Monster

“What is unexpected? This was what you wanted. You got your hacker. Now I get my man. And we get the fuck out of here and stay the fuck out of each other's business.”

“Break...” Shoot's voice called, sounding as horrified as Alex looked. But I didn't have any way to clue him into what was really going on.

“See. I had figured you were in on this whole thing,” Lex went on, looking around like he was seeing all of us for the first time.

“What whole thing?” I asked, again, attempting bored.

“Rick,” Lex said and Rick straightened. “Can you send our other guest in before you take Shooter here off to the shed?”

With that, Rick was gone.

Leaving me to feel my shoulders get even heavier. Another guest? Knew that shit couldn't be good.

“In on what whole thing, Lex?” I asked again, feeling the ice slip into my words.

Lex considered me for a moment before he went on, “Well, see. After dispatching of Mr. Gle

Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck.

I chanced a look at Shoot who was uncharacteristically serious. His eyes sliced to mine and I could see he knew what really went down. He was sharp like that. He knew I knew who Alex really was. He knew how truly good and fucked we all were.

The door opened and Rick walked through followed by a guy around Alex's age. Good looking. Almost obnoxiously so. Tall. Slim. In a tailored suit. Black hair. Green eyes. He carried himself like he knew how he looked too. Arrogant prick.

“Joshua?” Alex's voice called, sounding a mix of shocked and appalled.

Great. Alex knew the douche.

Shoulda known. With Lex, there were always contingency plans upon contingency plans. Just in case. Fuckin' A.

“Alex honey,” he said, giving her a wi

“Don't fucking Alex honey me you shit,” she snapped and I fought the twitching of my lips. There was my Alex. Always a hot head. “You work for him?” she growled, her words an accusation.

“I hired Joshua here when I hired Gle

“You're good, Alex,” Joshua said, giving her a look like he meant the compliment, but given the circumstances, it came off condescending. “But there's always a trail. You know that.”

He was a hacker.

He was someone she and Gle

Shit.

“You were safe,” he went on, shrugging, “up until you got back from Oscar Street and put that shit all up about Gle

“It's only a mistake if you didn't know the risks, Joshua,” she spat, her body freakishly still.

“You meant to get caught?”

“I meant to get the word out there that a good, kind, fu

“Alex...” he tried to break in. But there was no stopping Alex when she got angry. And she was pissed.

“Do you think men like Lex are good employers? Do you have any idea how many of his own men he's had killed? No?” she asked, looking around. “Thirty seven as of my last count. Some of them because they were being disloyal. Some just for the fuck of it. To exercise his power. Or because they pissed him off. I know you Josh,” she sneered. “He'll get sick as hell of you in a few weeks. Then know where you'll be? In Oscar Street with your throat slit, arterial spray covering the walls. Just. Like. Gle

Joshua paled, looking around at his surroundings like he was seeing them for the first time.

Alex was right. He was as good as dead. And he just realized it himself.

I'd feel bad for the little shit if he wasn't the reason Alex was in that room.

“Well, well,” Lex broke in, clapping his hands together. “I guess he didn't break you after all. Alls the better for me,” he smiled in a evil, awful way at her that made all of the halfway decent men in the room (meaning me, Shoot, and even the sniveling idiot Joshua) stiffen. “Alright,” Lex said, his authoritative tone back. “Rick, you can take Shoot with you. Call in two extra sets of hands first. One to take Joshua here back to his room. The other to... lend me a hand.”

I moved. Fast. So did Shoot.

I was across the room and tearing into Chris, the guy who was holding Alex. Her body slammed hard into the wall then fell to the floor, but I was too busy sinking my fists into the guy's face to check on her.

But I barely got four good punches in before I was pulled away. I looked over to see Shoot already restrained by Rick.

My eyes flew to Alex who was pushing herself up.

It was worth a shot.

Shoot was thinking the same thing, giving me a shrug before he was hauled out of the room.

“Chris, I think you better take Joshua to his room then get yourself cleaned up. Greg can stay in here with us.”

Greg was the guy who had led me through the house and toward the basement earlier.

Greg was probably the only one out of the three who actually could restrain me.

Great.

And then he did.

And everyone else was gone.

Leaving just me being held down by Greg. And Alex across the room being approached by Lex.

Fuck.

No.

I knew where this was going.

And

Fuck

No.

I saw the realization hit Alex's face at the same time I felt the knowledge spread through me. She moved fast, reaching into her boot. For the heroin, I realized. She was going to end it. I was going to have to watch her OD and die.

Jesus fuckin' Christ.

But she wasn't fast enough and Lex had her by the throat, pulling the heels of her feet off the ground and slamming her up against the wall. Her arms swung out, trying to hit him, then trying to pull his hands off her neck as her air supply started to make her head fuzzy.

Then one of his hands moved away. But only to curl on itself, then plunge forward. Hitting her jaw much like he had made me do. But he wasn't holding back like I was. I heard the crack. I saw her head slam in the other direction. His hand dropped from her throat and then there was just the sound of his fists in her face. Her center. And her muted grunts as she tried not to show weakness.

“Stupid bitch thought you could take me down? Stupid fucking cunt. You are no one. No one!” he yelled. Alex's body fell forward, her palms slapping the ground in front of her to brace her fall. She was facing me, but her head was down, blood dripping onto the concrete below her.