Page 127 of XO Karma

He nods begrudgingly.

“Good.” Lily yanks the blade from his shoulder with a squish, blood dripping off. She retrieves a small bottle of alcohol from her bag and a towel, then cleans the blade.

Fuck, I’m in love.

A hand knocks me in the jaw, disrupting my ogling of Lily. Thankfully, my mask took most of the brunt. “Ouch,” I say, glaring his way. Another knock to his nose, and he’s out.

“Oh my god!” Lily’s voice is muffled behind her mask. “Did you kill him?”

“No.” I release his body, and it slumps to the ground. “But he shouldn’t wake for a bit.” I kick his side. “And may need an ambulance when he does.”

She sheaths the sanitized dagger, then hides away the alcohol and towel in a Ziploc. “We should get out of here then.”

She takes a photo of Paul’s unmoving, yet unfortunately still alive, body, and I retrieve the tiger trophy, tucking it under my arm. We opt to walk behind the rides for a few minutes so we’re not witnessed emerging near the fun house. Once we’re far enough away, we remove our masks and hide them away.

“How’d I do for my first Karma request?” I ask, hooking an arm around her waist.

She cocks a brow. “I mean… you didn’t kill him, so that’s a positive.”

“I do have self-control, you know.”

We slip between two rides and disappear into the crowd. “And the criminals of Cleosville are lucky for that.” She glances down. “Damn it!”

“What’s wrong?”

She stops in place, staring at the ground, then mutters, “He got blood on my boots.”

“Have no fear.” Glancing around, I spot a bench and a drink stand. “Go sit over there,” I tell her. A minute later I’m kneeling in the dirt before her, taking her boot-wearing leg in my hands and setting the sole against my thigh. Our eyes meet, and I can’t help the grin on my face at the sight of her in her cute little overalls, legs partially spread as she awaits my assistance. Damn, I wish I could take her right here. Right now. She cocks a brow, and I shake away the dirty thoughts to deal with the task at hand.

Using cold water and a bundle of napkins, I gently rinse, then wipe off the blood. “When the water dries, it should look good as new,” I tell her.

“Maybe you are the local hero,” she says with a teasing grin. I set her foot on the ground, then lean forward, taking her chin between my fingers.

“And don’t you forget it.” I press a claiming kiss to her lips.

Gripping the bench, I slowly stand, leaving my body in close proximity to her. Does this look totally weird for any onlookers? Maybe. But she’s sure as fuck turned on, so who gives a shit.

Once at my full height, I hold out a hand. “Want to get something to eat before we leave?” I ask, pulling Lily to her feet.

“Yeah, can we stop by the bathroom first? That lemonade flew right through me.”

“Sure.”

A few minutes later, I’m walking away from a corndog stand to wait for her outside the restrooms. Faint yelling infiltrates my ears, with a voice that sounds all too familiar, and panic settles in my gut. I round the small building where I left her and drop my food on the ground at the sight of Lily pressed against the wall with some guy’s hands on her neck.

Blinding rage flows through me, blood whooshing in my ears while I run towards them. Clutching the back of his shirt, I toss him away from her. He stumbles to a stop, eyes meeting mine, and I recognize him instantly. It’s that guy from the bar Lily took down for drugging girls. My body trembles with rage. This is why it never works leaving these scumbags alive.

He’s huffing, dripping in sweat and blood. Looks like Lily’s been putting up quite a fight. My eyes find hers, and they’re full of hatred. Fear. Pain.

Lunging forward, I grab him by his neck, dragging him towards me. He’s stronger than Lily, but I’ve got fifty pounds on him. “You have a death wish?” I ask, slamming his head against the concrete wall.

“That bitch deserves what she’s getting,” he grits out, face shiny with sweat.

“Aster.” Lily’s voice comes out a warning, but it fades to the background as I cock my fist and slam it into the second nose of the night.

He groans, dropping to his knees, and holds his face with a laugh, glancing at Lily. “What? Is this your boyfriend?” he asks, then looks my way. “You’re defending her? Last week that little cocktease was all over me. Practically sucked my d—” Both my hands are around his throat, squeezing as his face reddens.

“Aster!” Lily warns under her breath, placing her hand on my wrist. “Not here.” I glance around, and while no one has seen us, I do know better than to kill spontaneously. Murder without planning gets you caught. Thirty more seconds, and I’d have quite literally squeezed the life out of him. And the world would be better off. I told Lily this piece of shit deserved the six-feet-under treatment. Why does she keep ignoring my advice? Anger thrums through me, and I shove him to the ground.