The Nines (The Nines #1) (18 page)

“I’m not,” I assure him. “I was born right here in the USA.”

“This is Luci,” Alexander motions towards her bed.

Van nods.

“You’ll call in a replacement when you need a break. I don’t want her to be left alone.”

“I understand. Is no problem.”

“Great. And you know how to get a hold of me if there are any problems.”

Van nods again. He’s clearly not a man of many words.

“You’ll be okay?” I ask Luci. I want to gage her reaction to Van. He’s certainly a menacing presence. But I definitely wouldn’t be scared having him as my personal security guard. Nothing and no one is getting through that guy.

Luci gives an enthusiastic nod. Her spirits actually seem to have lifted quite a bit since Van walked into her room. The way she’s eyeing him I wonder if there’s a little bit of a crush going on. The guy isn’t my type at all. He’s hair is cut super short, kind of like guys in the military, and he’s got chiseled features. I could see women finding him attractive, even if I don’t.

“Let’s go,” Alexander whispers to me as he takes my hand in his.

I nod. “I think our work here is done.” 

Eight

Alexander

“This is bad,” I say as I pull up the document for Roxie to look at. “Really bad.”

“What is it?” When she leans over me to see the computer screen I can feel my body immediately respond to her close proximity.

We’ve already put a dent in the large condom box, but I still can’t get enough of her. I’m insatiable around her and it’s a surprising feeling. I don’t remember ever feeling that way with Samantha, even though I was a hormonal teenager when we were together.

Things with Roxie are different. My feelings are so much deeper and more intense. Maybe it’s because I felt dead for so long and she’s made me feel completely alive again.

I point to the email that Luc just sent to his frat brothers. It’s another challenge. And if we don’t act quickly it will probably be an even deadlier one.

My Delta Omega Gamma Brothers-

This is it. The final week to make things happen. If there’s a bitch left on campus who doesn’t know that NO means YES to a DOG then she needs to be taught a lesson. You know what to do. Follow the lead of your brothers and show them the new motto we live by:

DOGs take what we want. We don’t ask for permission. And we don’t take no for an answer.

Brotherhood forever-

Luc

My stomach knots every time I reread the email.

Roxie looks like she’s going to be sick. She pulls one of the other office chairs from the desk and sits down next to me.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have shown that to you.”

She shakes her head. “I’m glad you did.”

“These guys are animals. They treat women like they’re garbage to use, abuse and then discard. Do you have any more doubts about the plan?”

She swallows and then shakes her head again, this time a little slower and more deliberate. “We need to do this. We can’t allow them to hurt anyone else.”

“What about Julio?” I ask.

“He hasn’t phoned or come back. Maybe he decided to take the out you gave him.” She looks into my eyes. “We still need to proceed. With or without him.”

I access one of the secure, anonymous emails I use for my not-so-legal activities and breathe a small sigh of relief when I see a response from Xiang Yuan.

I have access to the materials and resources in your area. Will you also need installation services?

I type a quick reply:
As long as you can install in the next 24 hours. What’s the estimate?

Next day delivery with installation will be an additional charge. Two jobs.

Done
, I type. I don’t need the money and their jobs usually aren’t that difficult. It’ll be worth the investment to have our job done right. And I always trust the Chinese to get the job done right.

When we hear a knock on the front door Roxie and I freeze.

“It’s probably Julio,” she says.

I hope so. He needs to take part in the execution of our plan. I want him to own it and I don’t think he’ll be able to ever find peace with what’s happened if he doesn’t avenge Claire’s death.

We both head out of the office and toward the front door. When I look into the peephole I see both Julio and Hector standing there.

As I open the door the two guys give me a quick nod. I have to admit that I’m a little surprised to see that Hector has returned. What’s not as surprising is that he’s already eyeing Roxie like a lovesick puppy. I instinctively put my arm around her and pull her close. Part of me knows this is a possessive and probably chauvinistic action, but most of me doesn’t care. She’s mine and I want everyone to know it.

