Prey Drive by Jen Stevens
Chapter 13
the wolf
New York late Sunday evening, and I'm immediately swept up in preparations for the presentation with Power Tech on Wednesday. My father drags his feet with accepting the offer on the Styx house that Chantel presented to him last week, countering with his own ridiculous number I'm forced to agree to.
Work consumes me, the way it always does when I'm processing things in my personal life. Eliza and my team have me in back-to-back meetings from morning until night to iron out any issues we run into with our data and testing.
Part of the reason my company has been so successful is because I used it as an escape from Sienna’s death. Sure, we were doing well before. But the concentrated effort I threw into it gave me a boost that wouldn't have been possible if I weren't detaching from my personal life. I'm sure a therapist could have a field day with that.
Nevertheless, we land the deal. My team celebrates by going out for drinks on Wednesday night. I celebrate by going home and choosing my next victim.
Judge Matthew Greene was in charge of overseeing Sienna’s case. Despite the indisputable evidence our lawyers presented, he refused to rule in our favor, allowing her killers to walk free.
That's the shorthand version. His attitude toward the case was one of my first indicators that something was off. The more I dug, the more corruption I discovered.
He was paid off. I want to know who's pocket he's in.
Lucky for me, Judge Greene happens to be staying alone in New York for some bullshit religious conference this week.
Since Stardust took over the cabin in Styx, I've been struggling with how to move forward with my process. I've looked into renting warehouses downtown to take my victims under a pseudonym, always ruling it out as too much of a hassle. I've considered just killing everyone involved without trying to get answers out of them. I've even imagined a thousand ways to kill her.
But I'm not some senseless murderer, and I owe Sienna more than that. It's clear the corruption runs far deeper than some random street gang in the ass crack of America. I just need to recalibrate.
Having Judge Greene come to me in the city feels like a sign from the universe to keep going. And who am I to deny the universe?
I know I have to move quickly on the judge or I’ll lose my shot. It takes almost no time to figure out his schedule and hotel information. My plan is laid out and I’m resting in my bed within an hour.
Tomorrow is the day. Once I kill the judge, I’ll regain some semblance of control of this shitty situation and be able to get back into my routine.