Page 4 of Sleeping with the Dark (The Righteous 3)
Cody ran his hand through his hair. He deserved jail. Even if he was happy to be free, even if he had never wanted to hurt anyone, he still deserved it. It was his choice to work for Tyson. His intentions might’ve been good, but what he did once he joined was burn-in-hell worthy. Cody thumbed the scar running down his cheek. Tyson had ensured that his soul was forever scarred and tainted in an evil that ate him alive. He couldn’t even look in the mirror without seeing the product of his choices, his face was a warning, nothing good touch him.
“I see you found the pool.” Cody started the water jostling as he looked up to the sudden voice. His gaze traveled up the tall figure until he stared at his own reflection in the black-out sunglasses Trev was wearing. He hadn’t heard nor seen the man approach. “I recognize that look. Whatever it is that you are feeling guilty about, there is no need. What you did and who you were are in the past. If you want a shot at a new life, then learn from the shit mistakes and only look forward.”
“Is that how you cope?”
“I don’t need to cope. I accept that I became a lethal killing weapon for the government. I accept that I am still lethal in a different way, and even sharks need to eat. I also accept that it is not all that I am.”
“I’m not sure how to do that,” Cody said. He stared at a small ant running across the slate surface before him. Sometimes he felt that small.
“You just do, or what’s the point in having a second chance to make different choices? Ghosts are just that. They can only hurt you if you let them.”
Cody didn’t feel like it was that easy, but he did love the air of confidence that blanketed everything Trev did. And holy hell, that suit made him look like he’d stepped right out of a mob movie. Fuck he was hot, there was no denying it, and he already knew that under all that tailored material, Trev was built like the elite specimen that he was.
“What happened to you, Trev?” Cody asked, and only the twitch in Trev’s jaw told him he was uncomfortable with the change in topic. “In all our time talking at the prison, you never mentioned your past.”
“Nothing happened, at least nothing that I ever want to relive, and in most cases, the past is better left where it is—in the past. Arek took Renee and J.J. out for the day. Will you be fine here alone, or would you like to come with me?”
His heart skipped a beat with the offer. “Go with you?”
“I have a meeting. It’s nothing glamorous, but I can drop you off at the beach or something? If you’d like to get out of the house, that is.”
His heart sank stupidly at the thought of being left like some teenager not invited to the party. “No, I’m good. Thanks for the offer, but I need some thinking time to figure out what I’m going to do with my life.” He couldn’t decipher the look that Trev gave him, but he fidgeted under the intense stare that penetrated through those black-out lenses.
“Very well. There is an abundance of food and beer in the fridge. Help yourself.” Trev headed toward the gate, and Cody admired the view. “But don’t touch anything in the wine cellar,” Trev called out, just before the gate clicked closed behind him.
Cody pulled himself from the pool and stared at the place from which Trev disappeared.
For as cool as Trev could be there was so much warmth hiding under that suit. He smiled as he remembered the stern no nonsense expression Trev gave him the first time he called him Mr. Anderson.
“Call me Trev, that’s what my friends and family call me.”
“Is that what I am? Family?”
Trev gave him that cocky grin. “Is that what you want me to be?”
So like Trev, to answer a question that turns the tables, even that was a fucking turn on.
Great, of all the people he could be attracted to, this very unattainable man had to be the one his heart wanted, figures.
Trev dabbed his mouth, savoring the last bite of ribeye before he reached for his glass of wine. He casually sized up the man across from him. To say he was surprised to get a call from the head of the Streetlores would have been a grave understatement. When he walked into the restaurant and laid eyes on Alejandro, who was not who he thought he would be meeting with, all sorts of red flags went off. His mind began pouring over everything he knew of the man.
He’d always heard Alejandro was the walking epitome of death itself. Tattoos adorned his entire body, his back riddled with small scars, each one representing a kill. His eyes were supposed to be dark brown or black, and the only hair on his entire head was a small goatee. Yet, the man who sat across from him looked better suited for an accountant than the leader of a gang. He wore a soft grey suit, no tattoos visible on his hands or neck, and his eyes were soft and caramel in color. This imposter no more screamed killer than he looked like a soft cuddly teddy bear. Now, the man sitting in the far corner trying too hard not to be noticed was another story.
Trev’s eyes raked over the man across the table once more and decided he’d seen all he needed to know to call this man’s bluff. Trev sat his wine down and folded his hands on the table. “So tell me, who are you really?”
The man pretending to be the infamous Alejandro huffed out an irritated noise, crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Taking his time, Trev leaned back in his chair as he stared the scared rabbit down. “Why do you think I’m not Alejandro?”
“For the same reason that I know shit stinks no matter how you dress it up.”
“Did you just call me, Alejandro, a piece of shit?”
Trev sighed, he’d enjoyed his lunch, but he was quickly losing patience. “Why did your boss call me, and more importantly, why didn’t he show up himself? I’m a busy man, I have many clients, and I don’t have all day to sit and make small talk with a cheap imitation.”
The man burst from his seat, fists clenched, his face turning an unsightly shade of red. The man seated across the room rose and did a slow clap as he sauntered closer. He was quickly joined and flanked by two large men that Trev wouldn’t want to be forced to mess with, but he easily picked out their weak spots just in case.
“Your reputation precedes you, Mr. Anderson.Puedes irte ahora,” Alejandro said, and the man who had been Alejandro’s stand-in bowed his head before leaving. Alejandro slipped into the seat across from him. Now, this man was a killer. This man, you didn’t turn your back on, and you certainly never crossed. Unfortunately for him, Trev had already planned on doing a lot more than killing a few lackeys. “When did you know it wasn’t me?”
“The moment I laid eyes on him,” Trev said, as a small smile lifted the corner of his mouth.
