prologue
This book is a stand-alone but will make references to some characters from my previous books. Please bear in mind that everything that happens takes place five years before the events of 'Big Bad Björn' and therefore some of the couples (Ash and Thomas, and Björn and Santi) would not have gotten together yet or even have met.
Be warned that this is a gay romance with sexual, BDSM themes and mentions of topics that might be triggering for some readers. There will also be violence and a large age gap relationship.
Warning: mentions of sexual assault
FARRELL'S P.O.V
Ten months.
It had taken me ten months to find him. Ten months of sleepless nights. Ten months of searching in anger. Ten months of Row living in fear. But no more. Now she could finally rest easy. I had found the fucker.
And he was going to get exactly what he deserved.
I watched as the man entered his house. It was 3 AM, dark outside and I didn't want to imagine where he was coming from. He lived alone and, ten months ago on a night like this, he had been at a club. The same club my older sister Row was at. She had been drunk that night, and he had taken advantage of that.
He did something terrible to her. Something she would never be able to forget. Something he was soon about to regret.
I reached over to the passenger's side of my car and grabbed the bag I had brought with me. Inside it were five things; a balaclava, duct tape, zip ties, brass knuckles and a taser. The plan was to tie the fucker up and give him hell.
I was just about to get out of my car so I could put the plan into motion but I paused when my phone started to vibrate in my pocket.
*Bzzt- Bzzt*
*Bzzt- Bzzt*
*Bzzt- Bzzt*
I pulled out the device and froze when I saw that it was Row calling me. I didn't hesitate to pick up before I pressed the phone against my ear. Hopefully, I'd be able to keep my voice calm enough for her not to know that I was up to something tonight. I knew she wouldn't approve, but I couldn't let him get away with what he'd done.
"Hey, Row," I greeted her in a nonchalant tone, "What's up?"
"I hope I didn't wake you," my sister said and I could immediately hear the hint of fear in her voice. "I just had a nightmare about... what happened at the club. I figured talking to you might make me feel a bit better."
I grit my teeth, hating the fact that no amount of time would ever get rid of what he had done to her. It had been ten months but she still couldn't sleep without checking the locks on her doors three times, and even then the nightmares didn't stop. She was doing better than before but she'd never go back to how she used to be and that was his fault.
That's why I had to make him pay.
"Farrell?" she spoke up again, snapping me out of my thoughts, "Are you there?"
"I'm here," I said, "I'm here."
Like I should have been that night. But I had been fast asleep after a long shift at the restaurant. I missed her call when she needed me most. I swore that would never happen again.
"Do you wanna come over?" she asked, "It's Friday night. I don't have to go into the office tomorrow. I was thinking we could watch a movie and get some ice cream."
"I would love to but..." I trailed off, unable to tell her the truth.
I'm about to beat the shit out of the man who hurt you.
"I just have some stuff to do," I said, "But I can be there in about an hour if you'll still be awake."
"I'll be awake," she said, "I doubt that I’ll be able to get back to sleep tonight."
"Alright. I can get the ice cream on my way to your place," I said, "Which flavour do you want?"
"Caramel."
I smiled, "Of course. Your ride or die."
"Always," she chuckled. "I'll send you money for some extra snacks."
"No need. I can pay."
"Nope. I'm sending money."
She hung up immediately after that, denying me the chance to decline her offer. A few seconds later, my phone chimed with a notification:
$500 received from Row Logan
I scoffed and sent her a text.
Me: Five hundred dollars for snacks?
🥱Row: Oops😗 I meant to send fifty
Me: Sure you did🙄
She took every opportunity she could to send me money no matter how many times I told her that I didn't need it. I would argue with her about it later but, for the time being, I had other matters to attend to.
I shoved my phone back into my pocket before I looked at the house across the street again. The lights were on downstairs and I could see the man walking around his kitchen. I had searched the club's CCTV and gone to great lengths to find him.
His name was Dave Hudson.
And, after ten months, he was finally going to pay for what he did to my sister.
Getting into the house was easy enough. All I had to do was knock, and Dave opened the door for me. I had the balaclava on at that point so he was shocked to see me and even more shocked when I immediately punched him in the face.
I was usually talkative but, this time, I didn't bother wasting time with words. I knocked him out, locked the front door behind me, and got to work.
I dragged him upstairs to his bedroom before I opened my bag. I then pulled out the zip ties and duct tape. I tied his wrists together, wrapped the tape around his legs and made sure to tape his mouth well so he wouldn't scream when he woke up.
I then made myself comfortable on his chair and waited for him to regain his consciousness. He did so after a few minutes and his eyes went wide with panic. He began to struggle, writhing around on the bed while I calmly stared him down.
I wanted to remove the balaclava I was wearing so he could properly see the anger on my face. I wanted him to know just how enraged I was, but I wasn't dumb enough to risk giving my identity away. He would feel my anger soon enough.
