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Dad’s face seems to grow paler. “He was... murdered.”
Hell to the fucking no. Someone beat me to it? I grab a piece of bread and start to rip it apart. I need to destroy something, and since I can’t start breaking plates without being committed, the bread it is. “How?”
“You don’t want to know all the gruesome details, honey,” Theresa replies, her eyes full of pity.
I don’t need your pity, lady. I need Hansen to be alive soIcan kill him.
“We received a call from the sheriff last night. They want your statement and Eric’s, but you were asleep, and I didn’t want to wake you with the bad news,” Dad continues.
I push away from the table and stand. “I need a moment alone.”
* * *
ERIC
I watch Valerie run up the stairs and lose my appetite. I didn’t expect her to react like that to the news of Hansen’s demise. Even after what he did to her, she still cares about that asshole? I’m livid and jealous as fuck. The feeling is so overwhelming that it vanquishes my good mood. The high after a kill usually lasts a couple weeks. Considering I had a personal vendetta against Hansen, I expected the euphoria to last longer. Now it’s gone.
I stand. “I’m gonna check on Val.”
Keith’s eyes soften, and gratitude shines in them. “You do that, son.”
Man, he was happy to pass on the task. He doesn’t seem to like dealing with feelings. It makes me wonder how he delivers bad news to his patients.
I take the stairs two steps at a time, but when I stop in front of Valerie’s door, I stop and knock. “Val, can I come in?”
“Go away, Eric.”
Yeah, like that’s gonna happen.
I open the door—in this house, none of them have locks, save for the bathrooms. Keith is weird like that.
“I told you to go away,” she says from her desk, but she keeps staring out the window.
Valerie’s room is immaculate but cozy. The walls are a soft peach color, the duvet white, and there are so many pastel-colored pillows on her bed that they take up a third of the mattress. The decor is completely at odds with her black-cat personality.
Ignoring her request, I walk in and close the door behind me. “Are you okay?”
She swivels in her chair and glares at me. “You never listen, do you?”
At least she’s not crying over Hansen.
“No. You should know that by now. But seriously, Val. Are you okay?”
She lets out a shuddering breath. “No. I’m not okay. Hansen is dead.”
I cross my arms. “No great loss there if you ask me. What did you ever see in him?”
Maybe now’s not the time to try to understand what attracted Valerie to that scumbag in the first place. After learning what he did to her, I expected her to be relieved he’s worm food.
Her eyes widen. “Why do you care?”
“Morbid curiosity, I guess.” I shrug.
She doesn’t answer, but she holds my stare. I wish I could read her mind. My pulse is racing, but my heart feels tight like it’s being squeezed by a boa constrictor. I never realized how hard I’d fallen for Valerie until this moment. I’m jealous of a dead man.
Suddenly, she jumps from the chair and strides toward me. I have no idea what her intentions are, but there’s a storm brewing in her dark eyes. I uncross my arms and tense, not knowing if I’m about to get punched in the throat or shoved out of her room.
I don’t expect Valerie to curl her fingers into my T-shirt and yank me to her. Her soft lips slant over mine, and it’s like I’ve been hit by lightning. All my nerve endings short-circuit. My surprise lasts only a second before my arms circle her waist and I deepen the kiss she started. Her tongue is sweet and spicy, and it tastes better than I could have ever imagined. I’m unraveling, and I don’t care why she’s kissing me.
