Page 99 of Wicked Little Nightmare

I felt that familiar darkness bubbling up inside me, a grin spreading across my face. "I find it so crazy that now that Sarah is here, you’re acting like a big bad wolf. You’re scum, Beaver. No one is going to miss you." I grabbed my knife, itching to carve him a new smile.

Cam's hand on my arm stopped me before I could take a step. His touch sent electricity through my skin, grounding me. "Easy," he murmured, his eyes never leaving Christian. "We need to take him to the cliffs alive. Remember we don’t want to kill him here, it’s gonna cause issues. The bin isn’t taken until Thursday and it’s Monday. The smell will attract attention. We have to get him to the dump spot, babe."

I pouted, but the look in Cam's eyes promised future fun.God, I love this man.

Sarah cleared her throat, reminding us of her presence. "We're running out of time. Chimera will be looking for him, and they won't be gentle when they find us."

"Well," I sighed, twirling a lock of hair around my finger, "I guess we should go get rid of him then. Clean the place, maybe have a shower. I stink."

Rose spoke for the first time in the last couple hours, “And we need to fix the window. Maybe Sarah and I can do all that while you deal with Beaver?”

The room fell silent, all eyes on me. I grinned, feeling that delicious anticipation building. “That’s an excellent idea. Cam, mind doing the honors and knocking out our guest? Can’t have him screaming down the halls and attracting attention.”

He cracked his knuckles, a smirk blessing his face. “With pleasure.”

Thirty-Five: Cam

The hot water stung as it hit my skin, washing away the blood and grime. Lakey's hands traced my scars, her touch electric even after all these years. It had taken a little over an hour and a half to haul Christian to the spot where we kept the beater and then drive to the cliffs. I had to knock him out again once we got there so I could carry him fireman style up to the edge. And then of course Lakes wanted to toy with him, wearing her mask from the car all the way up the hill until she slid her knife into his gut. Gotta admit, I loved the way it made her seem so mysterious, blocking the homicidal look she always got in her eyes. She looked blank. Angelic.

She had always loved her theatrics. The hot water caressed my skin, wiping the slate clean. I was tired. My bones hurt, my muscles ached, my brain was screaming at me for a break. If Icould, I’d have just sunk onto the shower floor and fallen asleep, but we had a guest waiting and questions to ask.

I stepped out first, wrapping a towel around my waist. Lakey followed, her wet hair clinging to her shoulders. We dressed quickly in sweats and shirts, both too exhausted for our usual post-murder flirting.

As we headed back to the living room, I caught Lakey's eye. The dark circles under her eyes were more prominent now. Fuck, we looked rough. But her lips quirked up in that little smirk I loved, the one that saidwe made it through another shit show, babe.

The living room was dim, early morning light barely filtering through the newly boarded-up windows. Sarah and Rose sat on the couch, sipping tea like this was a fucking garden party. All the blood had been cleaned and the room reeked of bleach.

"Well, isn’t this nice," I drawled, dropping onto the armchair. "Nice handiwork with the windows. Very post-apocalyptic chic."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well it’s all we could find. I see your charm hasn't improved with age."

I grinned, all teeth. "Aw, you know you missed me, Sarah."

Lakey perched on the arm of my chair, her fingers idly playing with my hair. I leaned into her touch, letting some of the tension drain from my shoulders. We were safe, for now. But how long would that last?

Rose cleared her throat, gesturing to a plate of sandwiches on the coffee table. "I made these for you both. Figured you'd be hungry after... well, you know."

"Fuck yes," I said, grabbing a sandwich and taking a massive bite. The taste of ham and cheese had never been so goddamn heavenly. I nudged Lakey. "Babe, you gotta try these. Rose, you're a fucking angel."

Lakey snagged her own sandwich, practically inhaling it. Between bites, she mumbled, "This is amazing, Rose. Thank you."

I watched her eat, a weird warmth spreading in my chest. It wasn't often we got moments like this — just existing, not running or fighting or killing. That’s why when Rose came, we took the time to play house. We were so used to living in our own chaos that there wasn’t room for much else, but this… it felt... normal. Which was fucking terrifying in its own way. Now that I’d had a taste, I craved more. More peace, more fun adventure, more time to just exist outside the bloodlust that always seemed to follow me.

Sarah set down her mug, her expression turning serious. "Now that you're both settled, I think it's time I filled you in on what's been happening."

I swallowed my last bite, leaning forward. "Yeah, about that. How the hell did you get away from Chimera? From what we pieced together, they don’t let go easily."

Sarah's eyes hardened, a flash of something dangerous crossing her face. "It wasn't easy. They had me for years, running foster homes, placing kids. You weren’t the only ones who went through extensive testing to see your capabilities. No, I can’t answer where you first came from. I just don’t know. They never told me. Just handed you both to me and saw to it I placed you wherever they told me too. I wear the scars of my own. It took years to build up their trust in me, it started so simply. Just monitor kids in and out. Then they piled more on. Then the testing started, and it was too late to back out. They knew everything about me."

"Sounds like a real fucking picnic," Lakey muttered.

Sarah nodded, a grim smile on her lips. "Oh, it was. But they underestimated me. I played along, let them think they were succeeding. All the while, I was watching, learning, planning."

I felt a grudging respect growing. She had always been tough, but this? This was next-level badass.

"One night, during a power outage, I made my move. They’d moved me into this ‘housing unit’, which was really just a way to monitor us," Sarah continued, her voice steady but intense. "I'd memorized the guard rotations, hence how I knew Christian. Anyway, I knew exactly where the blind spots in their security were. It was like a dance – duck here, wait there, take out this guard silently."

"Damn," I whispered, genuinely impressed. "How many did you have to kill?"

---