Page 96 of Buried Beneath Sin

I snicker as my idea unfolds. My plan won’t kill her, but by the time my punishment is through, she might wish she was dead. Starr Girl will never fuck with me again.

It takes me a couple of days to set everything up. During that time, I play nice. I chat up Starr Girl, I tease her like I would the twins, and I watch as she begins to relax as she believes she’s been forgiven. I like my victims unsuspecting, and Starr Girl is nearly there.

The twins know something is up. They’re not stupid, and they’ve seen me when I’m toying with my prey. They know I’m going to strike. Thankfully, they keep their mouths shut. Thisis my punishment to deal out and they have no say in what it is. Maybe they would step in if I told them what’s about to transpire, but that’s no fun.

When Wednesday comes around, I’m ready to act.

I shove the heavy gardening gloves into my pocket as I throw open Bright Starr's office doors. Thatcher looks up from the desk on the other side of the room, his brows pinched together in concentration.

“Knox, what are you up to?”

I grin. “Can you wrap up soon? I want to have lunch at the house. I have something to show you.”

Thatcher leans back in his seat with a heavy sigh. Absentmindedly, he reaches up and shoves his fingers through his hair, pushing the strands that have broken free of the gel and fallen into his face back into place.

“I have numbers to crunch, Knox. When I went over these before, I didn't realize?—”

“It wasn't really a question,” I interrupt. “Whatever you're doing, pause it. I've got something special for you.”

Before Thatcher can respond, the old, recorded bell rings over our head. Bright Starr has a visitor.

“Who the hell is here now?” I demand, pulling out my phone to check the time. It's just past noon.

Thatcher stands and comes around the desk. He looks smart in his crisp all-black attire. God he looks so good. It's great that Thatcher puts some effort into his look, because Sagan doesn't give a fuck. I get the best of both worlds: one sophisticated and one rugged version of the same man. I'm momentarily distracted as he strolls over, but when he stops just in front of me, I shake my head to focus.

“Must I remind you that we have a business to run, Knox?”

“We can put everything on hold for an hour,” I point out with a huff.

Thatcher's smile has sharp edges, and his gaze is piercing as it darkens. “What's up, Knox? Something going on I should know about?”

“Just meet me at the house when you’re done here. Trust me, it'll be worth it. Grab Sagan before you join me.” I wink. “You can get back to work after this... if you're up to it.”

The Hunt twin chuckles. “Have you figured out the punishment for my sister?”

He knows me so well.

“You'll just have to see when you join me.”

I back out of the room and Thatcher follows. Just as we step out into the hallway, someone calls out, “Hello, anyone around?”

Thatcher looks toward the foyer where the voice is coming from.

“See you soon,” I sing-song before heading in the opposite direction.

I can hear his soft laughter as I round the corner to let him handle whoever is here. Thankfully, Thatcher has taken over the front of house shit. I'm not good at pretending to care for long periods of time like he is. After watching Starr Girl interact with clients, Thatcher smoothly took over the handling of our fragile clients. Like a vampire, he sucks the despair from them and feeds on it. There's nothing he loves more than tears.

I can hear Starr Girl as I approach the preparation room.

“Now, according to your mother, you liked your hair up, but according to your cousin and from every picture I’ve seen of you with your friends, you like it down. So to please you both, I’ll work on a half up, half down do. How does that sound?”

Who is she talking to? Is she on the phone? I push open one of the double doors to find her pushing a body into one of the six morgue fridges. The young girl sliding into the dark space can’t be older than sixteen.

“Why do you talk to the bodies?” I ask, purposefully being loud.

It gets the proper response. Starr Girl shrieks, flinching hard before she whirls around to face me. The fear and shock fade as she sees that it’s me.

“Jesus, Knox, you nearly scared me to death,” she says, her voice breathless as she reaches up to place a hand over her heart. “What are you doing back here?”

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