Page 146 of I Never Stopped Loving You

I take a few minutes, moving in silence as I place the different pieces around the maze. Each dead end will hold another one of the sins he’ll bleed for tonight. Each photo will force him to see the truth of what he did.

“Please…I know you’re there. Noah, right? Wasn’t it Noah? That’s what he called you,” Rayes whimpers.

He’s blindfolded so he can’t see where I am, but Parker isn’t. I’ll let him continue to watch. He’s watched countless other men die, so what’s one more?

As I pass by one of the openings to the center of the maze where I keep them held, Parker’s eyes lift to mine. Those eyes that once burned with hate now look like snuffed-out embers barely simmering with heat. He watches me, wounded and waiting for the next scream to die out.

“I can hear you,” Rayes snaps.

No, you can’t.

“Shut the fuck up,” Parker snaps at Rayes before putting his head down.

He’s watched the same routine enough times. He knows exactly what’s going to happen. I slowly walk closer to Rayes until I’m right behind him. As if he can feel the heat of my body, he snaps his head from side to side blindly searching for me.

“Please. Just let me go. I promise, I won’t tell anyone. I’ll disappear. Just let me get my daughter…”

“Your daughter?” I hiss next to his ear causing his body to jolt sideways.

“Please, no one will ever know.”

“You’re right, no one will ever know, because you won’t live long enough to tell them.”

I watch as the last thread of hope he was clinging to is severed. His body slumps forward as he sobs. He fucking sobs like a child.

“Pathetic. At least be a man and own up to what you did,” I snarl as I place all my tools into a bag.

Can’t have anything out in the open that he might be able to use as a weapon. No, the only thing I need is my mask and my knife.

I reach down to the sheath against my thigh. My favorite knife is in it just begging for its next taste of blood. It’s a nine and a half inch tactical survival knife with a black stainless steel drop point blade with a serrated edge and a black metal handle.

I place the final pair of pliers into the bag, then haul it back through the maze to the door, open it, and toss the bag onto the stairs. It’ll be safe there.

I flick off the main lights before the door clicks shut and the brickwork lines back up into place. Seamless, absolutely hidden. And now, time for the fun to begin.

I slowly make my way through the familiar darkness. The path I know like the back of my hand. I’ve memorized each turn, where to cut them off, where to steer them, and where to trap them in the end. It’s all planned out, every fucking step.

I’m the one in control.

“Rayes,” I snap, watching in the low glow from the single lightbulb as the man snaps his head to the side.

I press a button and the main lights turn off, but another set turns on illuminating the maze in a low red light. It’s just barely bright enough to see in front of you, let alone see what’s hiding in the darkness.

“I’m going to cut off your ropes. You’re going to sit there until I say go, and when I do, I want you to run.”

“Wha…What?” he stammers as he feels me step up behind him.

“You’re going to run. You can take off the blindfold so you can see where you’re going.”

“But you’re just going to kill me.”

“Maybe. I’m feeling generous today. If you can escape before I catch you, you’re free to leave.”

I grip his wrists pulling his arms higher as his shoulders strain against the awkward angle. I slip my knife into the small space between his bound hands and slice, my knife easily cutting apart his ropes.

His hands immediately claw at the blindfold as he stands and spins toward me.

“Ah-ah, Rayes. Sit,” I growl, and he obeys, dropping back into the chair but never taking his eyes off of me.