Vigilare by Brooklyn James Read Free Book Online

on her stomach, the man crouches over her, pushing his pants down around his ankles, fully intending to rape her from behind.
    Her ears ring and the pulse in her head feels so strong, rhythmic like a drum as her senses heighten to a supernatural level. With each beat of her heart and every consecutive breath requiring more oxygen than the last, her body begins to awaken, feverishly hot, aching for release. In one fluid movement, she pushes off the floor, spinning herself around underneath the crouching man. Her foot connects swiftly and severely to his offensive manhood, kicking him off of her, catapulting his body across the room into the adjacent corner. He whimpers with the contact. With the speed of light, she covers him with her paranormal frame, winding the same piece of nylon rope he used on her around his neck, rapidly concocting a slipknot at the end for more efficient use.
    She crouches over his debilitated body, surely in shock. “Do you know what happens to a woman when a filthy pig like you touches her? Do you!” She tightens the cord, smiling down at the fear in his eyes. “She loses her soul. It dies a little more each time she has to shower to wash your filth away...and every time she wakes from a nightmare with the image of your sweaty body leaning over her...until one day she can’t find it anymore.”
    He closes his eyes, tears trickle down the sides of his face.
    “Oh, you’re going to try the crying bit,” she bites sarcastically. “Did Aubrey’s tears stop you? How many souls have you taken?”
    He remains quiet, his eyes squeezed shut.
    “What’s the matter, cat got your tongue?” She roughly pats the side of his face. “That’s okay. You don’t have to answer. I’ll find out soon enough. Never ceases to amaze me how mouthy you guys are when you’ve got the upper hand, and how passive you become when you’re in their position. Doesn’t feel so good, does it?” She pulls tightly on the cord. “Open your eyes.”
    He shakes his head.
    “It’s retribution time my friend. I’m here to take what’s left of your soul. Let’s see if you have one. Open your eyes. Open your eyes!”
    Startled, he does as she commands. At first contact with hers, emerald green and sparkling, he’s locked in, physically unable to close his eyes or divert them in any way. Image after image, her mind and heart take a beating, reliving all the nauseating deeds he’s done. Bodies abused, souls left scarred and broken, he has left his mark. With each innocent face that flashes before her, she tightens the noose until the life leaves his body. His soul finally extinguished. Retribution delivered.
    Her eyelids close heavily, her body exhausted. She pushes off the man’s chest, even standing proves a laborious task. The circle of emerald green light and imagery on the ceiling evaporates in a flash from Aubrey’s vision. The woman opens her eyes, the sparkle is gone.

 
     
     
    Chapter 4
     
     
    EARLY MORNING, DOWNTOWN Vanguard. Detectives DeLuca and Gronkowski wait for their coffee from a local, well-known street vendor, Stavros.
    “Tony...you not look, ah, so good this morning,” Stavros remarks. “You, ah, have woman last night?” He smiles.
    “Something like that,” Tony refers to the 2:00 a.m. wake-up call he and Gina received to investigate the murder at Aubrey Raines’ apartment. Both of them are moving at an unusually slow pace this morning, in much need of a caffeine pick-me-up.
    “And my Gina,” Stavros greets her with a kiss for each cheek, wherein lies a dimple, an attractive trait when she smiles. “You look, ah, beautiful, as usual. She’s easy on the eyes, this one,” Stavros nudges Tony, making his intentions clear. He cups her face with his hands. She smiles at him, her dimples exaggerated. “You blessed two times. The dimples. The mark of angels, they kiss you at birth.”
    “Remind me, why don’t I come here more often? This is the way to start a day,” she stands, her arm