painlessly.
Control yourself.
I did it. God forgive me, I did it, and the world darkened as my finger pulled the trigger. The boy fell, and the back of his head was gone, and his blood was flowing out black onto the street, black like oil. My stomach turned, but I kept control.
Then it was all over, and El Alfa was taking the gun back, and his men were pulling the body away.
I got into the car, waiting for the darkness to loosen its grip around my chest. The echoes of the gunshot rang in my ears as we drove off, and in the back of the SUV Jessica was screaming from behind her gag.
I took a deep breath, but it felt like I wasn’t getting any oxygen. The dark tide that had swept up into me wasn’t ebbing away like it normally did after a kill. And then I realized what she was screaming behind her gag, her voice muffled.
“Monster!” she was screaming, her throat hoarse with sobs.
Monster. Yes, that’s what I am.
I stared hard out of the window at the neon signs passing by and tried not to think about what I had done.
It wasn’t my first kill, true.
But it sure as hell felt like it.
Chapter Fourteen
Jessica
The man with the blue, blue eyes lifted the gun and put it against the back of James’ head. My mouth went dry. I had been kicking against the door of the SUV, but now I stopped. No. He wasn’t going to shoot him. This was all a bad dream. A nightmare. I was going to wake up any second, and then—
Then the gun bucked, and the sound came through the car window. It hit me like a wave, and James fell over, flopped over, his head turning to the side as he fell, bloody. I could hear myself screaming through my gag as it happened, and I couldn’t stop.
Then the man who shot him stepped in front of my view. He was looking into the window, right at me, but he didn’t see me. I don’t think he saw anything.
His eyes looked totally blank. Like a dead man’s eyes.
A monster.
And I’d… I’d kissed him.
I’d kissed this man, this killer, this monster. I wanted to throw up. Behind my gag, I could feel the bile rise in my throat. If I threw up now, I’d probably choke and die. Instead, I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead against the glass of the window. I couldn’t stop screaming at the man as he came into the car, and my screams came out like gargled sounds but I couldn’t stop myself. He had killed James.
James. Oh, God. James.
“Let’s go,” the fat man said. The engine roared and I fell back against the side of the door.
I didn’t know where they were taking us, but I knew that wherever it was, I didn’t want to go there.
Chapter Fifteen
Vale
The moon was shining when we reached El Alfa’s estate. In the blue light of the night, the marble gleamed like ice and the palm trees waved dark shadows, their spiked leaves like fingers reaching out to grab us.
I was still thinking about the kid that I’d killed. I’d never killed an innocent before. Never.
My mouth tasted like chalk as I got out of the car. My hands ached from clenching the steering wheel so hard. I wanted to punch something, to get that dark cloud out of my system, but I couldn’t. Not here.
El Alfa snapped his fingers and the men dragged the two girls from out of the backs of the cars. They went in front of us. The one I’d danced with, Jessica—she was the one who struggled the most. She was kicking the whole way, but her friend let herself be pulled along without any protest, like a dog that had been beaten too many times to care about fighting back.
We went up the marble steps behind them, and the huge doors in front opened, spilling out a flood of yellow light from inside.
The girls in white gauze dresses scattered in front of us as we walked. None of them looked up at the girls who were bound and gagged. I wondered how many of them had arrived this way themselves. I wondered how many of them had watched their boyfriends get killed in front of their eyes.
We reached the end of the hallway. There was
Control yourself.
I did it. God forgive me, I did it, and the world darkened as my finger pulled the trigger. The boy fell, and the back of his head was gone, and his blood was flowing out black onto the street, black like oil. My stomach turned, but I kept control.
Then it was all over, and El Alfa was taking the gun back, and his men were pulling the body away.
I got into the car, waiting for the darkness to loosen its grip around my chest. The echoes of the gunshot rang in my ears as we drove off, and in the back of the SUV Jessica was screaming from behind her gag.
I took a deep breath, but it felt like I wasn’t getting any oxygen. The dark tide that had swept up into me wasn’t ebbing away like it normally did after a kill. And then I realized what she was screaming behind her gag, her voice muffled.
“Monster!” she was screaming, her throat hoarse with sobs.
Monster. Yes, that’s what I am.
I stared hard out of the window at the neon signs passing by and tried not to think about what I had done.
It wasn’t my first kill, true.
But it sure as hell felt like it.
Chapter Fourteen
Jessica
The man with the blue, blue eyes lifted the gun and put it against the back of James’ head. My mouth went dry. I had been kicking against the door of the SUV, but now I stopped. No. He wasn’t going to shoot him. This was all a bad dream. A nightmare. I was going to wake up any second, and then—
Then the gun bucked, and the sound came through the car window. It hit me like a wave, and James fell over, flopped over, his head turning to the side as he fell, bloody. I could hear myself screaming through my gag as it happened, and I couldn’t stop.
Then the man who shot him stepped in front of my view. He was looking into the window, right at me, but he didn’t see me. I don’t think he saw anything.
His eyes looked totally blank. Like a dead man’s eyes.
A monster.
And I’d… I’d kissed him.
I’d kissed this man, this killer, this monster. I wanted to throw up. Behind my gag, I could feel the bile rise in my throat. If I threw up now, I’d probably choke and die. Instead, I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead against the glass of the window. I couldn’t stop screaming at the man as he came into the car, and my screams came out like gargled sounds but I couldn’t stop myself. He had killed James.
James. Oh, God. James.
“Let’s go,” the fat man said. The engine roared and I fell back against the side of the door.
I didn’t know where they were taking us, but I knew that wherever it was, I didn’t want to go there.
Chapter Fifteen
Vale
The moon was shining when we reached El Alfa’s estate. In the blue light of the night, the marble gleamed like ice and the palm trees waved dark shadows, their spiked leaves like fingers reaching out to grab us.
I was still thinking about the kid that I’d killed. I’d never killed an innocent before. Never.
My mouth tasted like chalk as I got out of the car. My hands ached from clenching the steering wheel so hard. I wanted to punch something, to get that dark cloud out of my system, but I couldn’t. Not here.
El Alfa snapped his fingers and the men dragged the two girls from out of the backs of the cars. They went in front of us. The one I’d danced with, Jessica—she was the one who struggled the most. She was kicking the whole way, but her friend let herself be pulled along without any protest, like a dog that had been beaten too many times to care about fighting back.
We went up the marble steps behind them, and the huge doors in front opened, spilling out a flood of yellow light from inside.
The girls in white gauze dresses scattered in front of us as we walked. None of them looked up at the girls who were bound and gagged. I wondered how many of them had arrived this way themselves. I wondered how many of them had watched their boyfriends get killed in front of their eyes.
We reached the end of the hallway. There was
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