Page 37 of Depraved Truths

Grabbing the edge of the tarp, I shove his limp body over the side of the railing. “One, two, three...wee.”

It’s funny how random song lyrics pop into my head. Eminem’s a classic.

His body jerks violently as the noose cuts into his flesh, his breath caught in his throat. I shove the Glock into my back pocket and descend to the next level. I don’t want to miss a moment of this.

The blood vessels in his eyes burst, and I watch life drain from his gaze. The adrenaline rush hits, and I smile. Another monster removed from this world. He can’t hurt anyone else. Too bad I couldn’t draw it out longer, but this needed to be quick. And who’s going to question that a sick bastard like Ronald Tweed took his own life?

I hum softly as I walk back up to the deck. I’m rolling up the tarp when a snap of a broken branch makes me freeze. I whirl around, my hand instinctively reaching for my gun. Shock and dread fill me as I look directly into a pair of shocked dark blue eyes.

Oh shit.

Chapter 25

I’m not sure what I expected to find when I started trailing Tessa, but it was certainly not this. Taking in the situation and the gun pointed in my direction, I raise my hands.

“Tessa,” I say slowly, locking eyes with her. Her gaze burns with a mixture of emotions I can’t fully decipher before she shuts it down, her expression turning unreadable.

“Well, this is awkward,” she says flippantly before pausing for a moment. “Wait, it was you—you were following me? You’re fucking stalking me?”

As she speaks, her tone slowly turns to outrage, and she grips the Glock more tightly.Tread carefully, Eli, I think to myself.

“No, not exactly following you,” I edge, wary.

“What do you mean ‘not exactly’?” she deadpans.

“Is it not enough that I wanted to see you?” I ask innocently.

“Cut the bullshit. There’s no way you should be here right now.”

Her worry is palpable as she paces, her eyes wide with anxiety, her body tense. Her beautiful, perfect face. How did I miss this?I should feel more horrified by what I’ve found, but I don’t. Looking down, I see the purple hue of the man’s dead face, his body hanging from a noose. I can’t help but notice the sick irony of this situation, especially considering the nickname I gave her. Who would’ve thought my Little Killer was actually a killer?

“Baby, did this man hurt you?”

“What? No,” she scoffs. “He preferred to terrorize innocent children and grandmothers.”

Recognition dawns as I realize who the man is. The way Tessa is acting, it’s clear she’s losing control. I need to de-escalate this before it gets out of hand as I have no desire to face death today.

“Tess, can we put the gun down? I’m not going to hurt you, baby.”

She startles at that. “Baby? That is twice now you’ve called me that. How can you even look at me right now? I can only imagine what you must think of me. This is why I don’t do relationships. This is why we would never work. What am I going to do with you now?” Her eyes well with tears, on the verge of spilling over.

“We can talk about it. Let’s take care of things here and go to my place or yours and talk.”

Her eyes narrow with suspicion, seeming to calculate something. Finally, she makes up her mind.

“Did anyone see you?”

I shake my head slowly. “No, I was careful not to leave any tracks. We seem to have that in common.”

She glares at me, muttering something under her breath, but puts her gun back in her waistband, I inwardly sigh in relief.

“Help me with this tarp.” We roll it up, and she scans the area, checking for anything out of place. “Give me your cell phone.”I hand it over to her, and she scans through it before sliding it into her back pocket. “So, did you drive here, or did you use your Spidey senses and leap over trees?” she asks, her voice thick with sarcasm.

“My truck is just down the road.” Keeping my hands where she can see them, I lead the way back. She remains silent during the trek. I can feel her eyes boring into the back of my head and when we reach the path’s edge, she swings me around, her eyes searching mine.

“How do I know I can trust you? You could leave here and drive straight to the police station.”

“Have I ever given you a reason not to trust me, Tessa?”

---