Chapter Six
The following week, Dwayne stared at his warehouse door to see the letter taped there. It had his name on the letter, and he lifted it up.
He knew instantly it had to be from Charity, and he didn’t like the twisting that he got in his gut. He’d not followed or seen her since the day in the mall. She’d looked so fucking upset, as if he’d shattered her entire world with saying that he didn’t want her.
She was a beautiful woman and so easy to talk to. It had been a nightmare to him saying that shit to her. Still, his uncles had backed off, so whatever he said must have worked. He didn’t know how they knew everything, just that they had eyes everywhere.
“Charity dropped that off a few days ago,” Beast said, suddenly appearing at his side.
Dwayne stared at his uncle, not surprised by his appearance.
“Do you have some special device that gets you around?” he asked.
“Yeah, I have a car and a pair of legs. You’re becoming sloppy in observation. Not good for you, Dwayne.” Beast’s arms were folded, and he looked disappointed.
“I’m at the top of my game.” He opened up his jacket, showing everything he carried. Six guns, two knives, and his cell phone. He never went anywhere without them.
“Someone sneaks up on you though, injects you with some drug that puts you to sleep, all that shit is useless to you.”
“Do you have a point being here?” This was the first time he’d been caught being distracted in a long time. Not since he was teenager had he been this careless.
“I was worried about you.”
“You don’t need to be.”
“Okay, reports are that you killed fifty people this week.”
“What? Is my quota down?” Dwayne asked.
They were at the docks, interfering with a Carson shipment. He was bored of the complaints, so he broke in, waited until shit went down, saw what was happening with his own eyes, and dealt with the problem.
That was what he was, a problem solver.
“Quite the opposite, really. At this rate we’ll need to go to another country to help with their overpopulation process.”
He sighed. “You’re going to complain about how I do business?”
“I worry about you.”
He laughed. “Yeah, right.”
“I hate to remind you of this, Dwayne. You’ve turned into a man that I am proud of. Your reputation rivals even mine, and I’m happy about that. Don’t forget, I was the one that came for you. I was the one that stopped my brother from his abuse.”
“Yeah, I remember.”
“I know I was too late. That you had already suffered a great deal.”
“Look, Beast, what do you want?”
“I care about you. I worry about you constantly. You think it’s easy for me to know what you do, to remember everything you went through?”
“No, I don’t spend my time thinking about all that, Beast.”
“You don’t?”
Dwayne stared at his uncle, waiting for whatever he was about to say next. “No.”
“I do,” Beast said. “I think about what I could have done if I’d gotten to you sooner. If I’d not taken my time to get my shit together. What he did, the person he was, he should have been stopped.”
He stared at his uncle, seeing the regret in his eyes. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“No, and yet I think about what would have happened if I’d gotten to you sooner. You think I don’t know about the time you killed when you were younger. When you saw men beating the shit out of women, out of kids. How you didn’t just snap one time but a few times.”
This time Dwayne didn’t say anything.
“These bodies that are being uncovered, I know you buried a couple there.”
“What have they found?” Dwayne asked.
“Two women have been uncovered.”
“I never buried women there, Beast. I was only after men at that point. Everyone else could eat shit for all I cared.”
“Just men?”
“Yeah, just men. Women … I only started killing women that betrayed us, Beast. That sold out the Carson name.”
“Someone is burying or uncovering bodies, and I need you to find out who.”
“What exactly do you want me to do?” Dwayne asked. “It’s a prime fucking dumping ground for that shit. No one goes there unless they’re some sick fuck looking for a high.”
“Either someone is trying to get a message to you or send you one, or they are just using it as a dumping ground and it’s completely unrelated to you. Whoever it is, I think you need to find them. Maybe compile a list of people you’ve pissed off.”
“That will be a pretty big list.”
“Just do what you have to do and get the job done.”
Beast spun on his heel and started to walk away.
“What is all this shit with Charity?” Dwayne asked. “I wasn’t doing her any harm.”
“Did you fight for her?”
“What?”
“You heard me. All I did was pass on a message to you about Charity. You didn’t put up a fight. Do you want her?” Beast asked.
“When you were with Hope, what was it like?”
