Page 73 of Little Psycho

“Well, I’m always here and I always will be, and you know how to find me if you need me,” she happily states before skipping ahead, disappearing into the layer of fog surrounding the darkness in front of us.

Blowing out the smoke, I nervously turn to face Ash, absorbing the shocked look on his face.

“Uh, who were you talking to?”He asks, looking around to make sure that nobody else is with us.

“Addy, she pops in and out whenever the fuck she wants.”I shrug, not afraid to admit that I have an imaginary friend.

“Okay, and Addy is?”He takes the blunt and puffs on it, eyeing me cautiously.

“Just a girl—a figment of my imagination.I guess I created her as a way to help me deal with the loneliness and trauma I experienced.I know you think I’m fucking crazy—and I am, I don’t deny it—but Addy has helped me with so much over the years, even though she isn’t real.She’s a big reason why I’m still alive today,” I admit, feeling my heart squeezing tightly inside my chest as I snatch the blunt back.

I begin to panic, worrying that he’s going to turn his back on me like everyone else.

But I’m completely taken aback when he says, “Well, tell Addy that I appreciate her for looking out for you.”He grins, and it takes every ounce of self-control I have not to pounce on him in the middle of the street.

“Thanks, Ash.How are you feeling?”I question, noticing we’re only a block away from our destination.

“Nervous.Curious.Kind of turned on still,” he admits in a low voice, a soft blush covering his bruised cheeks.

“Me too,” I counter, giggling.

Coming to a bus stop bench, I sit and place my bag beside me while I pull a few things out.I grab my mask and knife, tucking the blade in a sheath around my ankle.

“Put your mask on,” I state firmly, deciding to put my mask on to match the one he brought.

Ash listens, securing the mask over his face to conceal his identity, and once we’re both ready, he reaches over to hold my hand as we begin walking again.

* * *

It only takesfive minutes before we’re standing outside of a dark, intimidating three-story house that’s privately blocked from the outside world by a line of tall, thick trees that stand taller than the house itself.

Knowing the layout of the property and the inside, I lead the way in with Ash following behind.Once we breach the basement door and make it inside, we quietly navigate the unknown house in the dark.We make it to the second floor, where the bedroom is, with no problem, stopping in the hall just outside the door.

Ash looks around, taking everything in, and I wait while he tries to piece together where we really are.Luckily, it doesn’t take long, thanks to a cluttered group of pictures hung in an uneven line on the wall behind him.

“Are we really at Marcus’s house?”he gasps, fear flickering in his darkened eyes.

I can tell that he’s panicking, so I grab his hand and gently push him up against the wall, cupping his face like I did earlier to try to get him to relax.

“We are.You said you wanted to help—to be there for me—and this is fucking it.It’s time to live up to your name, Savage.We’re going to take back our power, one blow at a time.”

“So this is about the list you showed me, huh?You’re crossing off names as you kill them, which means all those bodies they’ve been finding..."

“I killed them, Ash.They fucking deserved every second of it, and when they were dead, I stood there, doused them in gasoline, and watched each motherfucker burn until the odor of death burrowed into my senses.”I sigh, feeling a small weight lift off my shoulders.

Without any resistance, Ash pulls out his gun and cocks it, making sure he’s ready for whatever.I pull out my knife from the sheath and grin under my mask, feeling extremely turned on by this side of him.The old, innocent me loved the good side of him—the sweet side—but the new, corrupted me can’t help but love the bad side of him, and I think he knows it too.

I back away from him, subtly grazing the ball of my palm over the obvious, thick bulge in his pants, eliciting a groan of pleasure from his mouth.I can’t see his face because of the mask, but I can see his eyes, and I can tell by the look in them that my little stunt had more than just a small effect on him.

Leading the way again, we sneak into the bedroom and lock the door behind us, taking slow, light steps towards the bed where Marcus is sleeping.

Both of us stand here for a moment, trying to breathe through the fear and anxiety coursing through us as we work toward navigating this new adventure together.Up until this point, I have never killed with a partner—besides Addy—and Ash has never killed at all.But if my plans for the four of us have any shot at working, tonight is a test to see how well we are as a team.

I hold his gaze, and the tension between us crackles like electricity.This isn’t just about the job anymore; it’s about the two of us finding strength in each other, about reclaiming our lives in ways we had never imagined.I can feel my heart pounding in my chest, the gravity of the night pulling us both further into the chaos that surrounds us.

“Are you ready?”I whisper, my voice low and steady.

He nods, determination igniting the fire in his eyes as he takes a step closer.The fear that danced there just moments ago is replaced by raw courage, and I marvel at how swiftly he transforms.

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