Nicki nodded, pointing at the barely noticeable smudges along the window and door frames. “I’ll say. These look like laser points to me. Break the stream when they’re engaged and all hell breaks loose.”
Brookes agreed. “Close-ups don’t show anything like that on the attic level though. He’s probably just got the standard wiring. Fidiot probably doesn’t think he needs the extra protection up that high.”
“That’s because he’s never met us,” Nicki said with a grin.
Chapter Sixteen
They waited until most of the houses had gone relatively dark, then slipped in like shadows, surrounding the house at various strategic points. Not surprisingly, Nicki was the first one in. She traded her suburban outfit for form-fitting body armor, a protection against the cold that would allow her the greatest range of motion. As the lightest and most nimble, she’d been able to easily shimmy up the porch supports to the first story roof, then proceeded to use gutter brackets to noiselessly work her way toward the slotted, angular vent. It took a few moments to loosen some of the slots, but she didn’t have to do many. With her small frame and excellent muscle control she was able to slither in like a snake.
The first thing she did was disable the alarms along pre-selected windows for Fisher and Brookes. She worked quickly and efficiently, her hands steady and her mind calm and collected, though she couldn’t completely stop the anxious wriggling in her gut. Finally, Nicki would have her vengeance.
She found Benny in the master bedroom, lounging in a black silk robe that hung open. Nicki flinched at the pain that shot through her at the very sight of him. She had to remind herself that she was no longer a child, but a grown woman with the knowledge of at least a hundred ways to kill a man in less than ten seconds. Her mother was beyond his reach. And he would never, ever, think to threaten her brother again.
In his hand was a remote, the unmistakable moans and groans of a child pornography feature film filling the room. Nicki knew instantly that Benny hadn’t changed at all. It only strengthened her resolve, her belief that he had to be stopped.
Despite all of her training, Nicki felt her cool self-control slipping away as the awful sounds triggered terrible memories. How many times had she been forced to watch those horrible films? How many times had he schooled her in the ways of pleasuring men?
And she’d been one of the fortunate ones. Benny didn’t sell her like he did the others. He had developed a particular fondness for her, and generally kept her all to himself. The rage built up inside of her, but she tended it carefully, stoking it but not letting it get out of control.
Nicki stepped silently from the shadows. She only had a few minutes at most before the others disabled the guards she knew had to be lurking around – Benny always had plenty of protection – and made their way up to her. But Benny was hers, and hers alone.
Nicki knew she must have been quite a sight to behold. Dressed from head to toe in form fitting black, her hair unbound and flowing over her shoulders, her pale gray eyes glowing luminously, she must have looked like an avenging angel.
“Benny,” crooned Nicki as she held a gun to Benny’s temple, the soft click letting him know what she was about to do. “Long time no see, huh?”
Benny’s eyes widened as his brain processed the figure before him. “Nicolette,” he said, paling. “I thought you were dead...”
Nicki smiled showing perfect white teeth. She was no longer the helpless young girl at his mercy, afraid that if she ever refused him he’d kill her brother. All those years, she’d let Nick believe she’d done all those things to protect their mother. That was only partially true. If it had only been Charlene she’d been worried about, if she didn’t think Benny would use his considerable resources to make good on his threats, she would have taken Nick up on his offer to run away.
No, Benny had discovered her real weakness. The bastard made sure that Nicki always knew Nick was one refusal away from an unimaginable fate.
But she held all the cards now. Benny would never hurt her, her brother, or anyone else ever again.
“I could say the same of you, Benny. We must have Guardian Angels, you and I.”
Benny licked his lips, regaining some of his poise. Such arrogance. Obviously, he had no idea the monster he’d created all those years ago.
His lecherous gaze ran the length of her body. “Black suits you, Nicolette. It brings out the darkness in you.”
“You know all about darkness, don’t you, Benny? Selling drugs. Whoring out kids. Torturing and murdering people.”
Benny’s brows creased in confusion; for a moment he didn’t seem to know what she was talking about. “Ah – you mean the boy who tried to steal you from me? Yes, I remember him now.” Benny actually chuckled. “Such romantic notions. I had to teach him a life lesson, Nicolette.” His eyes hardened. “Fairy tales are for children. And no one steals what belongs to me.”