Page 61 of Wicked Little Nightmare

"Lakey," I said softly, closing the distance between us. "Let me take care of you tonight. Please."

She glared at me, but I saw the fight drain out of her. "Fine," she muttered. "But you owe me a night of dancing, Axley."

Relief flooded through me. "Deal," I said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "How about a bath? I'll even break out the fancy lavender shit you like."

A ghost of a smile played on her lips. "Throw in a back rub and you've got yourself a deal."

I chuckled, heading for the bathroom. "Your wish is my command, princess."

As I ran the bath and poured in the lavender oil, I allowed myself to relax. I dodged a bullet. Lakey was a ticking time bomb, and I was the only one who could diffuse her. Most times she didn’t listen to me, so the fact I was able to have her relent was a Goddamn miracle just on its own.

"Bath's ready!" I called out. "Get in there and relax, babe. Doctor's orders."

Lakey appeared in the doorway, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Only if the doctor joins me."

I grinned, almost unable to resist her pull. "Well, I never could say no to you. Buuuuut, I gotta do some work, okay? You just relax, read that weird monster book you like, or listen to music. I dunno, just do you for a while. When you’re out, come find me, this is just part one."

As she soaked in the tub, I settled at our cluttered dining table, surrounded by shit I’d printed off Skeeters laptop. I got into mytech headspace as I dove into the chaotic web of information. This was my element — piecing together the puzzle, unraveling the secrets that would bring Chimera to its knees.Hopefully.

People often thought I was stupid, but I wasn’t. In juvie, they tested me, and I tested well above 150. Not that it mattered, courses in the clink were all kid-level shit. Learning how to use a wood saw, learning to weld. Nah, I spent my time reading. And not those fun, fluffy books either. Learning human psychology. The good shit. Even went down the rabbit hole of learning about the justice system and all the loopholes. Read a few conspiracy novels while I was at it.

Never know, might come in handy one day.

But one thing that always gave me pleasure, aside from Lakes, of course, were puzzles. When we were kids, we had this shitty ass box TV and we spent hours watching grainy murder documentaries, interviews, news stories. Whatever thrilled us enough. I’d been drawn to the cold cases, trying to figure them out. This was a lot like that, only it was our fucking lives.

I’ll be damned if I let our own history go cold. So, with a cold beer and a keen eye, I’m gonna work this puzzle through, one piece at a time.

"Alright, you bastards," I muttered, spreading out the documents. "Let's see what you're hiding."

My eyes darted across the pages, connecting dots that seemed to make sense. Years of living on the edge had honed my instincts, and I could smell the bullshit a mile away. Chimera thought they were clever, but they'd never faced someone like me.

As I sifted through the papers, a pattern began to emerge. "Well, well, well," I chuckled darkly. "Janine, you sneaky bitch."

I grabbed a red marker, circling names that popped up repeatedly. Sarah Johnson. Emily Parker. Maria Rodriguez. All different, yet all eerily basic. All from different small towns, withdifferent addresses. Beside each one was a similar description, only changing the hair color. Each woman was the exact same height, weight and age. My gut twisted with a mixture of disgust and triumph.

"Hey, Lakey!" I called out, unable to contain my excitement. "You're gonna want to see this!"

She appeared a couple minutes later in the doorway, wrapped in a towel, hair dripping. "This better be good, Axley. I was just getting to the good part of my bath."

I grinned, gesturing to the mess of papers. "Oh, it's good alright. Looks like our friend Janine's been playing dress-up. Multiple aliases, all tied to different child agencies. Look, Sarah was an adoptions worker. Maria was a foster care supervisor. Looks like Emily is a birthing advocate and doula, whatever the fuck that is. And Janine is a foster mom. Sadie is blank. No description yet. She must be in transition to her new alias."

Lakey's eyes widened as she leaned over my shoulder. "Holy shit," she breathed. "How many?"

"At least five that I can see," I replied, my excitement slowly being replaced by a cold fury. "And each one's connected to a different branch of Chimera. It's a fucking spider web of corruption."

I felt Lakey tense behind me. "So, what you're saying is..."

"Yeah," I nodded grimly. "This goes way deeper than we thought. These bastards have been trafficking kids through the system for years. And Janine? She's been their funnel."

The tension in the room was palpable. I could feel Lakey's anger radiating off her in waves, matching my own. This wasn't just about revenge anymore. This was about stopping a monster that had been hiding in plain sight for far too long.

"We're gonna burn it all down," Lakey whispered, her voice like steel.

I reached up, lacing my fingers through hers before pulling her down on my lap. "Damn straight we are, babe. And we're gonna enjoy every fucking second of it."

As I stared at the papers, the walls of the apartment seemed to fade away. Suddenly, I was back in juvie, the stench of piss and blood filling my nostrils. The memory hit me unexpectedly.

"Yo, Axley!" Some punk-ass kid was yelling at me from across the yard. "Heard your little girlfriend's gettin' passed around like a party favor in foster care. How's that make you feel, big man?"

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