ultraviolence // kai anderson

& it felt like a kiss

    The fact that we were driven to our destination in a police car -- Sterling at the wheel -- was another added layer of security. By the time we parked a few houses down from the two-story residence that Kai said was the one, adrenaline was pumping through my veins making me feel jittery and invincible. It was reassuring to know that if anyone were to look out their window, all they'd see was a police car. Before we exited the vehicle, Kai passed around black face masks which we all promptly put on; they're surprisingly breathable.
    We stick to the shadows as best as possible, sneaking between two houses to get to the back door of our goal address. I stay close by Kai, but not so close as to get on his nerves or suffocate him. He looks unreasonably attractive dressed in all black, mostly leather, and directing all of this so confidently. Dakota is bouncing off the figurative walls in anticipation of getting inside; Haven shoves them and tells them to shut the hell up before they get us caught. That makes me giggle-- discreetly of course.

    I'd never thought myself a nervous laughter, but when Dakota punches through the welcome mat that Kai has held against the glass of the back door's window, I have to physically cover my mouth to keep quiet. I'm still grinning ear to ear from the thrill of it all when we sneak inside.

    I look around the interior of the house, deciding instantly that a man lives here: there are no pictures anywhere, there's a pool table where a dining table should be, and the place reeks of cigars. As everybody moves stealthily through the pitch-dark house, I stand still just in front of the door we entered. Holy hell, we're really doing this. It's already wild to think that just a month ago I was only a housewife and the most exciting thing I had to look forward to was my weekly frappe. Now I'm standing in a stranger's house nearly an hour from home with Kai Anderson, ready to do god knows what. I see him looking up the stairs as the rest of the gang grab whatever they want from the kitchen drawers.

    "Kai," I whisper once I'm close enough to him. He turns to me and subtly raises his eyebrows in response. I still get nervous when I've got his attention, but I push through and ask, "Who is this guy? What'd he do?"

    He holds onto the painted wooden banister and rests his foot up on the first step. "Truck driver. Divorced, so he lives alone. Found not guilty of all abuse allegations by his ex wife: sexual, physical. She tried taking matters into her own hand, and hired herself a hit man."

    My brows are the ones to go up now, but I keep quiet so he'll continue.

    "An idiotic, feckless excuse for a hit man who got caught and overpowered by our guy. Law found out, and the wife was sentenced to thirteen years in prison. She's currently serving those, while he rests cozy in his bed upstairs, completely off the hook."

    I nod, thinking everything through. Anxiety creeps in and I ask, "How do we know he's really guilty? That the wife didn't just wanna fulfill some grudge against him?"

    He seems a little pissed for a second, and I immediately regret questioning him. He looks over to Sterling, then points at him.

    "Ask her grandson. He was on her back when his granddad threatened to decapitate her right there. And for a hell of a lot of other despicable shit too." I follow to where his finger points, and realize now that we are in Sterling's very own grandfather's house.. I think of the tiny blue-eyed boy looking up at his grandfather as he hurt his grandmother all those years ago. Kai adds, "Feel that woman's pain, her anger, the weight of the unfair sentence she's serving. Get fucking angry."

    I take a deep breath in, then exhale it slowly as I follow him up the stairs. When we get to the landing, we wait for everyone else to ascend and join us. And then, we're bursting into this stranger's bedroom all at once.