Signs of Innocence (Soul of the Sinner - Book 4) Read online

  When I walked into that restaurant the first thing I noticed was her nice, plump shapely ass in the damn uniform that looked like it was made for her. When she turned around it was even better. Her shoulder length dark hair was pushed back, and she had these full lips that had a little gloss on the and the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen. She had fine hips and shapely thighs. She didn’t have tons of makeup on either, so she looked naturally beautiful. She was still wearing those black rimmed glasses, but even those made her look hot. Her beauty was exquisite, fragile.

  When I got rid of that first girl, I gave her a nod to come to my table and she refused. I almost came in my pants when she did that. I don’t remember that last time I was refused anything. I can go anyplace in Chicago and get whatever the fuck I want. Yet she said No…. she will soon learn not to say it when it comes to me.

  When I stared into her blue eyes I saw something. Her blue eyes were full of life, pain, and unquenchable warmth. She promised me that she wouldn’t say anything. I am not sure why, but I believed her when she said it. The thing is I already fucked up once. I got caught killing someone, I can’t screw up again by trusting her. I don’t know what Alex or Frank Deluca would do if I tell them I left a witness. I have killed many people, and this is the first time I got caught.

  As I was checking out that full chest of hers I noticed the name tag. She caught me looking so hopefully she thought I was just getting her name. In the middle of my discussion with Hannah, that little bastard Stan Irwin came stomping from the back. I have known him for years and I have never liked him. Stan Irwin is a low life drug addict who has tried to buy drugs from Deluca’s on several occasions. Deluca’s doesn’t sell drugs or allow drugs to be sold on our premise.

  Stan Irwin must not have believed in our no drug policy and tried to buy from some of our regular customers. He tried to cause problems as his ass was being thrown out and I had to deal with him. I am sure he remembered me and thought he would stick out his chest since I was on his turf. I guess he soon realized that I would beat his ass on his turf too.

  When I got rid of him I told Hannah to sit back down. She hesitated and when she did I had to stop myself from laughing. “Look… Mr. Killer…”

  The last thing I need is for her to call me Mr. Killer. Especially if I plan on popping up at the diner again and often. I had to let her know that I will be watching her. If she suddenly disappears, I’ll have no other choice but to find her and get rid of her permanently.

  I couldn’t let her call me Mr. Killer, but I don’t trust her enough to give her my real name. I lied and told her my name was Fred and warned her that I would be watching. Luckily for me the club closes thirty minutes before the diner. I’ll have time to close and drive over to the diner before Hannah leaves. Tonight, when Hannah leaves the diner, I’ll find out where she lives so I can keep an eye on her.

  The club is busy as usual, but it’s a slow night for me. We have our regular customers and they typically behave. I walk back and forth in the alley staring at my watch. I need this night to end so I can get back to Hannah.

  The alley door slams shut and Oliver walks towards me and nods. He asks if I want to hang out tonight and grab a drink. I normally jump at the chance to hang out with Oliver. We always head to the best strip clubs and the woman all love the bad Italian guys that we appear to be. Oliver’s eyes rise when I tell him that I can’t hang out and I know he is going to start asking questions.

  “What else could you be doing?” Oliver questions

  I sigh telling him that I have other plans and they are personal. Oliver flinches and crosses his arms as he thinks this over.

  “Why don’t I believe that shit Thomas? All your plans revolve around killing someone or getting pussy. I know for a fact that you don’t have anyone to kill tonight and we have to go out to get the pussy… so what is going on?” Oliver tells me and he’s right. I pinch the bridge of my nose and stare at the alley door as I explain to Oliver what happened. He rubs his hand through his hair and starts to pace while I wait in silence expecting him to explode on me

  “How in the fuck could you let this happen?”” he yells

  “I don’t know. There was no one around and she just appeared.” I tell him, and he continues to pace

  “I will handle her. I’ll make sure she won’t talk.” I promise as he stops pacing and walks in front of me putting his fist in my chest

  “You can’t promise that Thomas. You can’t watch her twenty-four hours a day. She could go to the cops at any time. If she describes you, they will know who you are, and they will take us all down.” Oliver spits as he pushes against my chest

  I assure him that she won’t talk, and he starts to laugh at me. I can’t blame him since I want to laugh at myself once it flows from my mouth. I don’t even know this girl and I trust her?

