Page 23 of Drowning Her

Now where were we?he asked. After he won another round, he turned to me.I had some cash go missing last night. Would you know anything about that?

I shook my head and kept my eyes off of Bambi.Maybe you left it on the counter at the diner,I said.

Yeah,he said slowly.Stupid me.I stiffened, then he added.Or maybe someone is testing me. Trying to keep me on my guard.

I continued shuffling the deck, dealing another round. He put a hand over mine to stop me. My body froze with fear.

We work well together, don’t we, baby?he asked.

We’re a team,I said. I squeezed Green’s hand, and then Bambi’s, then slid my palm over the table to continue dealing. Green stabbed me in the hand, nailing me to the table. My eyes widened, and I choked on my spit. Bambi’s lips quivered.

Green!I yelled.

Go ahead,he said quietly.Keep the money. You worked for it. You deserve it. But the next time you try to test me, I won’t be as forgiving. You remember what happened to Jessie, don’t you?

Tears filled Bambi’s eyes. He removed the knife, and I held my hand in my lap, blood dripping on my fishnets. Tears streamed down my cheeks, but I couldn’t move. Could hardly breathe.

Go on,Green said to Bambi.Clean her up.

I could have run away that night. Taken Bambi with me. Never looked back. I had been sneaking out of my parents’ house my whole life, and when I finally left at eighteen, I didn’t have a problem with burning that bridge. But right then, I couldn’t make myself do anything. Green would have found us like he had found Jessie. The night we lost herwas like a nightmare I couldn’t get rid of. He made us watch.

My only hope was that we wouldn’t end up like her.

And now, hiding behind the crate in the Dairy Barn, I had to decide for myself. Did I leave and pretend like I never saw Wilder do a thing and find another way out? Potentially saving my own life? Risking the fact that he might find me, like Green found Jessie?

Was I screwed, no matter what I did?

Or did I use this against Wilder?

Thiswas the blackmail I had been waiting for, my chance at the upper hand. I could get my million dollars from Wilder instead of his father and finally rescue Bambi. We could get rid of Green ourselves with that kind of money. And I could forget that Wilder existed.

I peeked around the corner again. Wilder’s pants and sleeves were drenched in blood. The man’s hands braced the wall, the knife removed, thick nails in each hand, his body in the corner so that he was kneeling in front of Wilder. As if worshipping him. Wilder kneeled down, sliding the knife across the man’s throat, but he stopped halfway, then angled back, contemplating his work. The man gurgled, the blood dripping on the loose hay beneath him. The man twitched against the nails in his hands, trying to pull away, but the pain seared through him. Wilder tilted his head, then came forward and pinched the man’s bloody nose, covering his mouth. The man jerked awake, ripping himself to the side. Wilder’s hand slipped in the blood, but he found his grip, making the man fight for his breath.

Like he had done with me.

I pulled back again, taking a deep breath at the same time Wilder let the man take one.

One. Last. Breath.

I hid behind the crate again, but the sound was unmistakable. The blood falling to the ground, the rest of the man’s neck slit.

My heart pounded. A crowbar was resting on the top of the next crate. I couldn’t approach Wilder without a weapon.

Wet clothes slapped to the floor. A faucet sprayed on. Wilder washed his hands in a metal basin, then walked to the corner of the room, naked, his body streaked with red. He started the shower. The red rinsed from his body. His muscles rippled, his biceps intimidating. My eyes settled on his cock, heavy and thick against his leg. Did it turn him on to watch someone fight for their life like that? Did power turn him on?

I took a deep breath. I was already risking my life by being in the Dairy Barn with him. But Green would probably kill me too. I was used to these kinds of threats.I could do this.I had survived for this long. I just had to be smart.

He closed his eyes, turning toward the water, letting it splash his face. I grabbed the crowbar. He faced me. Immediately locked his eyes with mine, and there was nothing there. No remorse. No guilt. Not even rage. It was the same void expression that always haunted him. He turned off the faucet, then opened a set of metal drawers, finding a towel. I cleared my throat. Wilder dried off his legs, his back to me.

He didn’t care that I was holding a crowbar.

“You just killed a man,” I said.

He dried his face, turning to me. “You think you’re going to kill a man tonight too?”

I tightened my grip on the crowbar. “I saw you do it.”

The corners of his lips perked, then faded into a thin line. “Did it scare you?”

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