Page 45 of The Trick

Increasing my speed, I approach the mausoleum she’s hiding behind. “I know you’re here, little hellcat,” I announce, beginning to round the far corner of the mausoleum. “You’re really making me work for it tonight, huh? Fine by me, I like fighting for what’s mine.” Leading with my knife, I move to the backside of the mausoleum. Notes of her floral perfume invade my senses. “I can practically smell you from here,” I purr against my mask just as the scraping of gravel sounds from behind me.

“Over here, asshole,” she shouts.

I pivot towards the sound of her heaving breaths.

“There you are–” I move toward her but the impact of something hard smacking against my forehead stops me in my tracks. I look down to see one of her heels lying on the ground in front of me.

“What?” she pouts. “No heels means that I can run away from you faster. Hope you can keep up,” she challenges.

A boisterous growl leaks from my lips at the audacity of her thinking that her bare feet are capable of giving her the speed she needs to get away from me.

Reaching for myspecialknife, I secure it in my palm before lifting my masked gaze to where she stands looking delicious and arrogant.

“Run final girl, the Boogeyman’s coming for you,” I groan. “Now!”

Finally, like a good little slut, she listens to me and breaks into a quickened jog. Not quite a run but much faster than walking. How pathetic, it’s like shewantsto get caught. She’s making this too easy for me and ease is something that’s never appealed to me. Which is probably why I felt such a pull to her all those years ago. Blair is many things, but easy, in any sense of the word, is definitely not it. She’s hostile, erratic, violent, all the things that make her a nightmare and my fucking dream.

I continue my determined saunter, trailing her every step. Her onyx hair swaying at her back side the further she runs, she continues this until we’ve made it to what most would classify as “the rich” part of the cemetery. The side where all the big wigs and famous people paid a hefty price to be buried under the ground.

Her pace slows as she turns to look at me. Though our locked gaze on one another is cut short by her suddenly crashing to the ground.

Ah, I love historic cemeteries. Those disintegrating graves that wither down over the years to eventually look like rocks on the ground, make for a real safety hazard.

Better luck next time, little hellcat.

Using her fall to my advantage, I charge towards her. Running with such speed that she has no opportunity to escape.

My body topples over her, pinning her to the ground and fuck, does this feeling of overpowering her feel like home.

“You motherfucker,” she shouts, trying to squirm out of my hold. Her arms extend, scratching at the ground, forcing me to press my knife against her hand.

“Ouch,” she cries out, though the pain she’s trying to forceisn’t convincing.

I pout, my lips pressing against my mask. “Oops,” I tease, drawing the blade into the top of her hand an inch more. “Miss me?” I tease, straddling her backside.

She scoffs. “You’d have to be dead for me to miss you. But if you insist on pinning me down like this, the least you could do is be a gentleman about it and stick something in me.”

“I’ll do you one better,” I say, loosening my hold on her backside, I take my free hand, rolling her over onto her back, trapping both her wrists overhead. “I’ll give you one shot, one opportunity to do what you’ve always wanted–” I’m cut off by her sudden burst of laughter

“Something amusing you?” I ask,

Her laughter comes to a halt and a breathy sigh emerges in its place before she parts her lips to speak. “Holy shit, sorry, I thought you were about to rap “Lose Yourself” from8 Milethe way you started that sentence.”

I roll my eyes. This woman is truly maddening and of course, like the fucking brat she is, she begins bobbing her head and humming to fucking Eminem, completely ruining the fucking mood. My neck snaps side to side, cracking, before I bring the tip of my knife to her chin, lowering my mask to her face. “Thanks for the pop culture references but I’m more of a rock guy, myself. Now shut that pretty little mouth of yours and listen to me. I’m giving you one chance to do what you failed to do fifteen years ago.”

Her brows lift, excitement washing over her face as my offer registers.

“Ooh, you’re going to let me stab you?” she asks, practically beaming.

I chuckle, loosening the cuffed hold I have maintained on her wrists. “I’m giving you one last chance to kill me, but first, there’s something I want you to do for me,” I say, uncurling my hand completely from her wrists as I stand up.

Wasting no time, she quickly rises to her feet, already reaching for her knife.

I click my tongue. “Not so fast, final girl.”

Her shoulders shrug matching her confused stare. “What is it, Maddox? What can I do for you before I drive that knife into your black fucking heart?”

Closing the space between us, I take my knife and tap it against hers. “Drop it.”

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