Defective - A Psychopath's Tale

Chapter 28

Nicholas

"Don't ever aim a gun at me again." Zandie told me in a cruel tone.

"Don't ever give me a reason to." I replied in a flat, monotone voice.

Reading her eyes, my message was clear. Zandie may be an expert shot with a sniper rifle, but she was nothing compared to me nor did she have the experience, face to face, in the same ring. She should also understand how much my neck was on the line; I had to be suspicious of everyone. Tullis had a growing reward on my head. That was something hard to outrun. My meeting with the estate buyer proved that. Tullis and the syndicate had 'friends' everywhere. The massive bounty on me made a lot of people willing to help when they normally wouldn't. Anyone whom knew of the reward would be looking for me.

With the slave guild, which Zandie and Holland both seemed to be tight with, revenge, justice for Becky Felcrest would be enough of a reason. If Holland knew I'd punched her clock, did the slave guild know also?

Lydia went over to comfort Zandie. This was another puzzle, those two had become very close recently. And it was more than just clothes that had brought them together. Lydia was more upset than Zandie it appeared, on the outside. Zandie was still plenty shaken, she just hid it well. Lydia held her hand while they both moved out to another room. That left Holland and I staring at each other.

"She's my concubine." Holland stated. "I would marry her, if she were willing." He held his eyes on me, piercing eyes of ice. "Don't ever threaten her again. You may be mister bad ass, so am I when I have to be."

That was a real threat from Holland. His point was clear. He was keeping me hid, and helping me. He'd also had Zandie make the identities both Lydia and I were using. He probably wouldn't include Lydia if we came to odds, but if he passed my identity information on to the wrong people, I'd be forced to use only a few identities and staying out of sight would be much harder. He had pictures of what I looked like in most of my disguises. This meant, if I had to take either one of them out, I'd have to take them out together.

Our eyes were still locked. "Just make sure it never comes down to that." I said coldly.

In a snap, Holland turned and left the room. He joined Zandie and Lydia out in the main living room. No one looked at me when I entered the room. Not even Lydia. Zandie was crying, Holland was holding her now. Lydia looked down and to the side as she knelt by Zandie on the opposite side Holland was on. She was using her peripheral vision to see me, but she never looked up. It seemed I'd burnt a bridge.

I started walking again. I left the room and started towards the stairs that would take me to the garages on the end of the block. It was time for me to leave. Maybe this was for the best. I'd leave Lydia with Holland and Zandie, she'd be safe here. She wouldn't have to return to the farm she hated. She had new identities, she could start a new life; a life she wanted.

The stairs finished placing themselves, I was just about to head to them and leave.

"What are you doing?" Lydia's voice asked.

Without looking back I answered. "Leaving. You can keep the cash." I started for the stairs about two meters away.

My left foot stepped onto the first stair; it started to lift with the others. I had to let go of the railing cable and take my foot off the step. I looked back to where Lydia's voice had come from, there was only one direction.

"No, you're not just leaving like that. Not like last time." Holland, he was by the control I'd used to lower the stairs.

Zandie was taller than either Holland or Lydia. I could see part of her head behind them. She stepped forward.