Page 2 of The Dare

I had to clean up after myself this time.

The woman was a loose end, but I hoped she was too freaked out to memorize my face in the brief glance she got of me. I looked around but didn’t see any security cameras trained in the alley. Good. I could hack into the systems and erase the footage, but it was time-consuming, so I was glad that it wasn’t necessary.

I left the body in place and grabbed my truck from in front of the hardware store. Driving around to the alley, I opened the latch to the truck bed and slid the asshole inside. He was smaller than me, but it was still tough to deadlift the limp body of a fully grown man from the ground. I was lucky to be in such good shape.

Now it was the next day. I temporarily stashed the body in a closet. I rented a cabin, and I was pissed that I’d been wearing my Captain America T-shirt last night. There was blood smeared over the image of the shield on my shirt, and I couldn’t get it out.

I scowled as I gave up and crammed my shirt into the trash. I’d have to buy myself a new one when I got the chance, but it wouldn’t be this weekend. I was going to be spending the next couple of days with my family. That was the reason that I was in Colorado—to hang out with my family for the first time in eighteen months. My mom’s birthday celebration was tonight, and she guilted me into coming this year.

Well, she thought that was why I came. The truth was that I came to see my sister, not that I would ever admit that to anyone.

At that moment, my phone buzzed, and I pulled it out of my pocket. My mother was texting me.

Where are you? Molly’s here, so you’re the last one to arrive.

Turning to the living room window, I looked toward the large cabin across the lake. It was owned by my family, and that was where everyone was staying this weekend. I’d chosen to rent this smaller cabin for myself as a backup, just in case I needed a break from the chaos of the weekend. My family didn’t know about it, and I knew they’d think it was strange, but I had my reasons for wanting privacy. It turned out this was a good idea, considering the corpse I had in the basement. My eyes shifted to the basement door. I’d shoved a table in front of it, just in case someone came here this weekend. I wanted to discourage anyone from going down there, since there was no lock on the door.

I’d have to take care of that later. And disposing of the body, of course.

For now, I was eager to get to the family cabin. It had been far too long since I laid eyes on Molly. Up close and personal, at least. As far as she knew, we hadn’t seen each other in a year and a half.

She had no fucking idea that I saw her every damn day.

My infatuation with my younger sister started when she turned eighteen. I was thirteen years older than her, and it was shocking to me to realize that I was attracted to someone so much younger than I was. Then, there was the fact that she was my sister. It was forbidden. Wrong. Fucked up.

Exhilarating.

I’d only been able to ignore my fascination with her for a few months. She started college in New York, where I lived, and I couldn’t resist the temptation. Wanting her created an itch I couldn’t scratch, but I could certainly get pleasure from stalking her. It wasn’t the first time I’d done such a thing.

She had no idea. Despite being in the same city, Molly had no desire to spend time with me. We didn’t have a close relationship. In fact, we’d never gotten along.

That was part of what fueled my interest in her. She treated me with disdain because she had no idea that she was mine.

She’d learn. Eventually.

For now, I was going to play it cool. I was about to be closer to her than I had been in so long, and my heartbeat kicked up at the thought. Watching was one thing, but talking to her and inhaling her sweet scent was something that I’d been eagerly anticipating since I agreed to come to this birthday dinner.

Washing any traces of blood off my hands, I locked up my cabin and headed to the other side of the lake, to the object of my obsession. I could hardly wait.

Chapter 3

Molly

Waving goodbye to my driver, I walked into the cabin, dragging my suitcase on wheels behind me. I was expecting to be greeted by just my parents, knowing that Jenna and Olivia hadn’t arrived yet. So, it was a shock to see the huge living room crowded with people. My mom came from a big family, and it looked like she’d decided to celebrate this particular birthday with all of her siblings. This was a different from what we’d done in the past, which was usually a small get-together with immediate family.

My two uncles and three aunts all turned to face me as I walked into the cabin. I flinched as everyone greeted me at once, the noise immediately overwhelming me. But this was my family, and I was thrilled to see them all. I smiled so widely that my cheeks ached, leaving my suitcase next to the door as I moved into the living room and accepted hugs from everyone. I reached my mom last and held on to her a little longer. She and I have always been very close. I thought it was because I was what she called her miracle baby.

My parents got married young. They were the same age as I currently was, just twenty years old. They got pregnant right away and had my brother just a month after their first wedding anniversary.

They planned to have another child a couple of years later, but it didn’t happen so easily. My mom suffered two miscarriages over the years and finally gave up, planning to stick with just one child.

Then, as she often told me, the universe gave her the best surprise of her life. I was an unplanned pregnancy, but my parents couldn’t have been happier. My mom especially adored me, and we’d always been close.

“Happy birthday, Mom,” I said.

“I’m so glad you’re here. How was your flight?”

I shrugged, not wanting to complain about the first class conditions on the plane or how a girl across the aisle gave me nasty looks because her boyfriend wouldn’t stop checking me out.

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