Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 158(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 158(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
Romone was getting sloppy. All it had taken was using three of Carver’s own staff to leave the property, to conclude he was being watched. Then, all he had to do was wait the same three days to see when the person put in charge of watching him, left.
This man, Steve, left at ten in the morning, without checking to see who was following him. Today, he had enough of being watched, and it had lost its entertainment factor. Especially as his young wife liked to spend time out in the garden, regardless of whether it rained.
So, today, after enjoying breakfast with his young wife, he’d decided to pay the man a visit. For his troubles so far, Steve hung from a piece of rope, across the beam of his ceiling. The man had a nice cabin, out near the woods. Kind of reclusive, dirty. Everything screamed horror film. Including his begging to be let go.
Carver already figured out the details. Steve was a gambling man who owed Romone a lot of money. To try and alleviate the debt, he’d been asked to keep an eye on his location. Perfectly okay, but Carver wasn’t in the mood to have his every waking move recorded and reported back to Romone. Unfortunately for Steve, that meant his meaningless life would end today.
He crouched down so that he looked Steve in the eye. “Tell me what else Romone told you to do,” he said.
“Just watch, and who came in and out of the property. That was all. Videos and pictures, and details each time it happened. That is all, I promise you.”
“Do you know who I am?”
Steve shook his head.
“Have you ever heard of The Beast?”
The whimper out of Steve’s mouth was comedy worthy, but Carver was past that.
“Would you have been quite so willing to go to his home?”
“No, no, I … no, I wouldn’t do that. The Beast is a monster, he’s terrifying.”
Carver smiled at him. “He has scars on his face, lives alone in a house all by himself, cruel, isolated?”
The man started to whimper, and he had already heard more than he wanted to.
“In case you didn’t put two and two together, I’m him,” Carver said.
It was the last thing he said before he plunged the blade into the guy’s neck. He twisted it, severing the major artery, and then pulled out the blade, waiting for him to bleed out on the cabin floor. Glancing around, he wondered if there was any point in salvaging it.
Instead, he waited until most of the blood had drained out before getting to work with his real artistry. Removing the man’s head, he placed it in the cooler, sealed it, boxed it up, complete with the address.
After that, he started to clean up the mess, removing his own clothes in the process and changing into a fresh set. Carver knew how to clean up after himself. Then, he stood back and watched as the cabin burned. He didn’t leave until the whole thing had burned to the ground, then he climbed back into his car and drove to the nearest post office.
Wearing a pair of glasses to soften the scars, he mailed the box to Romone and then took off, heading for his home. The drive was insignificant.
Romone had once told him he was a fool to allow people to know his location. For Carver, it made perfect sense. He didn’t fear dying, and he lived for the challenge of those that thought they could take him on. He was more than happy to invite those who thought they had a chance. There had been a few men and women over the years who assumed they could kill him. They had all been mistaken.
He typed in the code and waited for the gates to open before driving inside. He paused, giving the gates time to close, and then he drove up the long drive and parked outside his house. Climbing out, he stepped up and entered his home to find Andy, the one man he did trust. Andy kept his home clean and tidy.
“Your package arrived this morning,” Andy said. “I placed it in your office.”
“Excellent. Thank you. Anything else?”
“Your wife has been going from room to room, much like she did the other day. She is currently in the swimming pool and has been for the past half hour,” Andy said.
“Any other news?” Carver asked.
“None, sir.”
“Good.” He nodded at the man, then turned on his heel and made his way to his office.
There wasn’t just one package waiting for him on his desk, but a couple. The first one was a collection of makeup products he ordered. He went to a beauty shop, showed them a picture of Morgan, and told them to supply the products a woman would enjoy. He’d already gifted the skin care routine to her that very morning.