“I’m still with Hope, Dwayne.” Beast’s arms were folded. “She became everything I thought about. In fact, I couldn’t go or do anything without wondering if she was okay. She consumed every single thought that I had and then some. I wanted to know she’d be fine without me. If her day was any better. The truth was and still is, that she became my whole world overnight and I couldn’t for a second imagine life without her. I wanted to kill anyone that hurt her, and for a while that meant myself. By giving her father the gun, I felt like I’d taken everything away from her.”
“It’s not how it works.”
“I get it, but it doesn’t make the guilt go away. This past week without Charity, what has it been like?”
“It has been torture. I’ve wanted to reach out, to make sure she’s safe. I can’t just ignore these feelings that she inspires inside me.”
“Then don’t, but be prepared to have to fight for her. Are we done with the man-to-man talk?”
“Yeah, we’re done.”
“Good. Come to dinner on Sunday.”
He watched Beast leave first before checking the time. It would be touch and go to make it to her school, but he was willing to risk it. Glancing down at the letter in his hand, he quickly tore into it. It was just a single page, folded.
To Dwayne,
I’m sorry. I know this is lame and you probably hear this a lot, but I am sorry for everything. For saying those things. You didn’t deserve them and I hope you can forgive me. Thank you for coming to save me. For helping me. It means a lot to me.
Love, Charity
Love, Charity?
The fact she’d taken the time to come and deliver a letter had to mean something. Now he just felt like an asshole for pushing her aside.
Climbing into his car, he put the letter in his jacket and turned over the ignition. He had time to make it to the high school.
This time when he finally arrived, he didn’t just wait beside his car. He got out and moved toward Charity’s car. There were students milling around, trying to look cool. There was a time he’d been part of all that. Leaning against cars, laughing with girls. Doing everything he could to get in their pants and to hide the darkness within his soul.
When he was with Charity, she made him forget who he was. The killing, the need for blood was nothing more than a distant, faraway memory, but still there. He could remember the look on his father’s face when he got angry. When the need to hurt, to put him and his mom in their places was present in his mind. Damn, it seemed so long ago to even remember that.
He’d often have to wait, staring out of his bedroom window, watching to see which man came back home. The monster, or the man that wished to be a good man. It would always be in that vicious cycle. One, then the other, sometimes just one.
Girls passed him, pushing out their tits as if that would get his attention. They’d already shortened their skirts, and he wasn’t interested. A couple of the men were trying to appear cool and calm, but he made them nervous. It reminded him a little of when Beast would come to the school over some misdemeanor. His friends would pretend that they were all cool and tight with Beast. The truth was, his uncle only ever spoke to him, and then of course there was Hope.
Pushing those thoughts aside, he watched as Charity left the school. She was staring down at her bag, shoving something inside it. She hadn’t seen him yet, and for now that was a good thing. He wanted it to be a bit of a surprise. Not that he anticipated this being a good surprise. They hadn’t parted on good terms.
When she finally flung her bag on one shoulder and looked up, the instant she clocked him, he knew. Her walking slowed, coming to a stop, and she looked a little uncomfortable. Her eyes turned to slits as she glared at him, and then she finally started walking again toward him.
He stayed still, arms folded, waiting for her.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. “I should call security.” He saw how nervous she was even, not afraid, but clearly upset and not wanting to show him.
“Not going to happen.”
“Why not?”
“You’re pissed at me now and I get it, but deep down, you’re pleased to see me.”
“Wow, I had no idea your ego was so big.”
“You did. Don’t forget I was one of these punk asses at some point.”
“Yay for you. Can you move?”
“I got your letter.”
“Oh.” She instantly seemed to relax. “You did. I didn’t think you’d read it.”
“I did.”
****
Charity felt nervous. It had been a week without seeing him, and she’d felt gutted on Saturday not going to his warehouse to train. Sticking the letter to his door had felt right to her. Of course, he’d have read the letter.
She wasn’t the greatest writer of all time and didn’t have a clue what to actually write, so she went for the next best thing, just to apologize for her behavior.
“What are you doing here, Dwayne?”
“I didn’t want to stop your training, Charity. I was following orders. Your parents were worried, and my uncles interfered.”
“So you did as you were told?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, you’re not much of a rebel then, are you?” she asked.
Behind her, she heard the giggle of schoolgirls and with one glance at them, she saw they were in her year, the cheerleading squad that had been drooling over him the last time he was here.
