Page 17 of Sinful

“No one?” I raised a brow at him.

“Well, except forus.” He tapped his head before going back to his sandwich.

He didn’t elaborate. Not that I needed him to. I knew the basic rundown of shit.

We ate in silence for a long time. When I finished, I tossed my wrapper into the small garbage bin by the door and sat down in the chair again. The place was warm now, so I removed my jacket and slipped my boots off before placing them in front of the heater to dry.

“I have a door,” Asylum said, nodding to the old wooden door that he clearly wedged against the opening when he needed to be closed off. “There are some openings above us so that I can have fires in here too. I don’t typically light them and opt for the propane route, but in a pinch, the fires work well.”

I said nothing as I stared at the glowing red top of the heater.

“Come here. I’ll show you my supply room.” He got up, and I followed him, curious about what else he had hidden.

I’d completely missed a small room off to the side near the back of the cave. It wasn’t much for its size, but inside there were all sorts of canned foods, water, pots, pans, dishes, blankets, pillows, and random other things, like a first aid kit and snacks.

“I don’t completely depend on Chapel Crest,” he said, leaning against the doorway and smirking at me. “I’m prepared.”

“I’m surprised,” I murmured, stepping out of the small room. He walked with me back to the seating area, where we sat again.

“Why are you showing this to me?”

“Well, there may come a time when we need a place to go. So now we have one. If I ever tell you bear den, then get here. Pretty simple. About half a mile north, I have a truck parked. There’s a tree outside marked with a slash. Follow the slashes through the trees, and that’s how you will become free.” His blue eyes sparkled at his off-rhyme.

“Good to know,” I muttered.

“Keys are under the floor mat. Full tank of gas and some supplies inside the cab.”

I nodded, intrigued and a little impressed with the care he’d taken to having so many things in place. But it was Asylum. The weird prick probably had a vision he’d need this shit, so he’d put it all together.

“Now. Let’s talk.” He sat forward. “Firefly. My forever girl.”

“What about her?” I swallowed thickly and looked back to the heater.

“She wants revenge. She wants to kill the one who hurt her.”

I nodded. I wanted that too. Maybe not her killing him, but I wanted him dead.

“Did she tell you that?”

“Yes.” He sat back. I could feel his piercing blue eyes on me. “I agreed. I spoke to the watchers. They’re all for it. So now, we have to get her to come out of her shell a little more, and hopefully, we’ll have answers. Then. . .” He pulled a fork out of his jacket. “We fuck him up.”

I looked over at him.

“With a. . . fork?”

“This isn’t just any fork, Sinclair. This fork has been forking amazing at removing eyeballs from motherfuckers’ heads.” He did an elaborate twirl of the fork over his fingers, a big grin on his face.

“What did you do with the eye you took from your stepdad?”

He continued to twirl his fork. “You know the answer to that. I made him eat it. He had a taste for human flesh anyway. I didn’t really see the problem with giving him a taste of his own.”

I figured as much.

“How many people have you actually killed?” I asked.

He was quiet for a moment before he stopped twirling his fork and let out a soft laugh, glancing to his left. I watched him interact with the fucking air for a moment before he focused back on me.

“Would you believe me if I told you?”

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