Page 13 of Deadly Holiday Kiss

"Looks like he was getting rid of evidence," Ethan says and walks further into the room, approaching the sturdy wooden desk in the middle of the room.

"Where is he?" I take a step into the room as well, letting my eyes wander over the chaos.

"Somewhere in here," he says, taking careful steps as he circles the room, his gun raised. When his back is turned to a built-in cabinet, a quick movement catches me off guard. Richmond bursts out of his hiding place, runs up to Ethan and jumps on his back, trying to reach his gun. "Fuck," Ethan curses and twists,struggling to shake off the man clinging to him. "Let go, you piece of shit."

As if on autopilot, I reach for the knife tucked into my thigh holster, raise it, and aim it at the two men staggering across the room. I swing my arms from left to right, following them. But I hesitate, with their hectic movements the chances of hitting Ethan instead of Richmond are too high.

"No!" Richmond yells, still trying to grab Ethan's hands, who turns once more and staggers toward the desk. With his back to me, I have perfect aim on Richmond. I charge forward, raising my arms and bringing the knife, blade down, over my head before swinging forward with full force and ramming the blade right into the man's shoulder.

A scream tears from Richmond and he let’s go of Ethan, falling to his knees, reaching for his shoulder where his clothing soaks with blood.

I take a few steps back, my attention shifting from Richmond to Ethan, our eyes locking. His lips are parted as he breathes heavily and gives me a nod before he takes his attention off me and stalks toward Richmond. Lifting his knee and ramming his foot into the mans injured shoulder, forcing him to the ground.

"No, please! I’ll pay you what ever you want, please let me go!" Richmond yells, his hands grabbing Ethan's legs as he tries to push him off.

"Should have thought of that before you started screwing with the wrong people." Ethan puts more weight on the mans shoulder who squirms underneath him, before his gaze falls on me.

"Where do you want him?" he asks and I blink repeatedly, still trying to process the events that just took place before my very eyes in a matter of seconds. The adrenaline pumping through my veins is addictive, better than any drug I've ever consumed.

"A bathroom," I manage to say.

"Good. You go find one, and I'll get our friend over there."

"Okay," I say, turning on my heels and leaving the room. Richmond's screams echo behind me, followed by the unmistakable sound of fighting and Ethan cursing.

I decide to hurry and walk down the hallway to the second room where the lights are on. I push open the slightly ajar door, revealing the room inside. It’s the master bedroom. The ceiling light is on, casting a warm light on the chaos scattered around the room. An open suitcase lies on the floor, clothes and papers thrown into it.

My eyes then land on an open door, a bright light shining into the bedroom, the sight of gleaming white tiles telling me enough to know it must be an en-suite bathroom. "Ethan!" I call to him, "I found a bathroom."

Chapter 9

Harlee

I walk behind Ethan as he drags Richmond across the bedroom floor towards the bathroom. The man thrashes against his restraints, wriggling like a worm as he tries to free himself from Ethan's grasp.

"Look at you, you can be a real gentleman after all," I say with a chuckle, coming to a halt and leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom where Ethan is making sure that Richmond's hands and feet are securely tied. The man lies on the floor, gagged with a towel. His eyes are bloodshot, tears are running down his cheeks and snot is hanging from his nose.

"Well, it's slumbering in the depths of me, but I can't say you've been very deserving of that treatment all night," he says, and I roll my eyes at his answer.

"Ouch... back to being an asshole." I look down at the knife in my hand, twirling it and studying the light reflecting off the sharp edge. At the sound of the rope whipping, I look back at him where he throws the rope over the rail above the bathtub,his muscles flexing under his fitted shirt as he pulls the man up. Richmond's eyes are now wide open and he screams against the gag in his mouth. Once he's floating in the air, Ethan ties the knot securely to the counter to make sure he doesn't fall into the tub.

"All done," he says, dusting his hands as he takes a step back.

"Thanks." I walk up to him and take in the view of the man dangling freely in the air. It's been a while since I've been able to collect this much blood in one sitting. My sources have been mostly men since I came to the U.S., and due to my simple disadvantage in strength, I haven't been able to get them into this kind of position easily.

I steal a glance at Ethan, who has his arms crossed over his chest. Maybe I will have a use for him after this. While this night began with nothing more than the hope of getting laid by an attractive man who may meet my needs, I found something far more intriguing. A man who knows my secret, a man who isn't put off by the fact that I kill to use the blood to paint the pictures I sell for hundreds and thousands of dollars.

"So, expert, how are you going to do this now?" he asks, glancing at me.

"Slit his throat and let him bleed out slowly. The bucket I found in the kitchen should be big enough to hold all his blood." I keep my focus on Richmond, who is again struggling against his restrains, causing him to swing from side to side.

"Well then, go ahead. I'm curious to see your work up close."

"For how long have you been watching me?" I ask, approaching the tub and crouching down beside it, making sure the bucket is clean and perfectly positioned. My eyes meet Richmond's bloodshot ones staring back at me in panic, his face already crimson as he shakes his head frantically.

"One year," he admits. "I attended one of your exhibitions a year and a half ago. At first, I only went to your exhibitions, butwhen there was never a chance to talk to you, I resorted to other methods."

"Stalking me, huh?" I chuckle and grab a handful of Richmond’s hair before bringing the knife to his throat.

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