Doubt

Chapter Five - Doubt

Balor's POV

"The Toronto police are saying that no arrests have been made for the murder of small business owner Tom Bringer. Police ask if anyone has any information to cal-"I turned off my television, slamming my remote down onto the glass table, shattering it. My jaw ached from me clenching my teeth together so hard. I gulped down the last of my scotch, chucking the glass at the wall, shattering it to pieces.

I turned to John, who stood by the door anxiously. I felt the fear oozing off of him, but he refused to look at me. Instead, he kept his head down, eyes focused on the floor. Smart move.

"You had one job, and after five years, you choose today to fuck it up." I snapped. I ran my fingers through my hair. Irritation and anger taking hold.

I can fix this. I'm used to cleaning up after incompetent humans. Why should my guys be any different? Let's hope it's not too late.

"I'm sorry, Balor. I made sure to add the potion you gave me. It was supposed to spray her once she opened the package. I don't understand why it didn't go off." Shame filled his voice as he shook his head. I let out an annoyed sigh.

"I should have helped you do it. I always help you do it." I shook my head, trying to push away the anger and let my logical side take hold.

"I was distracted by Fredrick. I should have had you wait so I could have done it myself." I shut my eyes, rubbing my hands down my face.

That's when the idea popped into my head. I had to be exactly like Fredrick. Plant some evidence and then swoop in and save the day.

No one in the black market knew my real face. I always glamoured myself to hide that from everyone else. The only one who knew my face was the mayor, and I used so many forgetting tonics he never knew exactly what I did, just knew I had connections. I had sent others in to deal with any other deals made, had some employees take bribes from clients, agreeing to alter camera footage for the shadier businesses. Had them believe I didn't know a thing about it. So everything would play out perfectly. I could use the business front to come forward with a lead and keep the innocent act up without a single worry.

After all, I was the most eligible bachelor in the city. I ran the most successful business around, and with that came trust and power. Humans were always easily fooled by good looks and money. Plus, with my security business being the most employed in the city, it made sense that my company would have footage of any businesses or alleyways in the dumping area.

"Looks like he's figured out something." Lucas mused behind me. He used to be the head warrior of the Bloodstone pack when my father ran it. But, he decided he needed a little more action and joined my crew without a second thought.

"Definitely his thinking face." Lincoln laughed. He was the only family member that was involved in this side of the business. He was my Aunt Cass and Uncle Ty's son. Lincoln was the same age as Imelda and definitely someone I was glad to have on my crew.

"I got an idea. The best way to throw them off of our trail is to make them believe it's going in a different direction." I turned to them, giving a sly smile.

"Link, I need you to play around with some footage near the alley where they found Tom." I turned my attention to John.

"I'm going to glamour you, and then tonight, we will reenact the dumping. Make sure the cameras catch us."

"How are we going to get his body back." I looked at John. The guy was tough and wasn't a complete idiot, but he also wasn't the sharpest sword in the armoury. He was my second hand when it came to giving a god beating, but not when it came to planning. Lincoln and Lucas both burst out laughing. John's brow furrowed in confusion.

"What's so funny? It's a good question, idiots." He defended, which only made them laugh harder. I shot them a stern look in warning, instantly silencing them.

"Oh John, sometimes I wonder how you survived this long in this kind of business. You seem to always forget the most important details." My words reopened his already wounded ego. It was like pouring rubbing alcohol on a fresh cut.

I was still pissed with him. If he had done his job right, I wouldn't have had to come up with this plan in the first place. Of course, no one was perfect, hell I killed people for a living, but stupid mistakes like this pissed me off.

"You forget that I am part Fae. All it takes is a little magic, and then everyone sees what I want them to see. A simple rolled-up rug being dragged across the ground can look like a headless man." John rubbed the back of his neck, giving off a nervous smile, not bothering to ask any more questions.

***

We waited until the early morning when the streets were dead, only the odd car passing by. There were three businesses on this street that I worked for—one which was directly across from the alleyway. The bonus was the owner was away this week on vacation. Talk about luck. I would take myself to the casino and bid all my money red if I believed in it.

The little antique shop was closed up until Friday. And we looked over our surveillance footage for small businesses like this once a week unless the business owners called and asked us to review any thefts or, in this case, murder.

I placed a diversion spell at the end of the one-way street. If anyone came close in the next twenty minutes, they would second guess themselves and go down the next street.

The one thing about Toronto was that there were so much construction and detours that it was easy to find a new route to wherever you wanted to go. But, of course, it also helps that Eglington Avenue has been under construction for years, and it still isn't close to being finished.

"Okay, John, since you fucked this up, you're dragging the body alone. Make sure you look over at the camera so it can capture your face." John grunted as he eyed the rug. We doused it in water and then wrapped it around a small boulder, so it was heavy enough to mimic a body being dragged.

"You're sure they won't recognize my face?" I arched my brow.

"Of course, they won't recognize you. I've been playing with magic for a long time. If I say it's going to work. It's going to work." My voice clipped as I adjusted my fedora.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to insult you I jus-"

"Save it. Now get moving. We don't have much time." I spun around, heading for my blacked-out Land Rover. Lucas sat in the passenger seat, keeping watch for any police or pedestrians. I opened the door and sat in the driver's seat, peeling off my black leather gloves, my rings shining in the street light. The tattoos on my hands spread out to my fingers. It hurt like a bitch to get them, but I enjoyed the pain, and each tattoo had a meaning.

