by West, Sinden
His eyes went so wide. It was the most surprise that I had seen in him in all my years of doing his dirty work. Blood poured from his mouth and he stayed upright as gurgling sounds came from his throat.
I pulled up a chair and watched as he just sat there, helplessly, unable to do anything but wait to die.
“You wanna know what I’ve got that you don’t?” I asked him softly.
But it was too late, he died. I leaned back in my chair and let out a slight laugh at my handiwork. It was impressive. I only admired my work for a moment and then I got to my feet. I wondered what his wife would care more about‒her dead husband or the stain on the carpet?
I left his corpse and walked down the hallway, which bedroom would John have taken her to? The marital? It would be just like Luca to take his latest fuck into the bedroom that he shared with his wife.
It was a good guess.
John hadn’t even bothered to pull the door closed. It lay wide open, exposing the imposing suite with its massive bed and mirrored furniture to anyone who may pass by. Of course, the only thing that should be hiding would be the girl. A fire burned, its flames reflected tenfold in the mirrors.
He hadn’t undressed her but had managed to harness her to the bed, just like I had so long ago. She sat up by the headboard with her knees bent while her wrists were secured on either side of her. There was fire in her eyes, and it was aimed at me. John stood awkwardly at the side of the bed unsure of what to do for his boss next. He didn’t notice me, but she did. It felt like her eyes were going to burn into me. I sucked in a breath, almost spellbound by her for a moment. It felt good. It may have been hatred, but it felt good just to have her feeling for me, and it didn’t matter if it were good or bad.
The room was dark with only the fire and lamps to light it.
“John,” she spoke suddenly in a calm and cool voice. “We have a visitor.”
He spun to face me, eyes wide with surprise. “I shoulda fucking known,” he said shakily.
“Yeah, you should have,” and then I pounced before he could even reach for a weapon. Quick stabs at his torso had him falling at my feet in a pool of blood. It would take him a while to die, but that didn’t matter. He didn’t matter to anyone anymore.
When I turned to her, her eyes were still firmly fixed on me. “You’re pure evil.”
“What?” I began to cut at her bindings with my bloody knife. “You think that I was really going to sacrifice you to get back into Luca’s good books?”
“I think that you’ll always do whatever it takes to get what you want. It’s what makes you a psychopath.” She pulled her wrists together, rubbing them before moving from the bed. There was no point arguing with her. I bent down and wiped the knife clean on the dying man at my feet before turning and offering it to her, hilt first.
She frowned. “What’s this for?”
“For you. Now’s your chance. If you really want me dead, I’m giving you the opportunity here and now to give it your best shot.”
“What kind of trick is this?”
“No trick. You want me gone. Here’s your opportunity.” I stretched my arms out wide. “Here I am.”
She took it from me, turning her gaze to it, stroking the bone hilt before turning it to examine the blade. In the light of the lamps and the fire, her eyes burned. I saw a lust for death, for destruction, and revenge.
She’d never looked more beautiful. Her hair hung in graceful long locks to frame her face. She was regal, she was graceful…she was the maiden of death; the reaper’s wife.
The knife caught the light, reflecting it so it bounced around the room, imitating the flames of the fire that burned in the hearth.
With grace, she ran her finger lightly along the blade. Blood sprouted yet she didn’t even hiss.
“You ruined my life.” Her voice was cool and calm, deep with beauty. “It’s time for revenge.”
I should have felt fear. The power was all hers, to take as far as she wished, but all I felt was admiration as I watched her, mesmerized.
She was ice, she was stone.
Ultimately, she was power.
It took me a moment to gain my voice. “Bullshit. You fucked with my brain so often that you made yourself mine. This is what you wanted.”
She hurled the knife. It was flung with impressive strength and hammered into the wall beside me.
“Nice. All that gym work’s been paying off.”
“Shut up. Let’s get out of here. We’ve got more work to do.” And with that she strolled past me, past the dead body on the floor, and what could I do but follow?
Chapter Fourteen
One last thing. This was it and then we were on a plane. Rachel sat beside me in the car, her head turned toward the house.
Her mother was home. The expensive car that her latest lover had bought sat parked out the front.
“It’s not too late to change your mind.”
She didn’t answer me. From time to time she bit her lip, but that was the only action betraying her nervousness. Who could blame her? It wasn’t every day she set out to kill the woman who had given birth to her. And once she did that, there would be no going back. Her mind would turn black with what she’d done, and then, only then would she really be mine. Only then would she know what being fucked up really meant…and I’d be the one to catch her. She’d lean on me. There would be only me for that.
I nearly smiled.
Her mother emerged from the house. She must have left something in her car. Rachel straightened immediately, digging her nails into her palm as she caught sight of her. Her mother’s hair was curled and it caught the sunlight as it bounced against her naked shoulders. It was a warm day and she wore a halter top dress that displayed her smooth skin and the swell of her breasts to perfection. Whatever she was thinking about, she had a smile on her face. Her mouth was painted red, and the color suited her. She leaned in her car window and her dress swayed around her thighs.
“She looks…” Rachel started and then she stopped again, shutting her mouth before opening it. “She looks happy.” Her voice was raw.
Yeah. She did. She appeared carefree and content like she didn’t have a worry in the world.
“She looks like she doesn’t have a kid,” Rachel continued, staring at the woman. Suddenly, Rachel seemed so young, sadness was imprinted on her face and she shrunk back in the seat, small and hurt.
It took a full minute of watching her mother. Someone had rung the woman and she stood standing in the driveway, talking on her cell phone and laughing at what the caller told her. She looked perfect. She looked like she had it all while Rachel beside me looked like she was about to break. I imagined her cracking like porcelain, piece by piece, a doll broken by being forgotten.
Her mouth twisted and then she fumbled for the glove compartment where the gun lay. Her hands shook and it took her a moment to get the compartment open.
I grabbed her wrist roughly, without even thinking about.
Her eyes swung to me. “What are you doing?”
“We’re not doing this.” I turned the key and put the car in gear.
“We have to. You said you’d help. You said that‒”
“I know what I fucking said!” I pulled away from the curb and sped past the woman. “And I was wrong, okay? I was wrong. There’s no coming back from this, Rachel. Once you do this, you’ll be fucked up forever and I‒” I abruptly fell into silence as I gripped the steering wheel.
“You what?”
I took a breath. “And I don’t want that for you. I want you to be happy.” The ocean came into view and I felt like I could breathe again as I pulled onto the twisting road that would lead us away from here and to the airport.
“Stop. Pull over here,” she instructed.
My hands shook but I did what she said, coming to a stop in a gravelly reserve where rocks and dust flew as I jammed my foot down on the brake. I couldn’t look at her, but then she reached out to cup my jaw and forced my eyes toward h
er.
“What did you just say?” Her eyes were on me so intently that I wanted more than anything to look away and lie.
But I didn’t.
“I said that I wanted you to be happy.” Fuck. I had to watch her, even though I wanted to tear my eyes away, and I held my breath as she processed everything.
“Say it again.”
“I…I want you to be happy.”
She climbed up on top of me, squashed between me and the steering wheel as her mouth found mine. “Say it again,” she whispered, and I did. I said it over and over again as she fucked me and then again when we lay naked together in the back seat, my head resting against her breasts. I breathed in deeply‒her scent, her taste‒that was all there was and it was all that mattered. I felt her hand sweep over my hair.
“Say it again,” she whispered.
“I want you to be happy.” I felt a kiss on my head as she held me tighter and I closed my eyes again to breathe her in. Somewhere, in the distance, seagulls squawked and the ocean roared.
This was how I wanted to fucking die.
THE END
