Free SCARRED by Faith Price

porch swing. He was over 6’5” and the best member of the cleanup crew that there was. He was proficient with seven different weapons not even mentioning what he could do with a gun, and was lethal in three different forms of martial arts. Having lived the first nine years of his life in Rwanda, he often laughed how his adult occupation was cake compared to the survival occupation of his youth.
          Aside from being a killer for hire, he also owned a lucrative, and legit, cleaning business that specialized in crime scene and environmental damage cleanup. The ironic part was the crime scene cleanup. More times than not the blood being scrubbed off the walls was put there by Abidemi himself or his partner, Luis.
          Luis was a first generation American whose parental roots lay in Cuba. The two were partners, and Lawson hoped would always be on his side. Neither man had any qualms about killing. They’d kill their own parents for the right price.
          “We’ll have your home back to normal within two days.” Abidemi said in his thick accent. His ultra-bright smile broke free of his dark skin and he stuck his hand out to Lawson. Lawson shook it and looked at Luis. Luis was odd looking standing next to Abidemi since he was only just over 5’3”, but Lawson knew exactly what he was capable of, and he was every bit as lethal as his friend. Luis followed suit and stuck his hand out as well.
          “All right, gentlemen,” Lawson said handing each man an envelope full of money, “let’s go have a little fun.”
    * * * *
          Lawson sat in the back seat and watched the city grow seedier the closer they got to Southside. He wondered where Serene had grown up. Was it here in this bar-riddled place where hope in itself was only a dream? After that night at least one of the people responsible for her abuse would have paid. The thought didn’t make him smile. He hated the fact that there had been men with the greatest honor of tending to her heart, and they had abused that privilege. In some ways it was something worse than abuse; it was a perversion.
          The three men pulled up to same curb that Lawson had seven months earlier. The scene looked similar. There was the burn barrel with a couple of guys standing around it, but Ted was not there. The windows of the Town car were tinted, and Lawson didn’t feel a need to get out quite yet. The idiots were probably confused. Last time he had arrived in his truck. Lawson made a mental note to purchase a new vehicle the next day.
          “It’s your call.” Luis said from the passenger seat.
          “I’m just letting them squirm for a minute.”
          Both men in the front seat chuckled. “Look at them. This will be too easy.” Abidemi laughed. Lawson didn’t doubt his words.
          “All right, let’s go.” Lawson knew they were going to make an impression when they got out of the car. They had it planned perfectly. Luis would open Lawson’s door like he was royalty, and both men would flank him as they walked up the packed dirt back yard. All three men were dressed in expensive suits. Ted and his friends would either suspect their own deaths, or think they had just hit pay dirt.
          One of the guys from the burn barrel eyed them carefully and ran into the house. They stopped halfway as an intoxicated Ted threw the screen door open. He looked at each man in turn that stood on either side of Lawson.
          “Needed back up?”
          “The gentlemen are business associates.”
          “Right, right…” he waved a hand and pushed the door open with his body. “Well, come on in. Let’s talk business then.” Ted sneered and took a long pull off the whiskey bottle dangling from his hand. Lawson was amazed as he walked forward. He had just talked to the man less than an hour ago, and he didn’t seem smashed then. It could be an act he realized. Something to throw them off in case