SCRATCH (Corporate Hitman Book 2)

by Linden, Olivia

  Because he was in love. As much as he couldn’t verbalize it and hated to admit it, even to himself, that’s what he was. It happened so suddenly, and it wasn’t until that last night at the hotel as he held her in his arms while she slept, that he understood. On paper, Monica came across as a tough, no nonsense go-getter. Not the type of woman that you would expect to ever expect to throw away her years of hard work for the fanciful emotion of love. But in real life, when he was holding her or even just talking to her, that’s when you grasped the full dynamic of her personality. She had a kind soul, a witty sense of humor, and her passions ran so deep that they nearly crippled him with the force. Not only did he want to protect her, but Scratch had never felt safer or more wanted with any other woman.

  None of that mattered now, Scratch reminded himself. Men like him didn’t have the typical happy ending. He would be lucky enough if he found a trophy wife that he could tolerate while she spent his money. Taking a quick glance at his watch, he noted that he had twenty minutes until his boarding time. Tossing his untouched coffee and paper in the trash, he readjusted his bag and headed for his flight. He hoped that Jack had heeded his instructions and made sure his favorite scotch was part of the assortment of in flight beverages. At least he had something to look forward to.

  That thought made Scratch pause, and he mentally bitch slapped himself. He had a lot to look forward to. His freedom, for one. The weight of the sadness that pressed down on his heart eased a bit. He was young, rich, and free to live whatever kind of life he wanted. And once Glitch and Jack joined him on the island, he would truly be able to breath easy for the first time since he was a child. So he chastised himself. He would give his heart a few more days to grieve his lost love, but after that, it was on. He ignored the little voice in his heart that told him it wouldn’t be that easy. But the least he could do was try.

  With the thought of happiness, came thoughts of Eagle’s demise. Scratch hated that he wouldn’t be around to see the bastard brought to his knees. The vision caused the corners of his mouth to pull into a tight grin. He reigned in his amusement, not wanting the people around him to think he was a lunatic. That would not help him to stay incognito. His consolation was that he knew that Glitch and Jack wouldn’t fail. Maybe his luck wasn’t as bad as he thought it was, because he couldn’t have done any better than those two. He trusted them to have his back, and he trusted in their capabilities. They would ensure that Eagle’s trip to hell came sooner than later.

  It felt surreal to think of how things had changed for him over the years. Not pleased with being blackmailed to do the same crime he’d been locked up for, Scratch had always plotted revenge against Eagle. Then he settled into the familiar role, and working for Hawk Global was a breeze compared to working for the Russian Mob. The standard work hours, the perks, the growing bank account, and the access to luxury had blinded him for a moment. He’d never admit that to his boys, though. It wasn’t until Glitch came to them with his idea to do to Eagle what he was doing to others, to steal from him until they had what they needed to escape. Then Scratch remembered that the life he was living wasn’t real. Now he was on the way to start living a life that he deserved.

  After showing his flight information and ID to the airline personnel operating his flight, Scratch made his way towards the plane. With one last look at the hectic energy of JFK airport, he put New York behind him and climbed the steps into the private jet. The captain waited at the top and after introductions and handshakes, Scratch turned to enter the seating area of the plane. Then his heart stopped.

  Seated towards the back of the luxurious cabin, with her laptop and other gadgets splayed out all around her, was Araceli. She grinned at him like some sort of nerdy Cheshire cat wearing the geek frames that Glitch wore. And across the aisle from her, sat Monica. Looking every bit the part of a sexy international traveler. She wore a navy blue sundress with white polka dots, and a matching wide-brimmed navy hat. Her hair hung in straight layers around her shoulders and her face had very little makeup, except for a touch of red lipstick. Scratch stood frozen as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing.

  Monica couldn’t contain her smile as she watched Zio enter the cabin. The look on his face, when he first noticed Araceli, and then when his eyes landed on her. Her heart had never felt so full. Her heart never beat so hard and fast. It was clearly obvious that he hadn’t expected her to be there, and the traces of heartbreak still marred his face. That undeniable attraction to his broken soul tugged at her. She had to go to him. Hold him in her arms.

  With slow and steady steps, Monica made her way down the length of the aisle toward him. His hand was covering his heart, a true sign of his state of shock. She couldn’t see his eyes due to those damn reflective sunglasses he loved to wear. When she got close enough she planted one hand on his hip for leverage, and then eased up on her tiptoes and snatched the glasses off.

  “Monica,” Scratch uttered, his voice full of wonder.

  “Surprise?”

  “The best. Ever,” he replied sincerely. “How?”

  At that moment Araceli joined them, pulling them both to her for a bear hug. She leaned her head on Scratch’s shoulder, truly happy for him, before she explained.

  “A lot happens in our world in a couple of days. Right?” Araceli pulled away, smiling at Monica as she pinched Scratch’s cheek for effect.

