Page 17 of Desperate Victory
Step two, bag up the body. Despite the fact he’d been on plastic sheeting, the blood was everywhere.
“Keep the gloves on,” Bodhi instructed. “The blood will clean up but it’s going to be messy at first.”
Milo returned with sand then. They used sand to help soak up the blood.
“Do I want to know where you learned to do that?” I kind of did want to know, but it was more curiosity than anything else.
“CSI,” Bodhi deadpanned and a laugh escaped Ezra. A real one.
“I almost believe you,” he quipped with a slow head shake at Bodhi.
The laugh was a good thing. Ezra had been a mess and he was blaming himself for everything. Wrapping the body took time and effort. Karagiani was also heavy. The guys didn’t let me help with that part.
Once he was completely sealed up, we had to get him out of the apartment building. Bodhi and Milo debated whether to put him in a deep freeze for now, then we could dismember the body and it would be easier for transport.
What amazed me even more was how clear their understanding of the process was. Adam and Ezra added their own thoughts on what would work better. The biggest time constraint was getting the body into something before rigor set in. Eventually, the freezer was decided on. Bodhi had one here, but it was actually packed with food and supplies.
It meant offloading a big portion of it and trashing more. Couldn’t be helped, but we got it down. They managed to get him into the freezer. It wasn’t pretty and I was pretty sure bodies weren’t supposed to fold the way they bent him.
Then again, he was dead, so it could hardly hurt the corpse. An hour after we packed him away and dealt with the debris, we finished cleaning up the little torture room and the contents, along with the plastic coveralls were ready for an incinerator.
“Food,” Bodhi said and I frowned at him. “You’re pale and this has been a long day. We also need to plan.” Then he flicked a brief look at Ezra.
I would have argued about my so-called pallor, but one glance at the dejection and weariness on Ezra’s face decided me. “I’m starving,” I admitted. “Though, I don’t know that I’ll be able to eat without smelling all of this.”
Ezra’s throat convulsed once as he swallowed, then he lifted his eyes and locked his gaze on me. He gave me a small smile. “We’ll find something, Kotyonok. But I know one thing that will work pretty fast.”
“What’s that?” I could play my part. Adam brushed his fingers down my arm and Milo touched my shoulder as I accepted Ezra’s outstretched hand.
“Follow me.” The flatness in his voice betrayed his continued discomfort. Still, he guided me downstairs with Bodhi, Adam, and Pretty Boy following. They were giving me the lead on this.
Ezra guided me all the way into the kitchen, he popped open the freezer then pulled out a bag of coffee beans. It was the rather delicious blend that Bodhi favored. I’d never heard of it before and I would bet he had a coffee plantation somewhere that grew these heavenly beans.
Opening the bag, Ezra held it up to me like an offering of flowers. “Take a deep breath.” Light chased some of the shadows from his green eyes. Leaning forward, I filled my nostrils with the rich, heady scent of the dark roasted blend. “And again…”
I blinked my eyes open at the hint of laughter underscoring the words. The combination of scent coupled with the lightness in his voice soothed the battered edges of my soul.
It had been a long day before it even started.
Another deep breath and the lingering scents of blood and death faded beneath the earthier, bold flavor of the dark roast. Coffee was the perfect antidote, the smokier chocolate and caramel erasing the metallic taste of copper coating my throat.
When my stomach actually rumbled, it was the first time in the days since I found out Harper sold Andrea and my mother died. My appetite had all but died in the same time frame.
“Good,” Bodhi said. “Sit, we’ll get coffee and food. Then plan.”
Ezra pressed the bag into my hands and I cradled it as I let them nudge me over to the table. Like my penthouse, the kitchen at Bodhi’s had a table and chairs in the corner. It was a lot cozier and we actually used it more.
Adam pulled out a chair and then I was seated. I wasn’t the only one, Adam hustled Ezra over right next to me. “Park it, both of you. What do you want to drink? Besides the coffee?”
“Maybe a couple of shots of whiskey straight,” Ezra said, scrubbed a hand over his face.
“We’re out,” Pretty Boy said as he crossed to the fridge. “So it’s coffee, milk, juice, or soda.”
“Out?” Ezra gaped. “How the fuck are we out?”
“Because I dumped it.” Bodhi punctuated the sentence with the coffee grinder and Ezra glared until I put my hand over his.
“You don’t need it,” Adam told him, the command snapping beneath each syllable he spoke. I stole another sniff of the coffee beans as Ezra’s expression darkened.