Page 61 of Created in Chaos
“Let’s go for a walk,” I tell Grace. There’s no point in making a mess in the house if I don’t need to, not that it matters much, since I’m going to burn this place to the ground soon anyway. There aren’t any good memories here, and Alden sullied the place further.
“Where are we going?” I don’t blame her for being suspicious, but I don’t plan on indulging her curiosity.
“Get up and walk.” I let her see the threat in my gaze.
She rises slowly, and it’s the first time I notice what she’s wearing. She really did expect to come here and party. Her dress is short, revealing most of her thighs, and there’s a cutout over her stomach, baring her midriff.
She shifts her stance, pushing out her tits and ass and wrongfully assuming she caught me admiring her. I could tell her she disgusts me, but that wouldn’t get her ass moving any faster, and I have several more people I need to get rid of.
An idea strikes. A drunken car crash could be the perfect solution to my problem. It would take them all out in one go, but I wonder if that would bring back bad memories for Nova. I dismiss the thought quickly. Grace isn’t living past midnight, and that doesn’t give me enough time to get the others here and plan the entire thing. Besides, I think I’ll let them squirm when Grace goes missing.
Will it make their deaths a little more complicated? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes. They’ll spend a few days wondering what happened and worrying if they are next.
“Don’t make me ask you again.” I open the door leading to the beach and exit, fully expecting her to follow behind me. Her shoes make ridiculous clicking sounds with each step she takes, proving I’m correct.
I continue down the stairs until I’m on the boardwalk that leads to the beach. When she finally reaches me near the hard-packed sand by the water, she has her arms wrapped around her body to fight off the chill coming from the ocean. In a few months, the cool air will be a distant memory.
“Have you told me every person who was involved or knew about your plan?” I ask, looking out at the waves and seeing the mainland in the distance. It’s risky bringing her here, considering what I’m going to do, but what is life without risks?
“Yes.” The quiver in her voice makes me acknowledge her. She must know what’s coming.
“Why the robes?” Grace isn’t part of the Cadieux Creed. She shouldn’t even know about it, but whispers are hard to kill, so there are always rumors about the island and what happens here.
“Other than to disguise our identity” —she lifts one boney shoulder— “we thought it would be a good way to show her she didn’t belong.”
“We? Were the robes your idea?” The robes are what made me think that this had founding family written all over it, but the names she gave me are not from any of the founders.
“I can’t recall whose idea the robes were, but everyone agreed it was smart.” She rubs her hands up and down her arms again. I need to dig into the names a little more, because I believe her.
“Did you think I wouldn’t find out, or did you truly believe I wouldn’t care?” I don’t know why I even bother asking the question. Maybe it’s to make myself feel better, since she more than admitted that the way I treated Nova in the beginning was what allowed Grace to think she could get away with hurting my lamb.
“I…I wanted to show you how weak she was,” she admits, but I’m not sure if her stammer means she’s telling the truth or if it’s just what she thinks will grant her mercy.
“That didn’t go as planned, but I’ve underestimated her a time or two myself. The truth is, she’s stronger than all of us and has survived things you can’t imagine.” I feel the need to defend Nova, even though she would never care what Grace thinks of her and it won’t matter in a few seconds anyway.
“Because she’s poor?” Grace makes sure I hear the rancor in her scoff.
I didn’t know how I was going to kill her until this moment. I thought of five ways to get rid of her, but she just proved I’m only wasting my time and breath by speaking to her. It’s too dark for her to see me reach around my back and pull out the Glock holstered there.
When the muzzle lands on her forehead, she opens her mouth to scream, but if she releases any sound, the report of gunfire conceals it. My ears ring from the explosion before she even crumples to the sand. Too bad silencers are so bulky.
Nova was worried about my conscience, but I wasn’t joking when I said I didn’t have one. I feel no regret or concern for the thing at my feet, only relief that she is out of the way.
When I walk past the security guard still on the boardwalk, I hand him the gun. “I don’t want her to be found. Let her parents lie awake at night, wondering what happened to her.”
NOVA
That night, when Lucian got home, we didn’t talk about what happened after Nox and I left. He walked straight to the shower, then joined us in bed. I didn’t know if I should ask him if he was okay or act like everything was normal, so I pretended to be asleep. Lucian, however, didn’t need to pretend. He was out cold minutes after his head hit the pillow.
The next day was surprisingly normal. I went to school, and Lucian complained about me going, but he drove me then walked me to class anyway, and Nox was there to pick me up after.
It was the following day when the whispers started. Everyone seemed to be talking about Grace and where she could be, since no one had seen her in a couple days.
The suspicious glances started soon after, or at least it felt that way to me, but it might be my culpability in her disappearance that had me looking over my shoulder and wondering what everyone knew.
When the campus security—who are really employed by the Umbras—started poking around and asking questions in the middle of the day, it really sank in that this was happening, along with a defiant indignation. Grace tried to kill me, then left me on a dirty bathroom floor to die. She brought whatever happened to her on herself.
She was dead. I didn’t feel bad for her. I only worried how it would affect me and the guys.