Page 30 of Uncaged Obsessions

“I have to agree,” I chime in.

“I’m the one that killed him. I’d say I’m pretty involved,” Max states.

Caine pulls her from my arms, and I scowl. “Yeah, and you’ve never looked sexier than you do with blood on you, killer.”

“Next time it’ll be yours,” she tells him with a smile.

“Fuck, I’ve missed your dirty talk.”

“Okay, seriously. We need to deal with him,” Danner announces. “I know you guys think you’re all tough and can do it yourselves, but we have to make sure this can’t blow back on Max.”

Max steps away from Caine’s embrace to face her friend. “Won’t I be the top suspect anyway?”

“Probably, but that’s why we have to do this right.” Danner nods, “Which is why the four of you are going to listen to me, and do exactly what I say.”

“And if we don’t?” Caine challenges, which has me rolling my eyes.

“Then you can go turn yourself into the cops and take the blame so Max doesn’t go to fucking prison.”

“Just tell us what you want us to do,” I tell her before Caine can piss her off anymore.

CHAPTER 18

ADAM

We don’t have much time to execute Danner’s plan. It’s impressive how quickly she was able to come up with this and we probably should be a bit worried about that. But knowing Max has a friend like her brings an odd sense of comfort.

We have to be careful about how we do this. Danner insists that we don’t have to worry about being seen leaving the house. Carson’s body, however, we make sure to hide. Which is why he’s shoved in the back and covered up. Max still cowers slightly in the back seat as we clear the gates.

We have to get a car from one of Max’s parents’ houses that they barely use, but Max said it should be pretty easy. Then, we’re driving to the middle of nowhere, putting Carson in the front seat and setting it ablaze.

“I want to light the fire,” Max states immediately once we’ve managed to get to the spot Danner picked.

“I think you’ve had enough fun,” Drew tells her.

“I should get to have it all. This has been my battle. I want to finish it off and see it go up in flames.”

“If that’s what you want, baby girl,” I agree easily. I know how important it is to cope, to feel in control of your life and to take it back if necessary. If this is what she needs, then she should get.

“I don’t think I’ve ever found fire sexy, but you’re going to turn me into a pyro, killer,” Caine tells her.

“Make sure to wipe all the prints off,” Danner says seriously.

I’m the one that drove the car here, and I made sure to not touch anything with my bare hands. Still, I wipe everything down anyway. We position Carson in the front seat, slumped over before dousing him and the car in gasoline to make sure it goes up quickly and thoroughly.

Danner has the matches, and she hands them to Max. “We can’t stick around for long after you do this.” We’re in a remote area without anything for miles, so the remains of the car, and the dead man inside shouldn’t be found for a while.

Max nods, grabbing the matches, taking in the scene in front of us while myself, Drew, and Caine lean against the fake caterer van.

“You got this,” Danner encourages quietly.

I want to tell her the same, I want to hold her, and whisper to her how I’m feeling about everything, but I don’t. I know she needs this. She needs to take her power back. She needs to be able to move on from this life once and for all.

While this may not solve everything, it’s the first step for her. Knowing this particular demon won’t be chasing after her from now on will hopefully bring her a sense of closure. Though, weall have other things to deal with and this won’t fix everything, at least we can go home.

Max looks at the matches in her hands, then up at the car, seeming to be lost in her thoughts. We all stay silent, giving her this moment for herself.

After a few minutes, she opens the box, pulling out one of the wooden sticks before closing the box again. She twirls the unlit match between her fingers. She hasn't cleaned up yet, still in her blood-stained white dress, splatters of dried blood marring her perfect skin.

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