"You must know why I'm here, Dave-" I said as I reached into my bag and pulled out the brass knuckles. Dave began to squirm more desperately as I put them on and I clenched my fists, eager to do some serious damage. "You hurt someone. You raped her. Ten months ago at the club. And I'm sure you've done it to other people before but you're not going to get away with it this time."
"Mmmh!" he screamed as tears began to fill his eyes, "Mmm! Mmmh!"
I sighed and walked over to him. "I'm going to remove the tape. But if you scream, I'm breaking your leg."
He nodded and stopped screaming.
I reached over and tore off the tape.
He winced but began to speak in a pathetic, trembling voice. "I was drunk. I-I... I didn't mean to."
"Being drunk isn't an excuse to do what you did," I snapped. "You hurt her. She can't even sleep because of you."
I was about to put the tape back over his mouth but he shook his head desperately. "What do you want?" he asked, shedding even more tears, "Money? I have money. How much? A thousand? Two thousand?"
"Two thousand dollars?" I scoffed, "As if that could ever fix this. No amount of money will ever undo what you did."
I pushed the tape back over his mouth and moved to straddle him. I was sitting on his lower stomach and I grabbed his shirt with my left hand before I raised my right hand to punch him. I tightened my grip on the brass knuckles and savoured the look of terror in his eyes.
Row must have been terrified when he hurt her that night.
Row was still terrified of him now.
He deserved to suffer.
He deserved to die.
I remember hitting him the first time, and then the second time and the third. I remember blood spurting from his broken nose. I remember his muffled screams, his eyes wide with pain and fear.
I don't remember being able to stop.
I don't remember wanting to stop.
"Fuck," I muttered as I took in the sight of what I'd done. I got off Dave's body and tore the balaclava off my face. My hands were drenched in blood, my heart was racing, and he wasn't moving. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!"
I'm going to jail.
Holy shit. I'm actually going to jail for killing this asshole.
Fuck. Row's going to be so mad.
So disappointed.
I started to worry about my sister, about how she would react, and about how all this might implicate her. She was starting to do well at the law firm. Her career was skyrocketing. But who would want to hire a lawyer whose brother was a murderer?
I had planned on beating Dave up for her. But now I might have just ruined everything for her.
I didn't even feel guilty. The motherfucker deserved what he had gotten. I was just worried about Row, and about what would happen to me now.
"Fuck," I whispered and squeezed my eyes shut.
I can't move the body. That only makes me look more guilty. I might as well leave him here and wait for them to find him. They'll trace it back to me eventually, and I'll be put in jail... Or maybe I could try to get rid of him? I could burn him or...
*Bzzt- Bzzt*
*Bzzt- Bzzt*
*Bzzt- Bzzt*
I opened my eyes and pulled my phone out of my pocket, grimacing as I got blood on the screen. I managed to pick up the call and put it on speaker just in time to hear my sister's voice.
"I hope you haven't gone to the shops yet," she said, "I forgot to ask for pads. I think I'm about to run out and my period's due any day now."
I glanced over at the body on the bed. Dave's eyes were staring right at me; wide and lifeless.
"Farrell?" Row called for me.
I snapped out of my trance, making up my mind in an instant. "Pads," I said, "I'll get some. I'll be there soon."
"Alright. I'll pick the movie."
She hung up and I walked over to Dave's bathroom.
I was going to take a shower, go to the store, and then go to my sister's house. My DNA would be all over the place but who cares? I'd be in jail soon, but at least I'd get one last night of hanging out with Row.
I didn't regret a thing.
THE BOSS' P.O.V
"What do you mean he's already dead?" I asked with a twinge of frustration that I hoped could be detected even with the voice changer I was using.
"I mean he's already dead," Trajan said, "Björn and I just got here but the guy's been dead for about an hour now."
"Yup," Björn chimed in, "He's in his bed all tied up like a present. Maybe Santa left him for us."
Trajan scoffed, "What kind of fucked up version of Santa do you know?"
"The fun kind," Björn stated proudly.
I muted their call and stared at the screen in front of me. The target's name was Dave Hudson. He had been caught on the CCTV footage of numerous clubs assaulting various women. The cops hadn't bothered to intervene so the organisation was about to take matters into its own hands.
I had sent out Trajan and Björn to get the job done. It was meant to be a quick, easy task. But now someone had beaten us to it? And left the body there so carelessly?
It doesn't make any sense...
I unmuted the call.
"Is there anything else there?" I asked, "Anything suspicious?"
"Um..." I heard some shuffling around before Trajan responded, "No, not really. But I'm sure we could find something if we looked properly."
"Don't bother," I said, "Take the body back to HQ. I'll have forensics check for DNA."
"Alright."
I ended the call after that and sent out a message to the clean-up team, telling them to deal with the crime scene before I told the coroner about the incoming body. I had been planning on getting an early night, but now I'd have to ask the hackers to check more surveillance around the area.
In the five years since the organisation had been up and running, we had never encountered a target who was already dead before we got there. Someone had killed Dave Hudson, and I intended to find out who it was and why they did it.
Maybe we’d have another target to get rid of.
Or maybe I’d have a new employee to hire.
