6 - Kent’s POV

Kent’s POV

MY DELILAH

“We return to this damned L.A., and in less than two days, we already have a badly battered body to dispose of,” Louis sighed for the millionth time since he returned to the dark room and saw the lifeless, battered body of the bastard lying at my feet.

“Well, he had it coming when he tried that nonsense. Anyone who gloats like that after harassing a woman deserves the worst form of death possible. He’s lucky he died so quickly,” I muttered.

“He definitely is lucky to have only lost his eyes, fingers, toes, ears, and every pluckable body part in just ten minutes. But I told you to give me twenty minutes to research him,” Louis sighed again as he looked between me and the deformed body of the guy whose name he’d discovered was Preston.

“And I said I couldn’t promise you anything.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Yes, I did. Maybe you missed it, but it doesn’t matter anyway. He’s just going to be another unsolvable missing case for the police to deal with. They turn up every day,” I said with a shrug, concentrating on wiping the blood off my tools with the high-thread-count curtain towel in my hand.

“But this isn’t what we came here for. We returned to L.A. for a purpose, remember?” Louis sighed, frustration etched in his voice.

“Why are you making it sound so glorified anyway?” I was starting to get irritated with Louis’s nagging back and forth.

“Because it is! One of your offspring—literally the first and only one you know about—is getting married, and you’re here to celebrate, not pile up dead bodies in the incinerator!”

“You already confirmed that he’s a nobody, so why are you making a big deal out of his death? Plus, I didn’t come here to celebrate. That baby mama of mine just wants to use this as an opportunity to spend more of my cash. I’m not emotionally connected to them in any way!” I snapped.

“You’re so impossible, man. I just hope you can tune this down until we get out of this city, at least. This isn’t our forte, and things could get really drastic if we cross paths with the wrong people,” he said. As much as I could see the reasoning in his words, I wasn’t in the mood for any more scolding.

“I’m not new to this business, man.”

“Just watching out for you the way I’ve done for the past twenty years.”

“Hmm,” I grumbled under my breath before speaking up to steer the conversation away from this tension. “Is Jenna awake yet?”

Louis turned to me with a questioning gaze, making me defensive before he could even speak.

“Are you about to pick another fight because of this?”

“Pick a fight? Yo, bro, we literally came here for your son and wife—”

“Baby mama,” I corrected.

“For your son and baby mama. But you haven’t even contacted them since we arrived, yet here you are, worrying about some girl you had a one-night stand with?” His tone sounded exasperated, and I felt the rising urge to raise mine in her defense.

“She’s not just a one-night stand. I’m responsible for her,” I said, though my voice came out lower than normal. He picked up on it immediately, continuing his scolding.

“So, because you took her virginity, why should that mean anything? There are plenty of girls out there who’d give themselves to you, who’d kill just for a chance to give their first time to you. You know this. So why make a big deal about her?”

It was a question I had been asking myself since I woke up alone in that bed this morning.

“I don’t know, man!” I dropped the towel in my hand and twirled a small knife between my fingers before stabbing it into the wooden desk. “I just find myself wanting to keep her close, safe, and protected by my side. She’s a virgin, but she isn’t the first virgin or lady I’ve been with. Yet something about her—everything about her, Louis—just seems so different,” I explained, brushing my bloodied hand through my damp, sweaty hair.

“Different? How so? If you suddenly have a virgin fetish or a young-girl fetish—”

“I’m not sick, bro. I don’t have a virgin fetish,” I interrupted, but he continued anyway.

“You could easily find women like her all over the world, lining up to throw themselves at you. My advice, Collins? Give up on her. Let’s leave this city before you get too attached.”

His serious tone matched the intensity in his eyes. For the first time, I let him win, breaking the stare and turning on my heel to walk away into the darkness. But I stopped, turned back, and stood in front of him again.

“I can’t do that, bro. You saw how I ran to her earlier. I can’t bear to be away from her. I want her more than I want to commit the next murder,” I admitted, frustration bubbling over as I scratched my scalp until he grabbed my elbow to stop me.

“Collins, you know how dangerous this is for her, right?”

“I’ll protect her. I’ll do it with my life, I promise. No one will touch her. I just… I want her, man. I want her to be mine. Forever mine.”

“Even if she doesn’t know anything about this dangerous world of ours? Even if it means she’ll be a target for your enemies across the globe? You’ve never had a weakness, but this girl—you’ve known her for less than forty-eight hours, and I can already tell she’ll be your undoing.”

“If she’ll be my Delilah, so be it,” I said with a small, almost resigned smile. I’d never thought about how I’d die, but I always wanted to choose. Yet now, I wouldn’t mind leaving my life in her hands if that was what she wanted.

Louis’s face suddenly hardened. I frowned.

“You can’t possibly be in love, right? I’ve known you for more than half your life. This isn’t you in love for the first time, is it?” he asked.

“Boss, the cleaning company is at the gate. Should I let them in?”

Louis and I turned to Austin, my assistant, peeking in from the doorway with his announcement. Louis let go of my arm like it burned him. Straightening the bloodied collar of my shirt, I walked toward Austin.

“Yes, send them in. Anything else?”

“Yes, boss. Ms. Jenna is awake,” he added. My body reacted to that news like an emergency alarm. I sprinted to the front yard, jumping into the pool to clean up faster than a shower would allow.

For the first time in my life, I cared about how someone might see this side of me. And I cared deeply.