“Found what?” The judge begins to sputter, the red on his cheeks morphing into an unhealthy shade of purple. “What the hell are you going on about?” And then all that color drains from his face when Beckett twists the computer toward him once more—no doubt to show him the website the judge used to purchase Ellie. “I don’t know what that is.”
“You don’t, huh?” I tap my chin in mock contemplation. “So it must’ve been someone else who used your computer to purchase my girlfriend?”
I notice, somewhat belatedly, that both Ryker and Ellie flinch at that term. Ryker, because he’s a possessive bastard who still hasn’t wrapped his head around the fact we all love Ellie.
And Ellie because…
Well…
Guilt is a funny thing. It can consume you, if you let it, eating away at you like a million moths nibbling on an old quilt. It starts with a single hole, and then that thread begins to deteriorate, until the entire creation is nothing but string and pained memories.
My heart pinches, but I shove the emotion to the side, knowing I need to focus.
“Why’d you do it?” Ryker asks darkly, still hovering behind the judge’s chair, his hand deep in his hoodie’s pocket, no doubt resting on the hilt of his dagger.
“What the hell are you going to do? Kill me?” The judge chuckles, though there’s a desperate edge to it. He must see something in our eyes—perhaps the inevitability of his own demise—because he’s not nearly as cocky as he was moments before.
“Kill you… Torture you… Make you eat your own cock…” Zane shrugs, a grin unfurling on his lips. “We’ll have to see what the muse decides.”
“And who is this mysterious muse?” Ellie pipes in.
“You, of course.” Zane looks affronted that she even had to ask.
“Oh.” She thinks about it. “Then your muse says, have him eat his own dick.”
Zane’s smile stretches farther, his face now resembling a demented joker. “Perfect.”
Unease swirls in my gut, and I glance back at Ellie, noting the tightness in her face, the clenching of her hands.
“El, you don’t need to be here for this. You can wait in the hall,” I tell her gently. I don’t want to treat her like a spooked rabbit, but in some ways, that’s exactly what she is. She found herself caught in the hunter’s snare. Now, all she can do is run, hide, and pray that the wolves surrounding her can take out the enemy before it catches up with her.
Ellie’s lips compress, and she takes another step forward until she’s standing directly beside me.
“No. I want to stay.” Her eyes don’t leave the judge’s face. “Ineedto stay.”
“This won’t end with me.” The judge levels us all with his best attempt at a glare—though it’s hard to take him seriously with his flaccid cock dangling between his legs like a tiny Vienna sausage. “Even if you kill me, someone else will just buy the dumb bitch.” His lips stretch at the corners. “The Divine One seems determined to take your pretty girlfriend out of the picture. Our esteemed leader was the one who told me about the listing in the first place,” he continues, reaffirming what we all already suspected. Aria truly is a twisted bitch. “You know, perhaps we can make a deal. If you let me have one night with the little cunt, then maybe I’ll?—”
He never finishes his vulgar threat.
Ryker slams his dagger into the judge’s shoulder at the same moment Zane lunges for him.
The judge’s agonized screams echo through the office.
Days later, a newspaper will arrive at the half-completed hotel—where we’ve been hiding out—and detail the gruesome murder of a highly respected and loved judge. They’ll compare his death to others that have been popping up around town.
Keep your children inside,it says.
Report any suspicious activity.
Oak Grove officially has a serial killer in its midst.
3
LANDON
TWO MONTHS LATER
Getting stabbed sucks.