A rippling headache shot from behind my eyes. I massaged my temples, trying to push the headache away. I could feel Lucas watching me.

"You need to stop taking those tonics, Balor."

"I'll take them for however long I want. They're the only thing that stops the visions from coming. The headaches will pass. They always do."

"It's not healthy to stop the visions from happening. Your mother and Melody have both warned you about it on multiple occasions before coming here." I let out a low growl, Flint pushing forward. He hated when we were told what to do. He was a more silent type, hardly ever talking unless needed.

"I'll go to Bloodstone this weekend to see a healer if you shut up about it. Okay?" I snapped, another wave of pain hitting me. I gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, clenching my jaw until it was gone.

"I'm just looking out for you."

"I never asked you to. Now keep watch. John should be coming out any second."

I wanted to thank him for caring, wanted to show that I appreciated it. But that wasn't me anymore. I had too much to lose caring for others. I kept my family and pack safe, kept them well fed and out of harm's way, and that was it. To start caring for everyone around me, to let them know I cared was a death sentence.

People in the human world prayed on the weak. Any being who was looking for power, really. They looked for anything they could take to gain the upper hand.

So I kept my identity hidden from the dark side of my business and kept up the playboy façade to the public. Besides, my sister cared, and no one seemed to notice when she gave up her life to keep them safe. No one stepped forward and offered a hand when she needed it most, not even me and I regretted that every day since I left that dreadful palace.

My thoughts were ripped apart by the laughter of Lucas as the back passenger car door slammed shut.

"Dude, you seriously need to keep that look. I've never seen something so ugly in my life." I turned to John. His usual onyx hair was now a greasy turquoise. His tanned skin paled, and a tear tattoo sat underneath his left eye, his eyes a dull green and sunken in. A huge mole sat above his upper lip with hair growing out of it. I even made him have a hunched back and a limp to really throw them off our trail.

"Can you change me back now?" John groaned as he ran his fingers through his short hair.

"We should keep him like that for the week. After all the trouble he caused us." Flint snickered.

"I don't know, John. I think I might like this new you. You'd really creep out clients, one look at you, and they wouldn't risk screwing us over in fear we might send you after them." I laughed.

"You can't be serious." His voice was full of panic.

"Deadly." I put my car in drive and pulled out, heading down the street towards my office where Lincoln was working on the footage for the police. We entered the parking lot and headed for my private elevator. My car alarm beeped as it locked behind me. We all stepped through the opened doors of the elevator. We rode the elevator, no one spoke. Only the soft music played through the speaker filled the silence. The lights of each floor switched as we reached the second-highest level in the building, the level where we kept all the surveillance systems.

I had employees who worked around the clock—constantly monitoring the cameras in the shipyards, distribution companies, and any more significant business that requested constant updates. Two guards stood at the entrance, giving me a quick nod before they both carefully eyed Lucas and John. Their brows arched as they took in John's appearance. He let out a grunt as he passed through the doors.

We walked down a wide hallway. Glass walls replaced regular ones, allowing us to see the teams monitoring the cameras—some typing away on their computers, others switching from one screen to the next. Big overhead monitors hung on the walls displaying stats and locations of specific cameras, a new form of security my IT team suggested.

We continued down the hall until we stopped outside of a metal door. I knocked on it twice and stepped back, looking into the camera as we waited for Lincoln to open it.

Only three people were allowed to work in this room. Lincoln was one of them. This was where we fixed and altered some of the camera footage for certain clientele. Finally, the door swung open, and we all stepped in. A loud click from the door let us know that it locked behind us.

Lincoln's back was to us as he worked on his computer, switching up the timestamps on the video we just fabricated. Then, finally, he hit a key on his keyboard and leaned back into his chair. His blonde hair cut short, and his tattooed arms curled behind his head as he spun around to face us.

"My Goddess, what the fuck happened to you?" He asked John as he looked at him in horror.

"I mean, I know what happened, and well, I could see how ugly you were in the video footage, but damn, it didn't do justice. You are one ugly son of a bitch."

"Shut up." John snapped, his wolf lacing his voice. Lincoln ignored him and turned his gaze to me.

"How long are you going to keep him like that?" An amused look on his face. I shrugged my shoulder.

"Not sure yet." I mused.

"Would love to see him try to pick up a chick like that." I looked at the thumb drive Lincoln pulled from the computer, placing it in an envelope. I reached over and grabbed it, putting it in my coat pocket.

"In reality, after this gets looked at, he will be a wanted man. So I'll have to change him back after we get him buying a ticket at the bus station."

"Hey, no one said I was going to have to get on a bus." I turned to him, my eye cold as I gave him an unamused look.

"And no one said I was going to have to come up with a cover to keep our asses from getting thrown in jail. But here we are." I turned around and headed for the door. I stopped, looking back at the three guys who always seemed to have my back no matter how crazy the plan was.

"I'll go to the police station in a few hours. Make sure to take John to the bus station around six. Get him a one-way ticket to Montreal. I will have one of my guys pick him up and bring him back here tomorrow so I can undo the Glamour. Understood?"

"Understood." They said in unison.