“Do you want to get out of here?” she asked.
“Yeah, I really do. Follow me.”
She didn’t even question it as she climbed into her car and pulled out of the parking lot. Dwayne was waiting for her, and when she was ready, he pulled out, and she followed him. Her hands felt a little clammy, and she was nervous.
Most of her nights had been filled with thoughts of him.
When he’d saved her, she’d felt this connection with him. Like he knew a little of what she went through, only it wasn’t just that. She was attracted to him.
She knew he was a killer, that he took lives as part of his job. She accepted that, and even though it wasn’t something she could do herself, she knew that some lives had to be taken. There were monsters out there, and then there were the good bad guys. That’s how she saw Dwayne. He was a good bad guy.
He didn’t leave her to rot, nor did he take his turn.
Dwayne had been nothing but sweet to her.
Graduation was coming up. In a few short weeks she’d have to make a decision. College, or taking a gap year. With being kidnapped, she’d been reassessing her priorities, and going away to college just didn’t seem like the right thing to do.
He parked near a place that used to be a well-known tourist attraction until people were found dead after being mauled by animals. It stopped being such a well-known spot. It didn’t stop people from visiting though, clearly wanting to test themselves or something stupid like that. She pulled her car in beside his and climbed out. Dwayne took her hand, and without saying another word, headed into the woods. She didn’t fight him and ran to keep up with his long steps.
The touch of his hand around hers felt so good. He had nice hands, large hands. They were rough, and she knew they’d feel good running down her body.
Get your head out of the gutter.
He veered off the path, moving down a creek. She caught sight of the lake up ahead. There were always a lot of rumors about the woods being haunted by the ghosts of dead men and women.
She’d never believed it, but she had also never gone looking for it either. There was no way she’d be caught here after dark.
“What are we doing here?” she asked when they finally came to a stop.
Tucking some of her hair behind her ears, she watched him as he moved down the lake, and then stepped over.
“You coming?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Are you planning on burying me alive?”
“Nope. I just want to check something.”
She rolled her eyes, but her curiosity was piqued. So, she stepped across the boulders to the other side of the lake and followed him. Dwayne took her hand, and she got a little thrill, which was kind of weird, seeing as they were in a known haunted wood.
Whatever, she was never going to be normal anymore.
The world around her had been lit up, and now there was no hiding from it.
They made their way through several trees. Dwayne kicked down some thorns and other debris until he made the spot clear for her to see.
When they came to a log, he stopped and stared at the ground.
She kept her hand within his and looked around. “Are we supposed to be here?”
“No. This part of the forest is known for the wild wolves that live here.”
“Do you know about the ghost stories?” she asked.
“Yeah, they’re not ghosts. Just wolves. A few years ago, hikers were banned from crossing the river and abandoning the beaten path. Too many deaths.”
“So, there could be ghosts.”
Dwayne laughed.
She pressed herself against his side.
“Believe me, there are no ghosts.”
“How do you know?”
“I came here a lot when I was your age.”
“Dwayne, don’t try to make out I’m a child.”
“When I was eighteen years old, I killed someone,” he said, turning toward her.
She was surprised by his words, but seeing the seriousness in his gaze, she knew he wasn’t lying.
“Oh.”
“I buried him right here.”
She stepped back, looking down at the ground. “Okay, that’s not creepy at all.” Again, she started to think she had to see a doctor as her brain wasn’t firing right. He’d just admitted to killing someone.
“I’m not a good person, Charity.”
“I know that.”
“You shouldn’t want to be around me.”
“I know that.” She repeated the same words as anything else failed her. What was she supposed to say? So? I don’t care?
“I get why a lot of people think you’re weird.”
“Hey! That’s not very nice.”
“I’m showing you the place that I killed someone and you’re not running away.”
“Is that what you’re trying to do? Make me terrified so I feel I have no choice but to run? But to be scared?”
“You shouldn’t be standing there as if this is a date.”
“I know this is not a date. Far from it, in fact.”
“Then why are you here, Charity?”
“You asked me to come with you. I followed you, and this is where you wanted to take me.”
He shook his head, and she found it infuriating that he wasn’t making any sense.
“I mean this with me. You should have pushed me away. Told me I was an asshole and you didn’t want anything to do with me.”
