“You followed the wrong person.” I spun around with the largest knife in the kitchen. He saw me, and his eyes went huge. He turned to run, but I moved faster. I kicked his back, and he fell like a house. Just like the man at my apartment, I climbed onto him and lifted his head to slice it off. The knife was dull, and it soon turned into a hack job.
When his head was finally disconnected from his neck, I stood up and tossed it across the room. I looked down at myself. My dress was ruined.
Suddenly I heard people coming. I groaned and raised the knife, prepared to fight again. But then they didn’t come inside. I inched my way toward the door, trying to be as silent as possible.
“I wouldn’t go in there.” Ludovica’s normally soft voice was rough and bone-chilling. “It’s going to trigger him to do it.”
Do what? Kill me?
I glanced over at the hulking body with no head. Too late for that. I reached for the door handle, but then I heard Desi’s voice and froze.
“You haven’t changed. Always had someone do your dirty work. I knew it the moment I walked through those pink fucking doors.”
“Corrine is going to find out. I’m just doing you a favor.” She snapped at him.
“Favor? That’s funny, coming from you. How many favors have we done for you over the years? This isn’t a fucking favor. This is you just being bitter about that vamp I killed in that shitbox. He was scum, just like you.”
“I’m not scum.”
There was a pause, and I gripped the doorknob.
“There’s a reason you were given your sin.” His voice was so low I wasn’t sure she heard it, but I knew she did.
The door was ripped from my hands then, and I froze. I stared at Desi and Ludovica. They were just as shocked as I was.
My eyes locked on the purple dress first. She was blinking rapidly. It was Desi’s voice that pulled me away from her to look at him.
“Scout?” His voice was so soft. It was almost a plea.
I turned my head, and then I was hit with every single thing I had forgotten about twenty-eight years ago.
29
The scene I had walked into was a nightmare. I opened the door, and Scout was on the other side, covered head to toe in blood, staring at me like I was a monster.
I tried to reach for her, but she shook her head, continuing to stare at me, her large eyes horrified at whatever was going through her head. I took a step forward, which made her go back, and then she collapsed completely.
I wasn’t able to catch her before her head bounced off the floor with a sharp crack! I fell down to pick her up. Despite knowing that she’d heal quickly, it still startled me.
“She’s weak. See? What makes you think you could have her by your side all the time while you’re working?” Ludovica snapped.
I shot daggers at her and then looked into the drug house that Scout had been taken to. It was absolutely disgusting, and despite the filth, I found her captor pretty quickly. He was in two pieces.
“Weak?” I laughed. “She did this, you stupid cunt.” I motioned for Ludovica to come inside. She didn’t want to. She swallowed hard and shook her head.
“Fucking typical. Can’t get you to do shit,” I muttered.
“Why isn’t she waking up?” Ludovica said, turning completely away. She couldn’t take the gory stuff. She was the ostrich in the sand, always. I turned my attention to the vampire in my arms. She was limp. I shook her, but she didn’t react. What the hell was going on?
“Scout. Scout, wake up. Can you hear me?” I called, desperate to see her lips part, her eyes flutter, something. This wasn’t right. Nothing about this was right.
I looked over and saw Ludovica with her phone to her ear. She was pacing in the garage. Rage filled me suddenly. I made sure to place Scout down on the floor gently before I stood and stormed back into the garage.
“Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?” I reached her and grabbed the phone from her. I looked at the screen and saw a live call with Corrine.
I saw red.
I threw the phone as hard as I could against the stone wall. It smashed, and she screamed.