“So?” Julio glances at me and raises an eyebrow.

I’m a little shocked by how much he seems to have aged. There are bags under his bloodshot eyes and his forehead is etched with lines that weren’t there a week ago.

“It’s all set.”

“What does that mean?” Hector asks.

“Come in,” I urge.

The guys give each other a quick glance then enter my living room.

“Before we go any further I need to make sure you know what you’re getting into,” I scan both of their faces. “I want you both to understand the implications of your involvement.”

Both guys are now wide-eyed.
Good.
They need to realize that if they stay they’re going to become criminals.

I continue. “There’s no going back from this. Ever. Once it’s done it’s done and your lives will never be the same again.”

I notice Hector is trying to get Julio’s attention, but Julio is staring straight ahead. It’s almost like he doesn’t want Hector to talk him out of it.

Julio clears his throat. “What’s the plan?”

“It’s going to happen tomorrow. It needs to be done before they hurt anyone else. And I have no doubt that they will hurt more women. It needs to happen when all the guys are at the house. Tomorrow night is initiation for new pledges and they’ll all be there.”

“And what are you planning to do to them?” Hector’s voice is filled with uncertainty. Maybe he hasn’t followed Julio here because he wants to be a part of the plan. Maybe he’s followed him here to convince him not to go through with it.

“There are a few things I want to show you first,” I reply. “But I can assure you this will be a final solution.”

“Final as in…” Hector’s unable to finish the sentence.

“Final as in final.”

“What about Roxie?” Hector is looking at me rather than her, which I know it going to piss her off.

“What about me?” Roxie bites back.

Hector shoves his hands in his pockets and squirms a bit before responding. This time he looks directly at Roxie. “I don’t think you should be involved in this.”

Every muscle in her body tenses and I reflexively take a small step back because I suspect she’s about to go off.

She pokes a finger at Hector’s chest. “Claire was my roommate. Those animals killed her. They also beat and raped one of my friends and left her for dead. We also have evidence of them raping hundreds if not thousands of other women. They think they’re invincible. They think they can’t be stopped. And if the law won’t do anything, maybe it’s time to take the law into our own hands.”

“Two wrongs don’t make a right,” Hector replies.

“Seriously?” Now Julio is looking at Hector. “Your response to Roxie’s passionate speech is a tired cliché? That’s all you can come up with? They killed Claire and then disposed of her like garbage. They have no regard for life, so I have no regard for their lives.”

When Julio turns to me his tortured eyes are burning with rage. I know the look. I saw those eyes staring back at me in the mirror for the last several years.

“I’m in,” Julio says finally. “It’s what I want. It’s what I need to find peace.”

All eyes are now on Hector.

“It’s your turn, my brother,” Julio says. “Do you want to stay or go? It’s your call.”

Hector’s face twists with torment. It makes me wonder if the poor guy has ever done anything wrong in his life.

Not that I think what we’re about to do is wrong. I happen to believe it’s morally justified. Ridding the planet of evil serves the greater good.

But it is illegal. 

And maybe even a sin.

“Just go,” Julio waves Hector away. “Don’t stay because of your loyalty to me. I know that’s asking too much.”

I half expect Hector to take off running, but he doesn’t move. He shakes his head instead. “I’m not going.”

Then Hector makes a point of looking at Roxie. And that pisses me off. Does he think just because I’m capable of violence against deviant criminals and sociopaths that I’d ever do anything to hurt Roxie?

“I’d die before I’d let anyone hurt her.” The words escape my lips before I have a chance to stop them. 

“Why should we trust you?” Hector glares at me. I’m beginning to think this is more about Roxie than it is about vengeance, at least on his part.

I shrug. “I’m not asking you to. Just don’t forget that you came here. You both asked me for help.”

Julio holds up his hands. “Can we all please take it down a notch? We’re here for Claire and for all of the other girls those sick bastards hurt and for all the girls they’ll continue to hurt unless we do something to stop them.” He turns to Hector. “Do you see anyone else on this campus or anyone else in this city doing anything about them? This has been going on for years and it will continue to go on if we don’t act.”

