Page 24 of Hurts So Good

“He did,” she persists. Pointing at me, she adds, “You cast your voodoo magic on him!”

“What the fuck?” Is all I can manage to reply to her rant.

Part of me feels sorry for her. Sierra must have been with the Rylees far longer than I knew. Maybe even Mr. Rylee’s first victim. He somehow convinced her he loved her and mind-fucked her into believing she loved him too.

“You didn’t deserve his attention. You took everything from me.” Sierra rushes toward me. “And I’m going to take everything from you!”

Lifting the shovel, I tighten my grip on it. I don’t want to hurt her, but I also won’t let her attack me without fighting back. As she gets closer, I swing it out, slamming it into her face. Sierra’s feet come out from beneath her and she falls backward to the ground with a heavy thud; she’s out cold.

Ty grabs the shovel from me. Positioning the sharp tip at her throat, he shoves it down with a grunt. It lodges into the ground, Sierra’s head on one side and her body on the other.

He rubs his gloved hands over the handle, erasing my fingerprints. Ty glances at me. On the surface, I see worry, but beneath it there’s a spark, like he’s enjoying this. The sight is breathtaking. Happiness suits him.

Clearing my throat, I ask, “What’s wrong? You seem anxious.”

He shakes his head. “I was worried you might throw up or something.”

I laugh out loud. I can’t help it. I feel fine. Actually, I feel great. I realize that’s not a normal response to what we just did, but as fucked up as it is, I have no regrets about what we did. Sierra had it coming. She was so far gone in her head.

No one who has endured what we have would come out unscarred, but at least I know we were victims. Sierra was holding onto grudges on behalf of our rapist. In her eyes, we were the monsters. I hate that it ended this way between us, but she threatened us. I lost Ty once; I won’t lose him again. I’ll do anything to keep him safe and us together.

And that’s what I did. I have no guilt.

Ty smiles as he disposes of Sierra’s body, head, and the shovel in the dumpster. I offer to help, but he tells me no because of my fingerprints.

“What about her coworker?” I ask.

“Unfortunately…” Ty dusts off his gloves after closing the dumpster. “He’s got to go, and quick, before the cops show up. Are you sure you’re up for this? You could go home and pack.”

“It will be faster if we both do it.” Stepping up to him, I wrap my arms around his neck. “I promise I’m fine. It’s kind of a stress reliever, to be honest.”

He chuckles. “I know.” Leaning down, he kisses me, long and hard. With a slap to my ass, he says, “Let’s go.”

I untangle myself from him and go to the backdoor. Ty passes me his switchblade, the same one he used on Keith. To the naked eye, it looks clean, but I’m sure if we used a blacklight, it would reveal the blood that’s actually on it. I’m curious to know how many people he’s killed, but now is not the time to ask.

I hold blade tightly, my knuckles turning white. Killing Sierra was a necessity; she wasn’t innocent. I know nothing about the bartender, but I trust Ty. If he says he needs to go, then he needs to go.

My heart races and my palms sweat as Ty enters the kitchen. The man is standing with his back to us, washing dishes. I assume it’s from our dinner. I stay by the door while Ty creeps up behind him. He picks up a butcher knife off the counter. Finally, sensing Ty, the man turns around.

They struggle for the upper hand; Ty tries to overpower the bartender, but he’s a good bit bigger than Ty, giving him an advantage. The man kicks Ty in the kneecap. With him off-balance, the man punches Ty in the face. Ty falls back into the counter.

Seeing an opening, the bartender bolts toward the only available exit, behind me. I move to the side, giving the man false hope of escaping. When he’s within reach, I stab him in the stomach with the switchblade. He doubles over.

Recovered from his momentary defeat, Ty rushes up behind the man, yanks his head back, and slits his throat. I jump as blood sprays my face and clothes. Ty lets the bartender fall to the ground. The blade still in my hand is warm from the blood coating it. My gaze connects with Ty’s.

Silence fills my head; there’s not one thought, just peace. I see the same reflecting in Ty’s eyes. Our demons are satisfied. I want to live my life with Ty like this, in peace. He seems to feel the same way, as he sets down the knife and takes my hand. Taking the switchblade from me, he puts it in his pocket.

We walk to the front door, and before leaving, he flips over the open sign hanging on the door to closed.

EPILOGUE

Ty

Five years later

Lakelynn and I walk hand-in-hand down the streets of Morocco. It’s taken years for us to finally settle down, but it was worth it. With the help of my hacker buddy and Tomas, we were able to leave the United States undetected and made our way here, where there are no extradition laws.

Lakelynn has been working as an English tutor for the last six months, and I’ve found a way to release my demons without murdering people. My specialty is now animal butchering. It’s honest work and keeps us out of trouble.