  Araceli then proceeded to explain the drama that ensued in the wake of Scratch’s absence. How she had to convince Jack to prepare a package for Monica just in case, and how that had led to Glitch deciding that it would be safer if Araceli were to leave too. That led to arguments from both Araceli and Jack. She didn’t want to leave Glitch, and Jack thought that the Monica angle was a waste of time. Until Monica showed up with a change of heart. After Monica filled them in on the fact of what Eagle’s inside contacts were capable of, and how her partner was missing, Araceli gave in to Glitch’s request. Both Glitch and Jack assured her that it wouldn’t be much longer until they were all reunited.

  “So here we are,” Araceli said with her arms opened wide.

  “I can’t friggin’ believe this,” Scratch mused.

  “I thought about never seeing you again,” Monica said as she rubbed the slight stubble on his cheek. “I couldn’t let you walk away. I know I’d be happier doing anything with you than I would be here. And with all the drama at work? There wasn’t much left for me here, and I would never forgive myself for not giving us a chance.”

  “Bet the fact that I’m stinking rich didn’t hurt either,” he teased.

  “Well you’re a bright one,” she sassed him, but with a twinkle in her eyes.

  Scratch was overcome with emotion. Happier than he could have ever dreamed. Relief flooded through him like an overflowing river. He scooped Monica up into his arms, dropping his duffel bag, and kissed her with all the passion he was feeling inside. Monica kissed him back with a matching desire. She held him with one arm as the other kept her hat from falling.

  “I’ll just be heading back to my seat,” Araceli balked, already missing Glitch.

  Scratch pulled away from Monica’s lips in amusement. “Who’s the grumpy one now?” He called after the hastily retreating Araceli.

  “Cállate,” she yelled over her shoulder.

  “Don’t be like that,” Scratch teased. “This is payback from having to watch you and Glitch suck face all the damn time!”

  “Leave her alone,” Monica said, having compassion for her newly acquired friend. She empathized with what she imagined Araceli must have been feeling, having to leave her man behind to deal with that mess. Wrapping both arms around his neck, she pulled Scratch in for another kiss to shut him up for good.

  Chapter 21

  Jack

  Jack took a deep breath, sitting alone in the quiet of his apartment. Scratch was gone, along with Araceli and Monica. The plan was in motion, and Jack had never been angrier. It took everything inside of him, deep beneath the cold, to sto
p him from going after Eagle’s head right that moment. Instead, he waited for the call he knew would be coming. He’d told Glitch to stay ghost for a while from the apartment. Easiest thing had been taking care of a little mission that Eagle had wanted Jack to clear up. Disposing of bodies wasn’t the neatest job, but it took him away for a few days while he froze the remains and then made sure they’d never be found.

  Glitch had decided to tag along for the ride. It hadn’t been a job the hacker would volunteer for under normal circumstances, but Jack hadn’t been adverse to the company. He was always thinking about the next move. Remembering the plans he’s laid, and the escape routes that accompanied them. By now, if everything had gone right, Scratch and the women should at least be to Ireland. It was taking the long way around, but the more convoluted their destination became, the harder it was to track. Jack had needed the distraction of the mission to not wonder where Scratch was, and Glitch...well Glitch was taking it harder.

  The wretched job gave them both something to hate Eagle even more.

  Now the few days that Eagle had given Scratch to take off were up, and Scratch hadn’t shown up to work today. Jack stood slowly, his body aching and tired. He was pushing himself too hard, but he couldn’t stop now. He still remembered that Scratch needed him to do one last mission. One last job before he left this hellhole of a life behind: find and save his half-sister Pristine. Whatever Scratch needed, Jack would do.

  He grabbed the blood packs from his store unit, where they’d been warming to room temperature, and picked up Scratch’s extracted molar as he left his apartment. Silent and moving quickly, he donned footies and gloves before entering Scratch’s apartment. He ignored the lost smell of his best friend’s cologne and the ready beer that always came his way. He didn’t think about where Scratch was on his journey. No, that all took emotions he didn’t need to deal with right now. What he needed was that cold feeling so he could do his job. He took out bag of blood and punctured the top. He walked around, in a path he’d think Scratch would have taken against attackers coming into his house, and let blood drip on the floor. He took a second pack, and poked holes in the top. Then he turned it away from him and punched it, near specific walls along the way.

  Most people didn’t get away with crimes because they didn’t think about the evidence. That blood dripped into little circular pools when it slid down the hand or body. That high velocity splatter on the walls or ceiling meant impact, and smeared blood, at directed angles implied movement. Even if Eagle never sent anyone other than Jack back into this room to check over it, Jack would be sure that it was believable that Scratch had fought not to be captured, and lost. Jack took the molar from its little baggie and got down on the kitchen floor, eye level with the bottom of the stove. Then he tossed the tooth, at an angle at the floor, so it found a natural landing place under it. That done he added a few more blood splatters and drips. Then he went for the final item, tucked deep in the back of Scratch’s room, and placed it as well. He took his time before calling Glitch.

