dirty old woman, but it made his heart warm to make her smile.

She’d had a tough go of it: a long bout of cancer, her husband passing away, and then getting laid off due to both her illness and advanced age. When she’d applied, even his brother was skeptical about taking on someone already in her seventies, but she’d proven to be a strong asset—smart as a whip and highly organized. Besides, once Trevor met her, he just couldn’t say no, and this job was the only thing keeping her from ending up on the streets alone.

And Trev claimed he didn’t have a heart.

“Sally, you know I love you,” Arek gushed as he batted his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, now go on in and see your brother. He’s expecting you. Although I’m sure he’d prefer you in more clothes.”

Her soft eyes glittered with mischief behind her glasses as she grabbed her scarf and jacket. He gave her a parting wink and laughed as she huffed at him before leaving. He threw open the office door and proceeded to flop onto the long leather couch- might as well get comfortable for the ass fucking he was about to receive.

Trevor didn’t even bother to lift his head from the paperwork as the door slammed open. His twin had a flair for the dramatic.

“Job’s done.”

“Oh, I know,” Trevor said. He slowly lifted his head and grabbed the remote to flick on the television. Although it was on mute, it was easy to see the news report. It was about the three men gunned down just outside of town.

“I picked an awesome spot. Look at the view the helicopter camera is getting.” Arek sat up and watched the screen, a smile plastered across his face. “I truly am a fucking genius!”

“No, you’re a conundrum and a cluster fuck.”