Page 123 of Just Between Us

I smile. “Oh, I lied, I’m not here to give you the money but I have come to offer you something else.”

Kenny eyes me, nostrils flaring. “Okay,” he says after a second. “I’m intrigued.”

“Leave Kai alone.”

He raises his brow, a smile dancing on his lips. “And if I don’t, what will you do?”

“Do you know anything about me, Kenny?” I ask.

He snorts. “I know you’re filthy rich and if you don’t want me to call my friends to rough you up a bit then you’ll give me what he owes me.”

“What he owes you?” I ask, that familiar rage building inside me. “What does he owe you?”

Kenny balls his fists on the table and leans in. “I took care of him and to thank me he got me arrested. So, yes, what he owes me. To start, that’s a hundred K. Maybe it’ll be fifty later.”

“You abused him,” I say, keeping my voice level.

“Abuse?” he barks out a laugh. “Is that what they are calling a few slaps these days?”

This is exhausting. I want to end this. “You’re not getting that money. You aren’t getting anything. In fact, you’re going back to prison.”

I place the file in my hand on the table between us. “These documents show every way you’ve violated your probation since you’ve gotten out, the threats to Kai, the illegal drugs, general misconduct. I think this adds another three years to your sentence?”

“I can kill you right now, you know that?” he asks, shifting in his seat like he’s about to pounce.

“I wouldn’t advise that,” I say.

Across me, Kenny grits his teeth staring at the manila folder. Finally, he lifts his arms in surrender. “Fine,” he says. “I’ll leave the kid alone.”

If only it was that easy, Kenny.

“Mmh,” I hum, shaking my head. “I don’t think you will, which is why I said I’ve come to make a deal with you.”

He opens his hands. “I’m listening.”

I push the folder to him. “I hand this into the police and given my family’s political sway, you get a pretty lengthy sentence,” I begin. “During that sentence, I’ll make sure a man comes to you whilst you shower, or whilst you sleep and has his way with you. I’ll make sure he makes it painful. It will be random too. Sometimes he’ll come every day, sometimes he’ll skip a month. Sometimes he might even be gentle, might make it good for you just to let down your guard. You’ll always be afraid, knowing what someone else can do to you. You’ll be living in constant fear, just like the way you made Kai feel.”

He hits the table, his eyes flaring.“I never touched that little shit. Not like that!”

I smile, his reaction is making this all the more enjoyable. “I know, but you made him believe you would. You beat him enough that he had to go to the emergency room several times for years. You took him away from everything he loved.”

He shakes his head violently. “No, no, no,” he says. “Kai has always been a liar. He’s manipulating you. That’s what he does.”

“I’d stop talking about him like that if I were you,” I tell him. “But let me tell you your other option. My friend outside will hand you a bag with all sorts of fun little pills and a nice expensive bottle of whiskey. You seem like a whiskey man, right? You take them, drink the whiskey and fall asleep peacefully. Eventually, once you smell so bad and maggots and rats are feasting on your flesh, someone will call the police, and they’ll find you.”

Kenny glares at me. “No,” he shakes his head.

I shrug. “Fine with me. The third option then,” I stand, looking down at his dilated pupils, so big they almost cover the whites of his eyes.

“I’ll let you in on a secret, not even Kai knows this yet. A week ago, I got rid of someone just like you. I watched life drain out of his eyes and I loved it. You have no idea how much I want to see it again.”

Kenny follows my movements as I walk around and stand behind him. I grip his greasy thinning hair and pull back, so he reveals his pale neck for me. I watch his pulse race, the thick vein by his neck furiously pumping blood. It reminds me of Socks. All helpless and mewling.

Just like Adam, Kenny thrashes, trying to pull away but he’s only hurt himself. I chuckle. “I’m going to pull out your hair if you keep doing that.”

I pull out a black-hilted knife. Its grip is familiar. The same knife I found in the gardener’s tool shed when I was a child. The same knife I cut that bunny open with. It gleams under the dim light of the kitchen, the edge smooth and sharp.

“As I was saying.” I lean down to whisper against the shell of his ear. “I don’t care about a lot of things, Kenny but I do care about Kai and that should frighten you. You’ve fucked with two people I love most in this world, which means I have no problem fucking with you either.”

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