  “It’s done,” he said when Glitch answered.

  “What do you need me to do?” Glitch asked, quietly.

  “Destroy any camera footage or twist it from two nights ago. Then wipe it, make the other footage look like the whole floor was vacant, but normal. Check the days leading up to it, just in case. We want Eagle thinking that night’s footage has been compromised by an extraction team.”

  “I’m on it.” Glitch paused for a moment and Jack resisted the urge to hang up. He wasn’t used to dealing with Glitch directly as often. Scratch had always been a buffer, the glue that brought them together.

  “He’ll be fine,” was all Glitch said. Jack nodded, knowing Glitch couldn’t see him, but not able to say anything.

  “I’ll pull the footage, and make a trail. We need to make it look good that Scratch may have been picked up by the Russians.”

  “Could work in our favor,” Jack said then.

  “Why is that?”

  “Because I’m going to fuck with them when I get the girl. They won’t like it. And Eagle is going to put us on their tail to get Scratch back,” Jack explained. Glitch chuckled over the phone, a sound that was both angry and amused.

  “He’ll deserve it,” Glitch said darkly and Jack silently agreed. Eagle deserved whatever they’d bring down on his head. Jack would ensure that it would be as bad as it could get.

  “We’re on,” Jack said, when his phone beeped. The private number didn’t fool Jack. Three people had his number.

  “I’m gone,” Glitch said and hung up. Jack took a breath as he clicked over.

  “Mission,” he said, his normal way of answering when Eagle called.

  “Where is Scratch?” Eagle hissed on the line.

  “And I should know because?” Jack asked, forcing his normal boredom into his voice. He wasn’t the one that Eagle expected to make nice.

  “Don’t play with me,” Eagle returned.

  “The last I knew he was home. I’ve been...busy,” Jack replied, reminding Eagle of where he’d recently been with the agent body disposal.

  “Yes, I suppose you have,” Eagle said calmly over the phone. “Check his apartment,” Eagle ordered. Jack counted to one hundred as he moved through Scratch’s home to mimic the act of him heading out his apartment.

  “Gae saeki,” Jack swore into the phone at the right moment.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “We have a problem,” Jack responded. “Standby, and I’ll send you footage.”

  Jack hung up before Eagle could say anything else and started snapping pictures of the room. He took his time, like he always did, gathering every bit of evidence. Then he snapped a picture of the piece that would get the ball rolling. It was a ring, one that Scratch had from his old days with the family that he never took out of his room. One that Jack had placed, very carefully, in the center of a blood pool near the disaster of a bathroom. He then lifted the ring and took another picture of it in his hands. He waited until the photos were sent and then he called Eagle back.

  “What the fuck is going on?” Eagle exploded on the phone. Jack didn’t think he’d ever heard the man sound so angry, or thrown off his game. That could help them.

  “It seems someone paid Scratch a visit,” Jack said quietly, letting some of the frigid anger lace his voice. He didn’t have to disguise his hatred of the man who was supposed to have saved them.

  “Who would have known where to find him?” Eagle asked, not really expecting an answer.

  “FBI has been in our business lately, looking into Scratch,” Jack hedged. You didn’t force a powerful man to see what you wanted him to. You coerced him until he felt like it was his idea. It stuck better that way.

  “We cleaned that up,” Eagle said thoughtfully then.

  “Anyone else make contact?” Jack asked.

  “No one. But pulling his name may have been enough,” Eagle added.

  “Whoever it is, wherever they are, I’m going to find them, and I’m going to kill them,” Jack promised on the line. Eagle was quiet for a moment before he laughed.

  “I believe you, and that’s why I’m going to pull you and Glitch for a while. We need Scratch back in the loop. I want him, dead or alive, I don’t give a shit which, but he comes back. There is no other mission until you get him back. And I want to know exactly how he got on their radar. What does the ring tell you?”

  Dead or alive? That’s all that mattered. Cleaning up that filthy fuck’s messes, because that’s all they were worth. How stupid he must think they are, that he didn’t even give a shit to choose his words wisely.

  “Scratch had a similar one, from his time with his family,” Jack hedged. Eagle swore into the line before his voice, cold as steel, came back on the line.

  “If it’s them, he may already be dead. But I’m going to want them to pay. And I’m going to know what the fuck they wanted from him. But keep your eyes open, we can’t assume it’s them just yet.” Jack wisely didn’t
answer either way.

  “Am I unlocked?” Jack asked instead. Always, when he’d gone on mission, Eagle expected that he do his dirtiest of on command, and usually with him as the audience. Unlocked would allow Jack to make decisions and move as he saw fit. It would also have Eagle asking fewer questions. Jack needed Eagle to believe that Jack wanted to get Scratch back at all costs.