Page 45 of Fractured

It doesn’t take me very long to make it to the back patio. We have several sitting areas, and I make my way to the farthest one. It’s the one where I can burn these pages without drawing the attention of anyone in the house. The fire pit is cleaned out and empty, so I toss in the papers and use a match that I snagged on my way over here to ignite them.

The pages quickly catch the flame and begin burning. As the edges curl and turn black, I watch transfixed. Biting my bottom lip, I can’t help but think about all the fun I have with my stalker being around. Especially if he keeps giving me such amazing gifts. Thinking of the devil, my phone chirps.

Ravenmaster: I’m proud of you. You’re learning.

My eyes narrow at his message. It’s like he thinks I haven't been paying attention to all the things he leaves, but then takes away.

Raven: The fourth rule of killing, Mr. Mystery Man. Can’t be leaving any evidence around.

Ravenmaster: Good girl. I see some rewards coming in your future…

I was starting to stress that I wouldn’t get my answer from Cole in time. It’s been two days, and per the plan laid out for me, tonight is when I’m supposed to kill Oliver Nix. Nothing like cutting it close. But this morning, I got the answers I’ve been waiting for.

Cole sent me more than enough proof of the illicit activities of Mr. Nix. He found more evidence than I even thought possible. How has this man never been caught by the authorities? I have to say, it’s pretty nice to have a hacker at my beck and call, and then all he wants as payment is to feed me and possibly give me orgasms. Can’t beat that kind of payment plan.

I stare at my closet, trying to find an outfit I’m willing to part with. The last two outfits I’ve worn while killing someone have ended up being destroyed. Not this time, asshole! I’m picking something I don’t care about… I’m sure there’s something here… there has to be. The habit of throwing out clothes when I don’t like them any more isn’t helping me right now.

Fuck it. I’ll just shop for my murder outfit before the next time. I pull on a pair of jeans, and a plain t-shirt, then stuff another pair of jeans and a shirt in a bag. Inside, there’s a pack of wet wipes for me to clean myself up afterwards and a leather jacket. Slipping into a pair of heels, I head for the garage. Now I need to decide how to get Vander to leave me the fuck alone for my playtime.

By the time I make it downstairs, I have a shitty plan and no guarantees it will work. I never can tell if my guard will fall for one of my manipulations. Most times he doesn’t, but on occasion, I’ve been able to pull it off. Speaking of, Vander has his RBF cemented in place as I walk up to him, and it’s paired with suspicion in his eyes.

He opens my door and I slide in without a word. When Vander is behind the wheel, he looks at me through the rearview mirror. He sits silently, waiting for me to tell him where we're going. I glance at my phone as I read off the address and stare out the window as he takes us to the destination.

Anticipation builds the closer we get. I keep replaying the moments I’ve watched the light leave the eyes of those I’ve killed so far, and I can’t wait to add to the mental reel I have on repeat.

We finally arrive at the location I told Vander to drive to. The tension between us gathers in the air, and yet, he still doesn’t say anything. Instead he taps his finger on the steering wheel in a steady beat. I’m not sure what has him retreating back behind the wall we’ve always had between us. Would he still be acting this way had our kiss not been interrupted?

I play it cool, keeping my excitement under disguise. Vander can’t suspect anything for me to pull this off. When it feels like enough time has passed, I let out an annoyed sigh. “Well… are you going to check things out so I can go in? Or are we going to sit here all night?” I cross my arms as I stare him down, throwing off an air of challenge to rile him up so he’ll do what I want faster.

“What the hell are we doing here, Remi?” he asks without missing a beat. It’s as if he’s been waiting for me to say something just so he could ask.

“Obviously, I’m here to inspect a warehouse, Vander. Are you planning on holding me up till morning?” I quip back.

“It’s late. Why are you agreeing to meet someone at a warehouse at this hour? It’s not safe,” he growls with admonishment.

“Always with my safety. Isn’t that your job? Are you trying to say you’re getting lazy in your old age?” I give him a smirk as I watch his eyes narrow in the mirror.

“Don’t play with me. You’re up to something. I know it, you know it. I just don’t know what it is.” His hands grip the steering wheel, the pressure causing a creak.

“I’m not up to anything, Vander. I have a meeting with the owner of the warehouse to negotiate its purchase. This is the only time he was available for a walkthrough. You’re here as my protection. I don’t know what else you want me to say to convince you, but if you don’t hurry up, the owner will get pissed and you’ll cost us this deal.” My words are clipped and fast. I’m not faking my frustration with him right now.

By this time, my stalker will already have Oliver tied to a chair waiting for me. Who knows if Ravenmaster is giving me a time limit to get there before he takes the kill from me. It seems like something sadistic he would do…

“Stay here. I’m doing a perimeter search before checking inside. When I make sure it’s all clear, I’ll come back for you. Don’t get impatient and go inside without me,” Vander commands, like he’s actually in charge of what I do. I just roll my eyes and stare at my phone like I have zero fucks to give for what he said. He lets out a huff and climbs out of the car.

I watch him from the corner of my eye, keeping track of the exact moment he turns the corner and is out of view. My hand is already clutching the bag with my change of clothes, and my leg jiggles as I wait to make sure Vander isn’t doubling back to make sure I’m not doing anything with him now out of sight.

When he doesn’t come back around the corner, I throw the door open and jump out of the car, only pausing briefly to quietly shut the door behind me. Securing the strap to the bag around my body, I run full out in the opposite direction Vander went. I gave him an address several blocks over from where I really wanted to go. This way, I could distract him for long enough to get to my location by foot.

By the time he realizes I’m gone, I’ll already be off the streets, and he’ll have no idea where I am. When he finally clears all the other buildings between me and him, I’ll already be done adding another tick to my death toll.

While we were driving, I went over the surrounding maps several times so I don’t accidentally get lost. Because I looked it up, I easily spot the building where I need to turn, and rush to the warehouse halfway down the road. Excitement builds as I approach the door my stalker said would be left unlocked for me.

It’s a metal door with paint chipping off, located down an alley shared with the empty building next door. When I pull it open, the hinges creak like it hasn’t been used in years. Pitch black emptiness greets me, but I’m not put off from entering. I listen for any hints of sound as I turn on my phone’s flashlight, then I shine the light around the doorway.

Finding the entryway clear, I step inside and shut the door behind me. What little light the night sky added, is now lost. It takes me a moment for my eyes to adjust even though my flashlight is still on. Once I can see with a little more clarity, I find myself in a hallway. It’s walled off to my right, so I turn left and walk along the outer wall until I encounter a large breaker box. Next to it is a lever with a black plastic handle. I pull the tissue I put in my pocket, and use it to grip the handle as I switch it on. This way, there won’t be any fingerprints left on it. “Let there be light,” I say with a sardonic laugh.

A clicking sound of the lights turning on echoes in the empty warehouse, traveling down the hall until it reaches me. Just a few feet away, the hall opens up into the expanse that makes up the warehouse. The sound pings off the walls and travels back to me, making the void space sound much larger than it is. The lights chase away the darkness, but they aren’t able to get rid of the darkest thing in the room. No. That’s safely hidden inside me. And no amount of light can make it vanish.

---