  “If you don’t fix this Thomas, we will have too.” Oliver tells me, and I nod as he walks back into Deluca’s slamming the door

  Hannah

  Stan locks up the diner as I wait for our little meeting to happen. When the other girls leave I am left alone with Stan. I watched as he went to his office and came back with a bottle of gin. He grabbed two glasses, which I will most likely have to wash before I leave. He pours as he moves his chair closer to mine. I take a breath as I push further away from the table and Stan. His eyes narrowed as he pulled me closer and pushed the glass towards me. My chest tightens as I am so close I smell his breath.

  “What is this Stan? You wanted to talk.” I remind him, and he drinks the glass in one gulp before refilling

  “What were you talking to that guy about?”

  “Which guy?” I question, and I notice Stan starts to breathe a little harder and my heart starts to race

  “Don’t play games with me Hannah. The fucking mobster. Why were you talking to him? Was it about me?” he spits out and I tilt my head looking at him

  “Why would I be talking about you? I barely like talking to you Stan.” I tell him as I push away from the table and walk away. I feel my hair being yanked and his hot breath against my ear in an instant. Stan starts telling me how he is sick of my attitude and how I should be grateful that I have a job at the diner. I turn suddenly giving Stan an elbow to the stomach and look back at him as he is hunched over. I grab my purse from behind the counter and he trip me. Stan is on top of me in seconds, pinning my hands down. I try to push him off, but he is too heavy for me and he rips my uniform open. As he reaches one of his hands into the cup of my bra I reach into my purse and somehow manage to grab my pepper spray.

  Stan starts to scream and rolls off me as I get off the floor. I shake my head as I try to button up as Stan cries and wipes his eyes. I can’t believe Stan would try this with me. I knew he was a leach, but trying to force himself on me? I don’t know why I did it, but I turned my back on Stan when I started buttoning my uniform. As I am fixing my clothes, something hard hits the back of my head and everything goes black.

  I can feel myself being dragged and when I finally stop moving I feel my legs being opened. I feel wetness on my neck and something rough on my lips. I force my eyes open when something hits me had across my face. I watch in slow motion as Stan’s face comes closer and closer. It’s hard to breathe and It feels like something is sitting on my chest, I would rather die than go through this. My eyes focus as Stan lower himself on top of me. I start to scream as I struggle to push Stan off as he spits that no one will hear me.

  Stan lifts his hand to hit me again and I reach for something. I need something to hit him with, but there is nothing. I feel Stan grab me in my most private area when suddenly I am startled by something that sounds like a firecracker. Stan stops moving and his eyes widen. He falls, and I gasp as the dead weight hits me.

  “Are you ok” I hear the man asking and I shake my head realizing the voice is familiar. I wipe my eyes as I look at Stan’s body lying on the floor across from me and I turn to see Fred’s dark eyes as he is kneeling besides Stan but
staring at me.

  None of this feels real. One-minute Stan was on top of me about to rape me and the next minute Fred is checking Stan’s pulse to see if he’s dead. Fred starts to pace, and I listen as he starts swearing to himself, or maybe it’s directed to me? I don’t understand why he was even here? How did he know to come into the diner? Stan locked the door; how did Fred even get in?

  “We need to get rid of the body and clean up the blood.” Fred tells me, and I immediately start to protest. I can’t do this, I can’t do it. I don’t know if I am about to throw up or pass out, but I am starting to feel lightheaded. I glance at Stan’s body and back to cold dark intense eyes.

