Page 19 of Taking It Off

Even if someone is here, I just need to corner him and finish my mission. That won’t be too hard. I follow the phone’s signal to the room Jeffries is in. I’m anxious to complete this job, and it’s making me sloppy. I have to refocus and do this right. This man cannot be the reason I get caught.

I climb out of the computer, looking around to make sure the room is empty. I decide it’s safer to remain in my digital form, so I can’t be seen by cameras or the security system. I have to work quickly so I can take Jeffries out and get home before anyone misses me.

I move through the house carefully. Even though I can’t be seen, that doesn’t mean it’s safe to be in the open. I know from experience how easy it is to kill someone accidentally when I’m in this form. I’m only after my target; no one else needs to get hurt here.

I find Jeffries alone in the kitchen. This will be easy enough. Pausing for a moment to listen, I can hear someone in the bathroom down the hall, but I think I have enough time to do this. Normally, I would debate exactly how I wanted to kill him. At this moment, I don’t have that luxury. I want the job done, so I have to improvise. I float up to him as he stirs his mug. From the smell, it seems to be some sort of tea blend.

Not wasting time on hesitations, I shove my hand into his chest. I watch as he realizes that something is wrong. Jeffries clutches his chest, his hand sliding through my arm. I wrap my fingers around his heart and squeeze. If I’m careful, this will look like a heart attack, and his murder won’t be connected to the others.

I open my hand, releasing his heart. The relief on his face ignites anger inside me. I grip his heart again, squeezing and twisting. I want to rip it from his chest. But I have to be smart about this. I take a deep breath and center myself. I can’t let my emotions get in the way.

I want this man dead for more than one reason. I know killing him is going to hurt Will, and I hate that. At the same time, he deserves this for what he did to all those women, and for the way he treats his son. I don’t let go of his heart until he starts to fall forward. Standing over his lifeless body, a sense of pride comes over me.

I turn to leave and almost run into Jeremy. “Dave?” Jeremy rushes past me; I barely have time to move so he doesn’t go through me. I know he doesn’t see me, but he sniffs the air.

“Emily?” he asks, turning to face me. I’m so startled that I almost drop my shift. How does Jeremy know I’m here? I don’t have time to waste trying to figure it out.

He bends down and checks Jeffries for a pulse, then pulls his cell phone out of his pocket and dials it. I slip into the phone and disappear along the data lines that connect it to the internet.

Fuck, that was close. What was Jeremy doing there?

JEREMY

When I step into the kitchen and see Dave’s body on the floor, I’m shocked. His hand is gripping his chest, so he must have had a heart attack. When I dash over to him, I swear I smell Emily. How is that possible? She can’t be here. She doesn’t even know where Will’s dad lives.

I check him for a pulse, then call Will. “You need to get to your dad’s now. I’ll explain when you get here.” I don’t bother to wait for him to respond. I hang up and dial emergency services. Within minutes, Will arrives, then the ambulance.

“What are you doing here?” he asks, meeting me in the kitchen. “What did you do to my dad?”

“It’s not like that, Will, and you know it. He called me because he knew he screwed up today when you went to see him. Dave asked me to come over so we could talk while your mom is out of town. He wanted me to talk to you. I went to the bathroom, and he was like this when I got back,” I explain. I pull him into my arms and hug him when his tears start to fall. I know they had a rocky relationship, but Dave was his dad, and Will loved him.

I want to tell him about the Emily thing, but I can’t explain it. Maybe her perfume is on my jacket and I caught a whiff of it.

It’s not like she was here. That’s not possible. If she had been, I would have seen her. Right? I shake the thought away.

I have to focus and answer the EMT’s questions. Since it looks like a heart attack, they’ll run some blood tests to check for poisons and examine his body before deciding on the cause of death.

I’d hoped that something could be done to save him, but he was gone before I walked into the room. I can’t get past the idea that Emily had been there. I can’t figure out how she could get into the house and back out again without being seen. Will reviews the security system videos, giving me an alibi, even though the video clearly shows Dave was alone when he died.

“That looks pretty clear to us. We’ll still run some panels to be sure he wasn’t poisoned. But for now, we’ll call it natural causes,” one of the EMTs says as they strap Dave to the gurney and prepare to wheel him out.

After they leave, Will and I lock up and head home.

EMILY

I collapse onto my bed, my heart still racing from nearly being caught. Just like with Donovan, I get a ping that the money is in my account. Guilt swirls in my head as I check Jeremy’s phone. He called Will after I left, then an ambulance. Fuck. I don’t know if that means I’m safe or not.

I want to reach out and make sure Will is okay, but I can’t do that without revealing my secret. I decide to let the thought go for now. Waiting is hard, but giving my secret away could be devastating. I don’t want to go to jail. More than that, I don’t want to see the pain and hurt in my guys’ eyes when they realize that I’ve been lying to them.

That thought hurts me, even if the lying was to protect them. I can’t let anyone think they were involved. If Jeremy somehow knows I was there, and turns me in, I’ll take the full blame. I’ll probably turn myself in if he hints at it. I have to protect them, no matter what it costs me. I strip down and step into my shower, turning the water as hot as it will go. I’ll melt these feelings away if I have to.

With my fears taking hold of my imagination, I set up a trust that will go to the guys if I go to jail or if anything happens to me. The whole thing is anonymous, so none of the money can be traced to my unsavory activities.

I sit on the floor of my shower as scalding water washes over me. I’ve always been good at multi-tasking, but this seems to be taking things to extremes. After settling my finances and getting things squared away for the worst-case scenario, I lean back against the shower wall.

Water drips down my face, mingling with the tears I can’t stop. I feel as if I’m on the verge of losing everything. Panic grips my heart. Can I go on with my life if Luke, Will, and Jeremy aren’t in it? Probably. Do I want to? Not at all.

I scrub the tears from my face and turn the water off. Staring at myself in the mirror, I realize just how much blood is on my hands. I don’t feel guilty about the lives I’ve taken. I feel guilty that I put my guys in the middle of my work. If I’m honest with myself, I know that’s not true. Their fathers put them in my work. At least none of them are involved in the trafficking ring, so I don’t have to worry about them becoming a target.