Where's Molly(10)

I purse my lips, feeling, rather than seeing, his amusement.

“Did you kill them?” I question, realizing that in the nine years I’ve been gone, a lot could have changed with Cage.

“No. Legion handles that.”

Legion is an underground organization run by an elusive no-face man named after his company, who employs hitmen to take out whoever they deem necessary. They specifically target those who frequent the dark web, and much like their sister organization, Z, they go after pedophiles.

While Z focuses on the trafficking rings and larger operations, Legion was formed to focus on the smaller fish—the psychopaths who lurk in plain sight, fitting into society as the blue-collar working class or with their corporate desk jobs, all the while wreaking havoc on innocent souls when they clock out.

Though, Legion sees them for who they really are. Wolves in sheep's clothing. Beasts in human skin.

Cage is quiet as I trim the judge’s wispy, thin hair, then remove his dentures and the few remaining teeth and start up the Sawzall again, dismembering him quickly. Except the second I finish silencing the machine, his deep, oceanic voice is back.

“When did you start working for Legion?”

I take a steady breath, grabbing two severed arms and walking them over to the first pen with Dill and Chili inside. I toss an annoyed glance toward Cage on the way, but his expectant expression doesn't budge.

“Not long after I came back. I bought this farm on a whim. It was cheap, secluded, and came with the pigs. I was going to get rid of them, but then I realized they could be useful. I could be useful.”

The arms go flying into the pen, and Dill and Chili don't hesitate to tear into them. Pivoting, I head back toward the table and grab two legs. I heave them up, and when Cage steps toward me as if to help me, I shoot him a warning glare.

I’ve never needed a man to do the heavy lifting for me before, and I sure as fuck don’t now. I’m more than capable .

Garlic and Paprika are fed next, and Cage doesn't remove his burning stare from me for a single second.

It sets me aflame, like a fever ravaging my insides. I'm short of breath, my palms are sweaty, and my knees are weak. I'd love to pretend that it's because he makes me sick, but my tightened nipples and the faint thrum between my thighs speak otherwise. He holds my body beneath his thumb, ready to betray me when my head demands control.

“I still had Legion's contact info and reached out. Told him I wanted to help snuff every piece-of-shit pedophile from this planet, and how I planned to do it. He was happy to oblige.” I end my explanation with a shrug, before grabbing the two severed heads.

Oregano always gets the heads. She's the momma of the bunch—and the biggest.

He's quiet again, seeming to contemplate that as he watches Oregano bite into the judge's head, cracking it open like a watermelon.

“When did you start working for him?” I ask quietly.

“I don't. I still own my store, Black Portal. However, Legion’s a friend, so when he needs help, I give him a hand.”

I nod, turning my gaze back to my pigs. They were already named when I inherited them, and when I first heard what they were, I thought they were stupid. Who names pigs after seasoning?

Now, I find them quite fitting, considering their diets. A little bit of spice with their human meat.

“Moll—”

“You're supposed to call me Marie,” I say. “That's what everyone else knows me by.”

I flick a glance at him, noting his raised brow.

“Everyone else?”

I shrug. “The grocery store clerk that sells me wine, mainly.”

“No friends? Boyfriend?”

I sigh and grab the other set of arms and legs, tossing them to Oregano. The other four can split the two torsos.

“I don't allow attachments when I make money the way I do. Lying to loved ones and living a double life doesn't appeal to me.”

“So, you have no one,” he states.

After tossing the torsos in the last two pens, I give him a dead stare, letting him see through the windows of my soul, only to find nothing inside.

“No one,” I echo, then turn and head to the cleaning station tucked into the far corner of the barn, near the metal table.

“Legion already paid for tonight. Thanks for dropping them off,” I toss over my shoulder, signaling the end of his visit. The pigs are finishing up, and I prefer to clean alone.

Or maybe I just prefer to be alone.

It's a quiet existence, but it's been so long since I've known anything else.

“I'll see you around, Molly,” Cage murmurs, the statement sounding more like a vow than a goodbye.

My throat tightens, and it doesn't ease until I hear his car door slam shut, the engine start, and the tires crunching over the gravel as he retreats.

My phone rings, showing an unknown number, and like every time before, I answer it and hold it to my ear wordlessly.

“Is it done?”

“Yep.”

“Good.”

The line goes dead, and once again, I'm left with nothing more than blunt teeth chewing through bone.

“Thanks, Helga,” I sigh.





Molly





Present

2022




The sudden knock on the door causes me to jump out of my skin, nearly sending the wine in my glass splashing in my face and on the fantasy novel from Adeline Reilly that I’d been reading.