  “No… I am calling the cops.” I whisper, and Fred’s eyebrows touch his hairline as he stares at me in shock. He starts to laugh, but it doesn’t seem genuine. His cold laugh almost gives me chill as he slowly walks towards me still holding the gun.

  “Hannah… We don’t have time for this shit. The diner opens in a few hours, so we need to do this shit fast.” Fred’s cold voice reminds me snapping me out of my own thoughts

  I watch silently as he easily lifts Stan’s dead body. I grab a mop bucket and clean the blood off the floor. Fred somehow manages to throw Stan’s heavy body over his shoulder and walks out the door with him. A short time later he comes back into the diner and I have finished wiping up the blood.

  “How are you getting home?” Fred asks, and I tell him that I normally walk home. Fred stares towards my chest and I glance down realizing that Stan ripped the buttons off. I also have blood on me. I pull my top closed, but I sigh realizing that I’ll have to walk home like this. “I’ll give you a ride.” Fred whispers and I shake my head. There is no way I’m letting this guy know where I live. I would rather take a chance with the gang members on the street than with him.

  “I’ll walk” I announce, and I see the shock on his face. Fred walks over and grabs my arm as he leads me out of the diner. I should protest, but I have no more fight in me to give.

  I ramble off my address as Fred puts me into the passenger seat of his car. I notice immediately that we aren’t going straight to my house. Fred drives just outside the city limits into a construction site. It looks like a new subdivision is being built and I wonder why we are here? Fred parks the car and heads towards the trunk. I watch as he pulls out Stan’s body and walks towards one of empty plots and drops him into it. Once Fred gets back into the car, he pulls out his phone and sends someone a text. His eyes meet mine for a few seconds before he looks away and repeats my address to me.

  I sit quietly in the passenger seat recounting everything that I have gone through tonight. I am sitting in the car with a killer. I have now seen this man kill two people and I am alone with him. I glance at Fred and his eyes are cold and emotionless. His knuckles have dried blood on them, but they have turned white from the tight grip on the steering wheel. Fred must feel my eyes on him and he turns to look at me, but quickly looks away shaking his head. He is probably going over the nights events too. He must be pissed that I have seen him kill two people. I guess if things turn bad for him, I will be the witness he’ll need to eliminate. What other choice does he have?

  When we finally stop in front of the bar also known as home, Fred’s suspicious eyes glance at me. He advises me that this is a bar. I nod and have no other choice, but to tell him this is my home. I wish I could have given him a different address, but I have no other place to go. I avoid making eye contact with him as I reach for the door handle. Fred grabs my arm and I follow his eyes as he looks at two guys who are most likely making a drug deal near the front entrance.

  “Is there an option B?” He asks, and I look at him wondering what he’s asking?

  “What do you mean?” I ask, and he looks at the me and back to the men standing in my doorway

  “Is there somewhere else I can drop you off? I can’t let you go in there.” His mouth thinning with displeasure

  “You can’t let me? I live here. You don’t know me Fred and I don’t know you. What I do know about you, will probably put me in your trunk next.” I whisper, and Fred grabs my arm before I can get out

  “Give me an option B. If you get out of this car, I’ll have to deal with those two before you go up Hannah.” I tense and feel a chill go up my spin at his words. I slam the door and mumble off my parent’s address. I glace at the drug dealers near my doorway and realize they were only a small problem I had to deal with tonight.

  I notice the suspicion on Fred’s face the minute we pull into my parent’s driveway. The house looks like it should be condemned. It’s the worst neighborhood in Chicago and this house must be the worst on the block. My parents are always too drunk to take care of anything. I shoo away the stray cats that are laying in the yard and I am embarrassed by all the trash that is blowing around. I am not sure what is worse Fred seeing where I come from or him killing me? Maybe the bullet would be quicker than watching the disgust on the face of a killer.

