Tonight was a clear night, the silver moonlight shining down on us. I decided not to be startled by his unexpected presence, instead focusing on pulling out a cigarette and lighting it up. The tobacco helped me relax.
That, and it helped me realize how stupid it would be to fight him right now. No, coming from my family, you learned not to take chances needlessly. Sometimes chances paid off, but most of the time they didn’t. This wasn’t a movie where you could constantly go against the odds and continuously pull whatever stunt off. This was real life, and in real life, failure might lead someone back to the family.
Needless to say, anyone being led back to the family was the biggest no-no there was.
After inhaling a deep lungful, I glared at him. “I’m surprised it took you this long to show yourself to one of us.” I exhaled slowly, deliberately, playing it cool to get him to come closer. Maybe if he got closer, I could figure something out. Trip him, pray I moved faster than him, slam his head on the glass table a few feet away. The world around us was asleep; there would be no witnesses.
“I said I would give her time,” Ray’s heavily accented voice spoke, and he took a step forward, away from the tree. No longer completely in the shadows, I saw that he held a shoebox of some kind.
I wasn’t stupid enough to actually think there was a pair of shoes in there, though.
“And I’ve been busy,” Ray went on, tapping the top of the shoebox.
“Plan to win Ash back with presents?” Though I spoke, I knew whatever present sat in that box wasn’t a good one.
“She doesn’t want me to hurt any of you,” Ray said, moving ever closer. The closer he got, the more I felt the urge to rip out his insides and strangle him with them. “So I’ve been good. I haven’t killed any of you pretty rich boys yet. Once she comes back to me, that will change.”
So Ray thought Ash would see how wrong she’d been this whole time and crawl back to him, and he’d welcome her with open arms. The delusional fucktard.
I gave him a slow smirk. “Trust me, Ray—or is it the Midtown Strangler?”
“Either one is fine.”
“I’m just going to call you Ray for the sake of time, then,” I said, tapping my cigarette off to the side. My bare feet drew me to the edge of the patio, though I did not step into the grass. Ray stood less than ten feet away now. So close, and yet still so far. “You think you know us, but I can guarantee that you don’t. For example, did you know I chained Ash up in my room?”
Through the darkness, I could see his jaw set, and the hand that wasn’t holding onto the shoebox clenched into a fist. “Pendejo,” Ray swore.
“Oh, wait. So you didn’t know?” Okay, I might’ve said it purely for the sake of riling him up, but still. “Huh.”
Ray glared at me. It wasn’t too long before he said, “You…you’re not like the others.” Silence for a while as he took in my relaxed stance, my expression, and the words I’d just told him. “You’re like me.”
Funny how monsters recognized each other. It wasn’t like we wore a flashing neon sign that said it or had special handshakes or secret nametags. There were no codewords in this game of life and death. Only instinct.
“You’re wrong,” I told him pointblank. “I am not like you. You are like me, only a pathetic imitation. You crave attention, and the media gives it to you. Unlike you, I was taught being in the limelight was a terrible thing. You are no more than a diseased rat running around and making a fuss. Me? I’m the fucking exterminator.” Well, technically I wasn’t quite yet, because I’d practically begged my family to let me come to Hillcrest, but he didn’t need to know that.
My family didn’t need college education. We just needed logic, common sense, and hardly any empathy.
“I can’t wait to wrap my hands around that neck and strangle all those pretty words out of you,” Ray muttered, frowning.
“Good luck,” I said, knowing that if something happened to me, the family would return cold, hard justice. If I was hurt or killed, Markus would definitely find the time for me then. “You’re going to need it.”
Ray said nothing, but he never broke eye contact with me as he set down the box. He took his time in standing once the box was on the grass, an omen of what was to come. “For Ash, not you, but I suspect you’ll take it anyway.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t leave it near the front door.”
