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I smirk to myself, knowing it’s only a matter of time before Wilder snaps.
“There’s a note attached,” Kai states, carefully reaching out to lift it. “No one touches what’s mine. Now he can’t see, hear, or touch you. Anyone else who dares will meet the same end.”
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Emilia groans from behind her hand. Except she doesn’t bend over or hurriedly vacate the room, so she must still be holding it together.
Passing me the piece of paper, I take it as he reaches out to grab the string tying the two hands together and pinning them to the door. With all the delicacy one might transport an explosive device, Kai carries it into the room so we can look at it under better lighting.
Emilia gasps when she sees the whole ensemble. “Oh my god!”
“That is fucking twisted,” Wilder states. However, instead of the shock and horror Emilia is currently expressing, the sick bastard looks… impressed.
“Are those ears?” Emilia squeaks.
Now that I can see the whole thing more clearly, I can see that she’s right. It’s a twisted wreath composed of chopped-off ears and hands tied together with string.
“Jesus Christ,” I murmur, staring at it in shock.
“This is just because he gave me a hug goodbye?” Emilia asks, a tremble in her voice. Otherwise, she’s holding up well. She’s still caged in Wilder's arms but standing strong on her own two feet, looking pissed off rather than scared. “It didn’t even mean anything. He was just being friendly.”
“Mel clearly didn’t think so,” Kai retorts, still inspecting Mel’s latest gift.
“We seriously need to catch this whacko,” Wilder growls. “What if it’s one of us next time? Or Em?”
“This is why you need to be careful,” Kai says sternly, giving me a pointed look. “We can’t give her any reason to come afteranyof us.”
“Are we still sticking to the plan?” Emilia asks.
“Yes,” Kai answers definitively. “We need to stop her before someone else gets hurt.” The way Kai’s gaze lingers on Emilia, it’s clear what he truly means isbeforeshegets hurt. A sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with. Mel has staked her claim and is done letting others touch what she believes is hers. It won’t be long until she comes after Em, and what then? What happens when she discovers Em doesn’t return those feelings?
“You should go up to bed,” Kai tells her. “We’ll deal with this.”
Emilia gapes at him, but before she can find her words, I interject. “He’s right. Go on up to bed. We’ll sort this out, and then I’ll come join you.”
She looks at me for a long moment, and I can see the internal debate raging before she finally acquiesces, giving a slow nod.
“Okay,” she says, biting on her lower lip as she glances at Kai and then Wilder.
As if he can’t help himself, Wilder reaches out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear before dropping his arms and allowing her to leave.
She stares up into his face, confusion swirling in her green depths before she takes a step back and moves toward the door. In the threshold, she glances over her shoulder, her eyes meeting mine. “I’ll see you up there.”
We wait until her footsteps have disappeared up the stairs before Kai speaks up. “Don’t suppose either of you has any experience with getting rid of dead body parts?”
I snort, hysterical laughter bubbling up inside me. The fucked-up thing is I do have experience disposing of dead bodies. It’s been a while, but I’ve found dumping bodies in lakes to be an effective method.
Darting my gaze between the two of them, I ask, “Anyone up for a drive?”
* * *
“Will you sit down,”I grumble. “You’re stressing me out.”
Emilia simply tosses me an aggravated look and continues her pacing back and forth across the kitchen while wringing her hands.
It’s been three days since Mel’s latest gift, and Kai is currently leading a team of people as they stake out Emilia’s classroom, waiting for Mel to show her face. We have men and women undercover as college students stationed at every entrance into Burney Hall, plus surveillance cameras set up outside her classroom since the university doesn’t have any. Kai insisted on being nearby, so he’s keeping a low profile, hiding out in an empty classroom.
The police contacted Emilia yesterday, asking her to recall the night Louis disappeared. Thankfully, given the fact that Emilia has no association with Louis, and security footage shows her getting in the cab and leaving, they aren’t considering her a suspect. They’ll investigate Louis’ disappearance, and when their trail runs cold, and they don’t come up with any suspects, they’ll move on to newer cases. He’ll be forgotten about. It’s the sad reality of the justice system, even if it works in our favor. The last thing we need are for the cops to become aware of Mel.
I know Wilder is hungry to deliver Mel’s retribution himself, and I’ll be standing there beside him when he does. I’ve no doubt Kai will be too. Our form of justice will be permanent and very much illegal.