“This is really what you want to do?” Hector looks at Roxie.

She gives a confident nod.

Then he looks at Julio.

“I do,” he replies.

Hector bites his bottom lip and furrows his brow. “Okay,” he says finally, his voice barely audible.

I want to make sure he’s sure so I push him on it. “What was that?”

“I said yes,” he fires back.

“Come with me then.” I grab Roxie’s hand and pull her into the office. I quickly turn back to make sure that Julio and Hector are following before I shut the door behind us.

“The room is soundproof when the door is closed,” I explain. “Just in case.”

I turn on all eight of my monitors which are now set to various shots of the exterior of the Delta Omega Gamma fraternity house.

“I want to be there when it happens.” Julio points to the video set up to monitor the front of the house.

“There are two problems with that,” I tell him. “My colleagues who set up the job didn’t give an exact time of detonation and we don’t want there to be any way to trace the job back to us.”

“What about these videos?” Hector asks.

“My colleagues are the ones taping the job. I’m piggybacking on their feed, anonymously of course. There’s no easy way to trace any of this back to me, or back to us. And I’m much too valuable to my contacts for them to ever turn me in. Why do you think they’re so eager to do this job for me no questions asked? They do me a big favor. I owe them two.”

“It could be a long night, guys and gal. Would you like to order us some pizza and wings while we wait?”

When Roxie laughs I glance in her direction. “Why is pizza and wings so funny?”

“Your pizza habit is how I found out about you. If you didn’t order so much pizza I may never have known about you.”

I place a kiss on her cheek. “I think we would have found each other with or without the pizza.”

When our eyes meet it’s like everyone else in the room and everything else in the world just disappears for a moment and it’s just the two of us. I give her another quick kiss even though I know there are jealous eyes watching.

My house, my rules. And those rules include kissing Roxie.

When Julio clears his throat Roxie and I look over at him. “Pizza sounds good. We should get wings too. I can’t even remember the last time I ate something.”

Hector nods in agreement. “We should eat.”

***

“You know this isn’t going to bring Claire back,” Hector says to Julio.

Julio nods. “I know. But I’m not sorry we’re doing this. Someone has to do something to make them stop. Remember when your dad sat us down for his pre-college lecture? He told us when he attended school here, way back in the 80s, there were rich boy frats and those guys thought they owned the world. He warned us about being careful who we associated with. He said when he was here there were frats who were known as the Soda Bottle Rapists. That was thirty years ago. And things haven’t changed. If anything they’ve gotten worse.”

Hector nods, but he still looks conflicted. And he probably should be. There’s no turning back from what we’re about to do.

The next few hours pass by slowly until I finally announce, “I think this might be it.” 

Roxie’s eyes are closed and she’s snoring ever so softly. I lightly brush her arm, but it doesn’t help. So I place my lips on hers in an effort to kiss her awake.

She blinks quickly as if she’s trying to reorient herself. Then she smiles when she realizes I’m staring into her eyes. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to get enough of that smile. I know I shouldn’t, but I feel greedy and possessive of it. Like I don’t want her to share that smile with anyone else but me.

“It’s time,” I say quietly.

After a few more blinks realization seems to cross over her face. She nods then rises from the chair and joins the three of us at the computer monitors.

Julio is running his hand through his hair and Hector is gnawing on the side of his mouth. I know they’re both nervous. I am too, but I do my best not to show it. My stomach is in a gigantic knot that I don’t expect to dissipate until the ordeal is over.

Then I wonder if it ever really will be over.

As the last of the DOGs enters the frat house the knot in my stomach tightens even more. Hector’s about ready to gnaw his cheek off and Julio might go bald by the end of the night he’s put his hand through his hair so often. The only one of us who doesn’t look nervous is Roxie.

“They’re all in,” I say.

Julio turns to me. “How do you know?”

“I’ve been keeping count. They’ve got 30 members and ten pledges. They’re all inside the house.”