A killer smile crossed Ray’s face. “This isn’t the type of gift you can leave out in the open, for anyone to find.” He took a step back, then another, then another. Within a few minutes, he was gone, out of the yard completely, leaving me alone with the box, and whatever was inside it.
I waited a long while, focusing on my cigarette and the rapidly beating heart resting in my chest. Had to calm myself down, had to tell myself that the wait would be perfect. We’d get him, and once we did, I would make him lament the day he decided to become obsessed with Ash.
He thought he was the psycho king? Bullshit. I came from an entire family of calculated psychos, and unlike him, we never got caught.
After I finished my cigarette and threw the butt on the patio, I moved into the grass and went for the shoebox. I brought it back to the patio, setting it on the glass table before lifting the lid and revealing what was inside.
I’d like to think I was shocked at what I saw, but I wasn’t. Ray seemed like the type of guy who thought body parts made good gifts. With how Ash acted when she spoke of Ray, I knew body parts weren’t what she wanted. This box…and the fingers inside it were things she would not see.
The shoebox was lined with plastic to stop any blood from staining its cardboard. The fingers rolling around in it looked to belong to the same person, long and slender and…
Hold on.
The fingernails were painted green and brown, reminding me of a camo pattern. Who did I know who wore a camo pattern?
I knew. I knew even before I abandoned the box to grab my phone inside the house. It was on the nightstand near Ash’s head, and I unplugged it as quietly as I could before heading back out. The box hadn’t moved, not that I expected it to. I searched the bitch’s name, and a whole flurry of news articles popped up.
Stanton student missing, three weeks ago. Brooklyn had survived the night of the Halloween party only to be taken by a serial killer. A part of me wanted to laugh—and the other part of me grew angry. I thought body parts wouldn’t be the way to Ash’s heart, but the fingers of the girl who’d convinced someone to rape her and hit her with her car? Those might actually be body parts she’d accept.
How did Ray find out about what happened? Did he overhear us talking in the house, or did Ash tell him while she was with him? Either way, didn’t matter much now. Brooklyn had disappeared off Stanton’s campus the week after the party, not a trace of her had been seen—well, other than her fingers right now, that was. Ray had kidnapped her, but instead of a happily ever after like he wanted with Ash, Brooklyn was simply the way back into Ash’s heart.
Well, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about killing Brooklyn myself, not to mention that Batman freak. Still, I’d held back, knowing I’d already gone crazy enough on the Batman kid—and Brooklyn had seen it. No, my plan was to let them be for now, and if they ever made another entrance in our lives, then maybe they’d take a long walk off a short pier.
But Ray had beat me to it. Ray had Brooklyn, and I wondered if he also had Batman.
Didn’t matter. Ash wasn’t going to see what was in this box. I didn’t like hiding things from her, but with Thanksgiving on the horizon and Markus’s aid so close, I couldn’t take any chances. I didn’t think she’d leave me for him, but…Ray was persistent. Ash was the opposite of stable when it came to her ex, and if you tossed some body parts into that equation, I knew she might just break again.
No, she couldn’t know about this. I didn’t enjoy the prospect of lying to her, but what else could I do?
Chapter Twenty – Ash
My mom’s voice spoke
through the phone, “I’m sorry I won’t be able to come earlier honey. I wish I could, but these clients have been trying to get photos taken at the park for ages, and the weather’s been shitty over here, so—”
“It’s okay, Mom,” I told her, because it was. Honestly, the less time my mom spent with me, the better. “Really, I’ll be fine. I’ll be with Declan and Dean Briggs.” And Will, but Mom didn’t need to know how well I knew Will right now. We’d definitely have to talk about the ground rules before my mom arrived. Such as no outright ogling, no fondling, no touching at all. “I’m sure they’ll entertain me.”
“I’ll have to swing by the store later, make something to thank Dean Briggs for everything—”
“Mom,” I cut in, knowing she’d go on and on about it for as long as I’d let her, “you don’t have to bring anything. They have money coming out of their asses. I’m sure they have it all covered.”
