AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And I’ve told you, I don’t need your protection. I need you.” He leans down and brushes his lips against mine, leaving me wanting more with a lasting lick. “Now, we have a daughter to return to. Let’s wrap up this business so we can go home.”
I frown at him, not immediately grasping his meaning.
Sansone removes his tuxedo jacket. “Would I be correct in thinking you don’t have a change of clothes I could use?”
“You can’t mean to… you don’t… I’m used to working alone.”
“Today’s a new day, and you’ve got a partner.” He rolls the sleeves of his pristine white shirt. “What do we do first?”
I walk Sansone through my ritual, surprised when he doesn’t express disgust or an aversion to help. I find an apron for him and we get to work. Every so often, I glance in his direction while I skin the seller alive. We operate well together.
Once the last man breathes his last, and I finish skinning him, an odd shyness steals over me. Sansone’s clothes are blood-stained despite the apron’s flimsy protection. Because I’m in all black, the evidence is less obvious.
“What now?” he asks.
“I… take a memento from each of them and dispose of their bodies,” I say while looking at my bloodied hands.
“Show me.” The lack of judgment in his voice gives me the courage to face him and collect my trophies.
Sansone follows me into the room where I store my keepsakes. He pauses at the shelves of jars filled with formalin and penises. I label the recent additions and place them on an empty shelf.
“You did this to the men who hurt Jinx?” Sansone asks.
I nod.
“I want to see theirs.”
I stiffen, reminded of my earlier concern. I show him the jars from the night I rescued Jinx. The moment he recognizes the surname of the trafficker, his body stiffens and he swings his gaze to me.
“Is he why you got nervous tonight?”
I nod. “I wasn’t sure then, but I’m certain now. Milo is Dusan and Nedi’s son.”
“Fuck!”
A beat passes, then he frowns at me before dragging me out of the room.
“What’s got you mad now?” I pull away to face off with him.
“What were you planning on doing to avoid them?”
“Handle it.” I avoid looking at him and go to the remains of the men of which I need to dispose.
“Zakiya…”
“Fine! I was going to leave. I don’t know when, but I was going to disappear on you because this shit is not supposed to touch you and Jinx.”
Sansone helps me bag the bodies and take them to their ultimate resting place where their bodies will decompose and become one with the soil. “I hope you understand that shit won’t fly now. Running from them isn’t an option.”
“The father’s got a bounty out on me.”
“Shit, Zakiya, we’re going to have to discuss your penchant for keeping secrets,” Sansone grumbles. “It doesn’t matter. He didn’t recognize you tonight, and with the way you’re alwayshiding your face, it’s likely he won’t connect you to his son’s death. Even if he does, I won’t let him or anyone he hires get anywhere near you.”
I put my fists on my hips. “The bounty doesn’t count as a secret. I only discovered its existence tonight.”
“Hmph.”
We return to clean the cabin. As I survey the room, everything hits me at once. Sansone knows every dirty piece of me, the monster I’ve hidden from everyone, and none of it fazes him.
