Page 36 of Kings of Decay
Ainsley's mask of indifference slid over his face. I only saw this face when someone was going to die. I knew it well. He grabbed Derek by the collar of his jacket and ripped open the truck door. "Why don't we go talk somewhere more private," he hissed as he shoved the protesting drunk into the back seat.
Willow made a move for the door, but I grabbed her easily. "Come on, little mouse. Don't you want to see how it turns out?" I chuckled thickly, taking in the scent of her vanilla shampoo. She smelled so good, so innocent and sweet. It was intoxicating.
Willow whimpered, struggling against my grip.
"Nuh-uh, you're not going anywhere," I said, holding her tighter.
Ainsley nodded to me and got into the driver's seat of the drunk's pick-up. He stomped on the gas and tore out of town, leaving a shower of snow behind him.
"Why are you doing this?" Willow asked, quieter now but still determined to escape.
"Just for the hell of it, Willow." I planted a kiss on her cheek before shoving her into the Jeep and following Ainsley out of town.
***
We caught up with Ainsley deep in the woods near one of the lakes. It was a good place to fish in the summer if you didn't mind getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, but I hadn't fished since I was a kid.
"Please, please let me go," Willow whimpered. "I don't want to be here. I'm going to get fired. I need to be at work."
"You think any of that matters, now?" I laughed and pocketed the keys. "Darling, you're about to get a first hand education of how things go up here in the north."
Willow's eyes went wide. She was pale and shivering.
"You cold?" I asked, feigning concern.
She couldn't speak, only shook her head.
Ainsley motioned to me through the window to hurry up. He had Derek with his hands tied behind his back on his knees in the snow.
Blood surged through my body. The monster in me was ready for a kill. It thrashed and chomped at the bit inside me, begging for release. I turned to Willow. "Come on, darling."
Willow could only whimper as I dragged her out of the Jeep.
Derek was sniveling on the ground, his face swollen and purple.
"Not so brave now, are you?" Ainsley sneered.
"Please, let me go. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."
"Hmm," Ainsley tapped his chin. "Didn't mean what?"
"I won't tell anyone about Sarge, I swear!"
Ainsley squatted down beside him, tightly gripping the back of his neck. "How do you know about the trooper?" Ainsley asked, his voice low and dangerous. He tightened his grip on the back of Derek's neck.
Derek whimpered, his eyes wide with fear. "I saw it. I saw you push him off the cliff on the road," he said, his words coming out in a broken rush.
Ainsley shrugged nonchalantly. "No one will believe you."
"You think so?" Derek spat out a mouthful of blood. "Eventually, the two of you are going to get caught. If not me, it'll be someone else."
The monster inside me stirred. I wanted to kill him, right there and then, for speaking the words that had been burning inside of me. "You're right, it won't be you, old man, because you're not leaving here."
"Who's Sarge?" Willow asked, her voice shaky. "The trooper they found, eaten by wolves?" Her lips trembled. She looked like she might throw up.
"Wolves work for the brothers," Derek said.
I rolled my eyes. "Oh yeah, we have them trained," I said sarcastically.