“I couldn’t.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. I like you, okay? Being around you feels normal to me, and yeah, that terrifies me so damn much, you have no idea. A few months ago, I was normal. I had a bunch of friends, and going to the mall was actually a lot of fun. Now, I can’t do it. Being with them, trying to fit in. There is a whole world out there, and it is terrifying. You kill people that are dangerous or whatever, and no one cares. I know I should be running. Screaming for someone to come and save me. You’re the thing that nightmares are made of. I get that. I know that I shouldn’t be so happy when I see you, or feel safe. You’ve proven to me more than once how dangerous you are. How easily you can kill me and dispose of the body. Yeah, I should be scared. Screaming for my very life, but I can’t seem to start moving, Dwayne. You saved me. When no one else did. You came for me. Killed all those men and then carried me out, and I know I’m not light, okay? You still did all of that for me, and I don’t know. Maybe I’ve got a loose wire in my brain somewhere, but it’s not going to stop, okay? I like being around you, even when you are being an asshole, and I really need to stop talking right now.”
She’d started to scream as she spoke, and she was panting.
“Okay then,” he said.
“What?”
“I just wanted to make sure you were here because you wanted to be. Not that I had you so scared that you felt you had to be around me or risk me killing you.”
“That makes absolutely no sense.”
“Does to me.” He shrugged.
She shook her head. There was no way she’d ever make sense of him, not in a million years.
“Do you have more bodies?”
“Yes. I dumped quite a few here.”
“Do you feel nothing?”
“I did feel nothing when I started. They were not good men.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I only hurt them when I caught them doing bad things,” he said, winking at her.
She rolled her eyes, wondering if getting her head tested was a good idea. She was clearly going crazy right now.
“So why come here?”
“Someone has been uncovering old bodies. The latest is a woman.”
“What does that mean?”
“Either someone had the same idea as me back then, or I’m being sent a message.”
“How could you be sent a message?”
“This is where I buried my first kills nearly fifteen years ago, Charity.”
“And?”
“I don’t know. Something seems off with all of this.”
She watched him as he moved across the wood, looking at the ground.
“What are you hoping to find?”
“Answers? Clues? I don’t know. Something that would help me remember.”
“You don’t remember killing these people?”
“I do. It’s everything after that is a bit of a blur.” He sighed and turned. “What are you doing after you graduate?”
“You know that’s coming up?”
“Yeah, it happens to us all.”
“Did you graduate?”
“Yep. With the help of my aunt, I aced that shit, why?”
“I just, it seems odd for you to even go to high school. You have this presence around you that makes you dangerous. Scary?”
“I am dangerous and scary. Doesn’t mean I didn’t have a normal life for a time.”
“What changed, Dwayne?” she asked.
He walked back toward her. “I grew up.”
“When boys grow up they want normal things. A family, a good job, sex, and you know, not to kill people.”
Dwayne laughed. “I was having sex all the time. I had a job, and I happen to like killing people.”
“I’m starting to think you say things to see how I react.”
“It’s refreshing. A lot of women would be running away scared.”
“Are we talking about the kinds of women you’ve not saved?”
“Pretty much.”
“Come back to me when they’ve been rescued by you.” When they’ve had you standing in the shower, helping wash the crazy away, then come back and talk to me.
Dwayne took her hand, and once again they were walking back toward the beaten path.
“What college are you going to?”
“I don’t know. I’m thinking a gap year is more important, seeing as I missed all the enrollment times and I don’t just want to be one of these that pick one after my grades come in. You know, when they’re moving people around because grades have been less than perfect. My parents are pressuring me to either do that or go to Europe for the year. To explore.”
“What do you want to do?”
“Work, take some time, think about my life, you know.”
“I may be able to help you with that.”
“Not get killed before I turn nineteen,” she said.
“Damn, you take all the fun out of everything.”
“Was that a joke? Did Dwayne just make a joke?”
“You bet I did. Also, how do you feel about meeting my uncles this Sunday?”
This made her stop and pause. As she did, Dwayne also couldn’t go anywhere as she tugged on her hand.
“What?”
“Will they kill me?”
“Nope. Their wives will be present, so you’ll be safe. Also, kids will be there as well. You’ll be safe.”