Page 58 of The Trick

“Speaking of which, I called the police, yet here you are. Why?”

“You meanhow, Blair. Simple, A little app I designed. You see, once I have a person’s phone number, I’m able to gain access to their incoming and outgoing calls and, when I turn the feature on, any and all calls that you make, no matter what your Caller ID reads, go to me. Emergency services included.”

“I’m impressed,” I say, even though I shouldn’t be. It’s sick, not to mention illegal, the lengths he has gone just to be near me. “Why are you doing this?”

He shrugs, “Well, how else do you expect to get away with murder? Which by the way, I should thank you for because Ethan was next on my list.”

List?

“And…” his voice drags just as he begins to curl his fingers around his mask. My mouth falls open when I see his chiseled cheekbones come into view, followed by the most hauntingly beautiful eyes with shades of teal and green that somehow can be seen even in the dark woods we are standing in. “I want you to be mine.”

“What makes you think I want to be yours?”

“You are many things, Blair Van Tassel. Erratic.Sexy. Devious. Horror obsessed but your killing skills are amateur at best and your post-kill skills need improvement. I mean you killed your ex, who you were known to hate, with a knife that has your initials on the handle and you left it at the scene of the crime. And don’t get me started on how you think pushing him over that little cliff, half wrapped in a tarp with your DNA all over it will eliminate you from being tied to his murder. Oh, and let’s not forget the connections Mr. Campbell has?”

“Ok, point proven asshole.”

“Just consider today your lucky day, Blair.”

“And why is that weirdo?”

“Ha, weirdo? Good one, what’s next, a classic nan-nan-ah-boo-boo?”

I grit my teeth, how can someone so fucking sexy be so fucking maddening?!

“I’ll do you this favor, of eliminating your name to the crime if you accept your fate.”

“And what might that be?”

“I’ll play whatever games your heart desires. Build you a nightmare you can’t escape from and follow you like the incubus you crave. I’ll be your cover if you will be my curse. Now pick your favorite number?”

My mouth falls open in confusion. “Number?”

“Yes,” he motions his hand for me to hurry up. “Choose a number, Blair, we don’t have all night. There’s a body to hide.”

“Fine. How about fifteen?”

“Eh, of course it’s fifteen,” he mumbles something else under his breath, clearly, he’s not a fan of the number. I’m about to change the number when he begins to speak again at a more audible volume. “It's a little higher than I wanted, but fifteen it is” he shrugs.

“What do you mean?” I ask, my mind racing with what a fucking number has to do in a time like this.

He clears his throat, looking both haunting and comforting all in the same breath. “In fifteen years, if neither of us has killed the other, I will take what is mine.”

“And what is that?”

“You,” he deadpans.

“And what if I refuse?”

“You won’t. Face it, I’m every twisted thing you’ve ever wanted and you,” he pauses, trailing his large finger at my jaw, before taking my chin, hollowing my cheeks in his grasp. “You are everything worth killing for. Mark my words, in fifteen years you will kiss the Van Tassel name goodbye and become mine. Mrs. Crane.”

My eyes bulge. I know that last name. “Crane, as in…”

“Yep, Maddox Crane,” he winks.

Holy Shit. He’s Glinda Campbell’s son, which makes himEthan’s stepbrother.

CHAPTER 26

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