Page 69 of Holy Sinner

“I don’t give two fucks what she likes and doesn’t. It’s our job to make sure the fucked up parts of the world don’t touch her and right now it’s touching her.” I shove the photos in my coat pocket. I’m going to shove them down the throat of whoever took them after I slit their throats. “We have to tell Holly before we move out.” If we don’t, I’ll get shit from Rita and I know Grant’s agent wouldn’t be far behind. Not to mention it’ll cause a stir with the film if we take off without anyone knowing about it.

The movie is important to Kit and that means it’s important to me. We can’t jeopardize the movie, even if the assistant director is the prime suspect right now.

“Why does Alexia think it’s Holly?”

“She didn’t really tell me. That’s when you showed up. I think it’s bullshit. Holly couldn't do this.”

I swipe my hand across my face and wipe rain from my brow. “What makes you say that?” I start walking. If the ladder was heavy enough to leave proof of where it was, then I’m willing to bet it’s nearby.

“She wants this movie to succeed. Needs it to. It’s her first time holding the reins. She’s in charge of making sure this goes off without a hitch while the director gets to have his final vision on the screen.”

“Could be the director,” I muse, craning my neck to look through the trees to the left. There’s underbrush there. A good place to hide the ladder.

“Who? Jackson? Nah, the guy is clean. Just wants another big payout so he can keep fucking his way around the world. He’s not on set any more than he needs to be.”

“Doesn’t sound too bad right now.” I don’t mean it. The only two I’m fucking are Kit and Grant’s pain in the ass. Wherever their asses go, I go. That includes around the world or on the set of what’s becoming a murder scene. “You think the ladder is through there?”

“Might be. We can look in a while. The storm won’t let up anytime soon. Let’s head back in. I’m sure Kit is losing her shit right now. Who do we have to talk to to get the place you found?”

“I’ll text Rita. She’ll set it up.”

Grant and I fall into step with one another. I’m normally alone when there’s someone to kill, but there’s an odd comfort in having Grant with me. I know if I fail, he won’t. Kit will be safe so long as one of us is breathing. For now, that’s all the comfort I need.

Chapter Thirty-Three

KIT

I’m pacing. Feels like I’ve been pacing for hours but it can’t be more than half an hour. I’ve been pacing since Grant and Rafe came in from the rain. The roar of the storm was deafening when they opened the door but the cabin isn’t as rustic as it seems and the second the door closed it was gone. I stop in front of the window and stare at the drawn curtains. My fingers itch to pull back the curtain and look outside to see the storm but that’s stupid, so I don’t do it.

I don’t know what’s going to happen tonight. Tomorrow we’re leaving for a cabin Rafe has set up but tonight everything is up in the air. Rafe and Grant told Holly about the photos once they came in. I can still hear her accusation ringing in my ears.

“What did you do, Kit?”

Just like it did before, it pitches me forward and makes the world feel like it’s tilting on an axis. But that’s because it’s not Holly that I’m hearing. I’m hearing my mother. The blood on my hands isn’t from the woods, it’s from him and I don’t know what I’m going to do.

“You okay?” Alana whispers. She’s changed into a pair of her sweats or at least her version of sweats. She’s in a pair of red silk pajama bottoms with a pale pink cozy knit sweater. She looks like she could be relaxing with a glass of wine and I know in an alternate timeline that’s what she’s doing. I’m there with her and we’re eating pizza or tacos, or whatever sushi looked good on the lodge menu. We would laugh and put on a RomCom that we have both seen a hundred times. We’d talk through most of it but we’d still go silent when the best bits happened. Those beautiful moments of self-actualization when the heroine realized how much she deserved, how strong she really was and of course, her happily-ever-after would take shape in the most perfect of ways.

My chest goes tight thinking about what should have been if I didn’t have a random stalker sending us photos of me and if Jane hadn’t gone missing. I’ve never been the one to get cozy normalcy, though. I don’t think I ever will be.

I smile weakly at her. Alana snaps me out of the hell I was nearly sliding into like she always does.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just…everything feels crazy.”

Alana nods and then rubs my shoulder. “Why don’t you change into some comfy sweats? I just talked Grant into getting us pizza.”

“Oh yeah?” I’m surprised Grant did anything she asked.

“Yeah, I told him that you were crying and scared and that the only comfort meal that would fix it is pepperoni and jalapeno pizza with lemon pepper wings. I’ve never seen a man move so fast.”

I laugh and a second later Alana joins me. We’re giggling when Rafe comes out of the kitchen to join us. He has two glasses of water in hand and gives us a curious look.

“What’s so funny?”

“Grant getting pizza,” Alana chirps and then points at the waters. “Those for us?”

“They are. You both need to stay hydrated.” He hands us the waters and I kiss his cheek.

“You’re sweet. Thank you.”

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