Page 59 of Wicked Little Nightmare

Guess he thought some weird fucking words would turn me into a blubbering mess.Wrong bitch, bucko. That shit meant nothing to me.

His pathetic whimpering grated on my last nerve. I'd had enough of his half-truths and vague bullshit. My playful smile twisted into a snarl as I leaned in close, my breath hot on his ear.

"Listen here, you worthless sack of shit," I hissed, tired of the riddles. None of it made sense. I have memories of a mother.Didn’t I?"I'm done playing nice. You've got exactly ten seconds to spill everything you know about Chimera's plans, or I'll start peeling off your fingernails one by one."

I felt Cam shift behind me, his presence both comforting and electrifying. "Lakey," he warned, but I was too far gone.

He blubbered on, his face a mask of pain, the fear back in place. "Please, I swear I don't know anything else! I only dealt with the kids. They keep us in the dark, compartmentalized—"

My hand shot out, gripping his throat and squeezing. "Wrong answer, sweet cheeks."

Cam's voice cut through the haze of my rage. "Lakey, we need him alive—"

But it was too late. In one fluid motion, I jammed the letter opener into his jugular. Blood sprayed, hot and sticky, across my face and chest. The sudden silence was deafening, broken only by the wet gurgling of the dying man.

I stood there, panting, as the last twitches of life left his body. The rush of the kill sang through my veins, but beneath it, agnawing frustration ate at me. We'd failed. We hadn't gotten the information we needed.

Cam's heavy sigh brought me crashing back to reality. I turned to face him, blood dripping from my chin, waiting for the lecture I knew was coming.

His dark eyes flashed with irritation, but his voice remained eerily calm. "Well, fuck me sideways. That's one way to end an interrogation."

He moved past me, his massive frame brushing against my blood-soaked clothes. I watched, frozen, as he grabbed a cloth from the pocket of his jeans and began methodically wiping down surfaces. His hands, those same hands that could be so gentle with me, now efficiently erasing our presence

"You gonna stand there catching flies, or you gonna help?" Cam's gruff voice snapped me out of my daze.

I blinked, realizing I'd been staring at the corpse. "I... I didn't mean to—"

"It’s fine," Cam cut me off, tossing me a rag. "Start on the doorknobs. Anything you touched, wipe it down."

As I mechanically started cleaning, my mind raced. That asshole’s final gurgle echoed in my ears, mixing with the ghostly screams of all my past victims. Usually, killing brought me peace, a twisted sense of control. But this time, something felt... off.

Cam's voice broke through my spiraling thoughts. "You good?"

I looked up, catching his concerned glance, his hand never stopping its movement, cleaning whatever surfaces he thought we touched.

"I'm fine," I lied, forcing a smile. "Just peachy."

Cam snorted, clearly not buying it. "Sure, and I'm fucking the tooth fairy."

I turned back to the task at hand, desperately trying to ignore the growing unease in my gut. What the hell was wrong with me? Since when did I question my kills?

I’d never felt much of anything until all this shit started.

Couldn’t tell if I enjoyed feeling or hated it.

As Cam finished up the last of the cleanup, I found myself drawn back to the lifeless body. The operative's eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, accusing.Judging.

I felt Cam's presence behind me before I heard him. "Lakey," he said softly, genuine concern in his voice. "Talk to me."

I couldn't tear my eyes away from the corpse. "We didn't get what we needed," I whispered, my voice sounding small and broken even to my own ears. "I fucked up."

His hand came to rest on my shoulder as he moved his other to wrap around my waist, his touch both comforting and possessive. "Hey," he said, his voice low and gravelly. "Look at me."

I turned, meeting his dark eyes. For a moment, I saw a flash of the vulnerability we only ever showed each other.

"We got enough," Cam said firmly. "And we'll get more. This fucker was just a pawn anyway. Head into his office and see what you can find. Call me if you need help. We can pile his info onto a thumb drive, search the drawers."

I nodded, trying to shake off the weird funk I'd fallen into. Cam's hand slid down my arm, fingers intertwining with mine as he gently but insistently tugged me towards him. “C’mere.” He kissed the top of my head. “I love you.”

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