Page 50 of Madness & Mayhem

“She could be armed, you know. If she’s smart at all, she would know we’re coming for her. She could have a gun, but we’ll pretend she only has time to grab a kitchen knife. She’s coming after you, Lakyn. You’ll have to defend yourself. What are you going to do?” I question her, wondering how much she’s learned from me being the slasher.

Her face twists a second, and I watch her contemplate, wondering how she’ll be able to get out of this on top.

“Weak spots,” she whispers.

I nod after a second. “Which are?”

Her knife tilts toward her neck. “Neck. Heart.”

I nod as I step toward her slowly, and she tenses as I drop my knife to her upper thigh. “Don’t forget the vein near the inside of your thigh. Cut it correctly and she’ll bleed out quick. If you’re somehow at a disadvantage, you can always cut the thigh and she’ll drop quickly. But honestly, get her anywhere and you may be able to gain the upper hand.”

She nods, taking in every bit of information I’m giving her.

Time to test it.

Fuck, I hope she gets me.

I freeze, tensing my body as I stare at her. She wobbles to the side before freezing herself, watching me closely.

I lunge.

Leaping forward, I rush toward her, snow kicking up behind me as I make my way to her. She swings her knife out, and it cuts against the fabric of my sweatshirt, tearing a tiny hole in the arm. I swing my knife to the side, ready to cut her hip, when she moves to the side, out of my reach.

She swings the knife around, pretending to slice into my right lung. She slices again, and this time I can feel the blade as it cuts into my skin. I let out a hiss between my teeth as I feel the metal blade sink beneath the fabric of my sweatshirt.

Baby Lake wants to play.

Letting out a growl, I quit playing around and step toward her again, this time grabbing the knife and swinging it in front of her. She leans back, but my free arm swings out, and I whisp it around her neck. She lets out a whimper as the blade connects with her throat. Not enough to sink into the skin, but enough to cause her to freeze, panic in fear.

Her back sinks against my front, and I curl my spine as I press the knife in deeper. Taking a deep breath, I inhale the heady scent of blood as it fills the air. Glancing over her shoulder, I can see the way a dribble of blood drips from her neck and down the silver blade.

Perfection.

“You’re going to kill me,” she whispers.

I shake my head against hers. “No, baby, I’m not going to kill you. But take this as a fail. Don’t let her gain the upper hand. Only I’m the one allowed to have a taste of your blood.” Bringing the knife toward me, my tongue slides out and swipes against the blade. I can taste the thick crimson as it coats my tongue, and it’s so fucking delicious, a burst of flavor exploding on my tongue.

She shivers against me, and I smile as I lick the blade clean. “Ready to go kill someone, baby Lake?”

She nods. Only once. “Yes.”

The large two-story home in front of us is lit with lights inside. Halloween decorations are finally down. Soon the Christmas lights will be up, and I can already imagine a house like this will be extravagant. As are most of the homes in Hellcrest Heights. Unless you live on the shitty end of town, then you have no decorations at all.

“Do we just walk in?” she whispers beside me.

I shake my head, bringing my gloved finger up to my lips. I nod my head toward the side of the house, walking around the perimeter. It’s cold, and in the middle of the night. After talking to Archer, he informed me was going to be calling the police station and talking to the detective, letting them know he thinks he saw us down by the lighthouse. If all goes well, they will all be down there, which is on the opposite end of town.

Hopefully he pulls through for us.

We had to walk all this way, and it took us over an hour of walking through a flurry of snow, the crispness in the air kissing our cheeks.

The light on the second level is lit up, and as we walk around the side of the house, I see a flash of brown, and I smirk, knowing Braylin is up there. She usually is at night, from the location on her phone the last two days. She goes out during the day, when she knows she’ll be safe. At night, she worries about us, it’s apparent. So, she goes home, and if I were to bet, her alarm system is on. The moment we walk through the front door, it’ll go off.

Which means we have to disconnect it before we go inside.

“Garage,” I whisper.

We walk around the side of the house, and I eye the side door on the garage. Digging into my pocket, I pull out my lock pick and shove it into the doorknob. It only takes a second before I hear the click, and I smile, shoving it open and stepping into the heated garage.