  I advise Fred that he doesn’t need to walk me to the door, but he is insistent to do so. I feel the tears in my eyes when my mother finally opens the door and glances at me and Fred. She looks back at me and tilts her head looking at me in disgust. “Did I never teach you about periods?” she asks in disgust when she sees the blood on the front part of my skirt. Most mothers would also get suspicious when their daughter shows up, covered in blood with suspicious looking men they have never seen before, my mother doesn’t even ask who he is or why I am with him. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, my mother was never the loving type. My heart slowly breaks knowing that even covered in blood, with a killer standing beside me she still didn’t show concern. I have always known I am alone in the world and she just proved it.

  When Fred speaks up telling my mother that I wanted to spend the night, she laughs. Fred looks back at me when my mother walks into the house leaving us on the porch. He puts his hand on my lower back pushing me inside. I notice the sad look on his face when he glances around the house. My parents are living like fucking hoarders. I don’t think they have ever thrown a beer bottle away. I feel his eyes on me and I refuse to look at him. A few seconds later my father appears and it’s obvious he’s drunk. My mother comments that he should look at what the cat drug in and tells him that I have the nerve to want to stay. My father laughs and advises that if I stay, I’ll owe him. Fred is standing so close to me, I feel him tense and I turn to look at him.

  “Thanks for bringing me here. You can go now.” I whisper.

  Fred looks back at my parents I noted his set face, his clamped mouth and fixed eyes. A few minutes later I am sitting in the passenger seat of his car and he’s slamming the door shut. I hear him swearing to himself and he’s suddenly in the driver’s seat.

  “You’re coming home with me.” He tells me and for the second time tonight everything goes black. I am going home with a killer…

  Thomas

  Isn’t it funny how you know you’re doing something bad and you still do it? Every bad mistake I have made, I knew in advance it was a bad mistake. You always apologize, but the fact is you’re not apologizing for doing it. You are apologizing for getting caught. We plan to lie to someone, we plan to call in sick from work when you’re not sick. You plan to cheat on your taxes or you plan to cheat on your significant other. Mistakes are never done without proper planning.

  Hannah is sitting in my car and I am taking her home with me. She is the biggest fucking mistake I have made. The worst part is I have made the mistake with her three times now. Mistake number one was letting her walk away after she became the witness. Mistake number two was killing Stan in front of her and letting her watch me dispose of the fucking body. Mistake three is probably the most dangerous one for me…taking her home.

  What will Oliver think if he gets ahold of this information? I tried to get rid of her twice now. There was no way in hell I could let her walk home with her dress half torn off. I could have offered her a jacket, but what kind of man would I have been
? When I found out she lives above that damn bar, my heart sunk. I know my heart may appear to be to fucking small to sink, but it sunk. I can’t count how many times the Deluca’s have had to talk to those bar owners about selling drugs to the kids in our neighborhood. They have no boundaries and I wouldn’t doubt that they would take advantage of Hannah.

  I asked her for a different place I could drop her off. She said I could take her to her parents’ house. If my heart sunk at the bar, it was ripped out when I saw her parents’ home. I know there are people that are down on their luck. There are rich people and there are poor people. Not everyone has the money that I may have. Hannah’s parents are alcoholics and have drank themselves into this piss poor position. Hannah’s eyes were filled with tears, I was standing next to her and her mother didn’t even ask her what’s wrong? She didn’t question who the hell I was? If I ever have a daughter and she showed up at my house with a strange man with tears in her eyes, I would beat the guys ass first and ask questions later.

  Her father was another story entirely. I didn’t like how he looked at his daughter. I don’t know why I felt the need to protect her, but I did. I know he is her father, but I just couldn’t leave her there knowing he was drunk. I grabbed Hannah’s hand and left with her. She didn’t protest, which is probably because she was shocked. I was shocked too… I kicked my own ass while I walked to the driver’s seat. Hannah is a complication that I don’t need or want. I am so angry on the drive home, that my windows steamed. I tried to calm myself down. I tried counting to myself and thinking about something pleasant. The only thing I could think about was the woman next to me. I tensed each time she lifted her arm to push up her glasses.