Page 65 of Deviant Illusions

Again.

“I should have known you weren’t Kane that day!”

There’s a bone-splitting crack, and I stand with my chest heaving as I watch a pool of crimson slowly seep out from under Asher’s body. The back of his head is over the lip of the stone fireplace—where the blood is flowing from.

Fuck.

Fuck!

What the fuck have I done?!

Kane.

I look at the door to make sure he’s not here and that his car has definitely left. He’ll hate me if he knows I’ve killed Asher. He’ll hate his brother if he knows the truth. It’s his biggest dream for his family to be together, that one day they’ll stop treating him like shit. He’s too kind and good to see them for what they are.

I can save him from whatever Asher has planned now.

I turn in a circle, like that can hide his body. The drinks we piled on the kitchen island are in full view. I run through the cabin. Taking as many as I can hold in my arms, I drop them beside Asher’s bleeding body. Some shatter, the flammable liquid splashing up against him and soaking into his polo. The others aren’t as helpful, and my hands shake as I uncap them. All the spirits mix together and burn my nose as I douse him in them.

Making another trip, I do the same. Soft buzzing disturbs my harsh breathing. I hold my hand over my mouth and stare at each corner of the cabin. There’s nothing there. The buzzing is coming from Asher.

His jeans are soaked in alcohol and my knees land in the puddle of blood and spirits. I grimace as I take his phone out of his pocket, but the curiosity of my childhood monster gets the better of me as I see Rowan’s name flashing across the screen. With my hand over my mouth, I slowly answer, bringing the phone to my ear.

“Have you decided which one of you must die, dear nephew?” a humor-filled voice says.

A sob gets lodged in my throat and I can’t keep it back. They’re going to kill Kane. Fuck that. I can’t copy Asher’s voice, but I deepen my voice and say, “I will. It’ll be done soon.”

I quickly end the call before I can be caught and the tremor in my limbs intensifies along with my curiosity. I have unobstructed access to the one thing Asher is secretive of. I memorized his passwords when he thought I wasn’t looking or too afraid to do anything.

Looking down at his prone body, I slowly click the vault folder he has. My hands are eerily steady as I input the password, only to see the black lock screen come to life with multiple squares of naked bodies. I don’t give a fuck if he was watching porn. I’d have preferred it so he never touched me. For some reason, I click the middle square, and it plays automatically.

Bile rises up my throat. I can’t keep it back as I watch my twelve-year-old body sway as my father guides me into a room I don’t recognize. He lays me on a bed, then takes a seat beside it. Holding his hand in the air, he clicks his fingers like when he wants his wine glass refilled at dinner. Two men walk into the room and begin undressing me, then themselves. He, my father, the man who is supposed to protect me, looks up, directly into the lens of the camera he fucking knows is there, and without any emotion he says, “It’s done. The debt has been repaid.”

I lose the battle with my stomach and throw up directly on Asher. It covers his dick and I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand before I stand. Dumping his phone on top of him, I look down and silently cry. Tears fall into my mouth as I say, “I’m going to kill you all. I couldn’t save myself,”—my voice cracks—“but I’ll be able to save Kane because he’s better than all of us.”

I take my blood-soaked clothes off and drop them on top of him. The rest of my clothes and shoes find a home on him and I run to the bathroom at the back of the cabin. It’s not overlooked by anyone due to the size of the property but the outside drain iswhat they use when they go hunting, so it won’t raise suspicion to see blood in it. I fucking refuse to lose a single second more of my life to this cunt. He can rot while I finally live.

As soon as I’ve got the blood off my skin, I check my hair and make sure there’s nothing staining the blonde strands. Thankfully, it’s clean. I take Kane’s t-shirt off the outdoor side table before going back inside.

The smell of alcohol, vomit, and blood are stronger. But I find every flammable liquid I can and make sure I saturate Asher’s clothes with a trail of the flammables into the fireplace. Once I’ve run out, I take a long stem match from the mantel and strike it against the stone. It crackles, and the orange glow is in my periphery as I watch the motherfucker lay in a pool of physical mess.

The match doesn’t burn my fingertips as I dangle it above his body. I want to savor the movement, but the sound of the wooden gates whirring on their motor thread makes me jump and drop the match.

I look through the window to see Kane’s car slowly crawl up the winding driveway.

No.

He was supposed to leave.

30

DELILAH

My body shakes as I remember every horrifying detail of the day that I’d blocked out. My skin is like ice as arms tighten around me and my tears burn. My voice comes out haunted as I cry, “He was there, and Rowan was there. Before it all happened, they were there. That’s why it’s fuzzy.”

Soft taps hit my temple.

I look to the side to see my own fingers hitting my head. Inked fingers gently wrap around my blue ones, carefully pulling my hand away from my head.

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