“Language, honey.”
“Right, sorry.” I rolled my eyes. Declan and I were in our dorm room, for the first time in what felt like forever, packing up everything we’d need for our little trip to his house. Mom was sad that I wouldn’t get to go home for break, but she was also thankful she didn’t have to cook turkey and all that. Even though it was just the two of us, she always felt like she needed to do the whole shebang, have a huge Thanksgiving and basically leftovers for a week straight.
Ray…all had been quiet on the Ray front, which I found odd and not like him, but after the craziness that was my life lately, I’d take it. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth and all that.
“All right,” Mom said, “I’ll see you Thursday then. I feel like it’s been so long since I’ve seen you. I miss you so much.”
“I miss you too, Mom.”
“I love you.”
Once I told her I love you back, I hung up, wanting to plop down on my bed and fast forward the next few days. While I was looking forward to spending some time with Will and Declan, I was not so much looking forward to spending it with Dean Briggs. Would he make me call him by his first name or something, since we weren’t at school? I didn’t even know what it was. Maybe just Mr. Briggs would be fine.
Ugh. I really didn’t know why I was worrying so much about this. It was stupid.
Travis was with Sawyer, and they’d already left to go to the Salvatore’s place. Both Sawyer and Travis had been quiet lately, and I really hoped it wasn’t because of my outburst the other day. Me, basically yelling at Sawyer with everyone else in the room. Me, telling Sawyer what was what. Yeah, it felt ridiculously good at the time—and so did the sex afterward with Travis—but the air between us after that had changed, gotten thicker, more tension-filled. Which was great, you know, me and tension. I loved it. Couldn’t get enough.
Declan was in the shower, taking a quick one before Will got here, picked us up, and then drove us to their house.
Their house. I was going to see where Will and Declan grew up. I couldn’t say why, but it was kind of exciting, like I was going to see an inner part of their lives. I’d be able to go into their bedrooms.
Silly, but I never had that kind of excitement before. With Ray, things were just…different. They were different. They were different, and everything that happened with him could never be repeated.
I shoved everything I needed in my backpack, taking a moment to appreciate my skateboard. It sat leaning against the drawers on my desk, and I felt the need to grab it and go skate. No more running, though. No more disappearing. My skateboard would have to wait just a bit longer.
I turned away from my stuff, moving to Declan’s half of the room. This place felt so strange now, after spending so much time in Sawyer’s house. I ran a hand along his desk, collecting some dust. Freaking dust, because we practically lived at Sawyer’s place instead of here now. It was more than obvious nowhere was safe for us.
My eyes scanned the desk, and I spotted something beneath all the papers scattered and shoved into the back corner of its desktop. I reached for it, still hearing the water running as my fingers grabbed it.
The diary. Sabrina’s diary. The one I’d found sitting in a drawer in Travis’s room.
I flipped it open, running my hand down the first page of writing, the letters swirly and girly. I’d read the entire journal as I sat in that McDonald’s, with my thumb dislocated. I read it all and thought, at the time, that Travis had done it. Why else would he have a journal of Sabrina’s? Why else would he keep it hidden away? The entries in this painted him in a bad light. She was afraid of him, of the darkness she knew lied within.
Me? I might’ve feared him, at one point, but only because I suspected he was like Ray. Now I knew better. They were both animals, but a different breed. Travis and Ray weren’t the same. Still, you’d have to be downright idiotic to not realize that at any given moment, men like that might turn on you. That’s kind of what made it half the fun.
Except fun wasn’t all Travis was. I cared for him a lot, and this diary…this diary said Sabrina had cared for him too, even if she feared him.
I recalled Declan’s words about it, when I’d shown him, given it to him. This diary was not the only one she had. Was the other one still in her house? Had the Salvatores changed her room or gotten rid of anything? Maybe that diary would help make clear the mystery as to what happened to her. If she was murdered, or if the girl truly did commit suicide.
I put the diary back where it was and grabbed my phone, texting Travis. Travis could do a little snooping while he was there, and if he found the other diary, great. If not, nothing was lost.
It was as I hit send that Declan emerged from the bathroom, steam coming off his wet, bare body. A towel was wrapped around his waist, hiding a certain part of him, along with his ass, as he gave me a sheepish, dimpled smile and said, “Forgot to bring in a change of clothes.”
As if he had to explain to me while he was walking out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel. Come on. This girl had two eyes, and she could appreciate the fine, lean body of her roommate. And, you know, her lover.
Whatever people called each other these days.
“Who needs a change of clothes?” I asked, shrugging. If his physical form was candy, I would’ve eaten him up. Declan’s body was lean and slim, but he carried himself well, and though his muscles were not nearly as pronounced as Sawyer’s, it was still a very lick-able body…even with the scar on his wrist.
I should ask him, should tell him what Ray had told me—that he wasn’t the one who cut him—which meant Declan had done it to himself, but I couldn’t. Things were finally good between us, and I didn’t want to ruin it.
What I wanted to do was forget what Ray said, but alas, that was impossible.
Declan turned to me, standing before his dresser. He wore a dimpled grin, and I felt myself heat up all over the place, just from that stupid, handsome, silly grin. God, Declan could drive me mad, and I’d still come back for more.
I moved towards him, pressing myself against him like a cat in heat, drawing a hand down his chest and his abdomen. I immediately saw a twitch of the towel, and I knew it didn’t take much from me to get him revved up. The road went both ways.
He responded by grabbing my face, tilting me up, and meeting his lips with mine. Soft and slow, Declan’s kisses were sweet and delicious. The way he kissed me, I knew he cared about me. No matter what the truth was, he was mine, and even if he was more broken than he let on, I didn’t care. He was mine and I would not let him go.
I wouldn’t let any of them go. No more running to Ray. This was where I belonged.
My fingers in his brown hair, I was content in our kiss—at least until there was a knock on the dorm door. Until Will’s voice spoke loudly, “It’s Will. You guys ready?”
We pulled away from each other, and I felt a slow smile grow on my lips. “Should I let him in?” A wordless dare to see what he said, but the stupid boy simply nodded and let me go.
What an idiot. We could’ve had a quickie whi
le his brother was right outside. If that wasn’t hot, I didn’t know what was.
Declan was busy adjusting himself while I let Will in. Will wore a heavy jacket over his blazer, his brown hair coiffed to the side. His jaw was freshly shaven, and he looked ridiculously good. “Am I interrupting something?” Will asked, tossing me a grin after he glanced at Declan.
“Hey,” I spoke with a shrug once the door was closed, “I offered Declan a quickie, but he didn’t want you standing out in the hallway all by your lonesome.” I plopped down on my bed, giving both brothers a chuckle. Declan stared at me like I was crazy, while Will seemed amused.
Oh, this little Thanksgiving break might be more fun than I thought. A nice reprieve from the constant worrying on campus. The Briggs home must have high tech security or something, right? No Ray popping up out of nowhere, like some long-forgotten daisy.
“I could always step outside again,” Will offered.
“No, that’s okay. You’re here now. If there’s a quickie, you’ll just get to watch.” Oops. There I went, talking without a filter. My mind was still in the gutter, obviously. Life and death situations made me a horny freak. What could I say?
Declan let out a nervous chuckle, while Will still grinned. “I know why you want to prolong this. You’re nervous about going to our house. It’s okay, Ash, I promise you it’s not nearly as intimidating as it seems. The last guest that was in our house was…well, I was going to make a joke, but then I remembered it was Sabrina.”
Right. That was a sobering sentence if ever there was one.
Will coughed as Declan put on clothes. He turned to the dorm door, running a hand down it. I was at his side the next instant as he asked, “Still getting notes taped to the door?”
Psycho: A Dark College Romance (Hillcrest University Book 4) Page 15
