Page 84 of Worse Than Wicked
It also explains why my parents tried so hard to distance me from Dahlia once she was sent away, to cut me off from her. They were probably scared I’d turn out exactly the same.
In a way, I did.
I may not have dealt the killing blow to any of the victims, but I’m no less responsible for their deaths than she or Baron is. Maybe even more so. I put a mark on every single one of those men, chose them for execution. After the first few times, at least, I knew what I was doing, that I was sentencing them to death. I found the target and aimed the gun. All she did was pull the trigger.
“Your snack game has improved, by the way,” she says. “This is dope.”
“Thanks,” I say, taking a cracker and nibbling the edge.
“You can keep working with us, you know,” she says. “Even if we’re not in the same place anymore.”
“Who is us?” I ask. “You and your cleaning crew?”
“Like I said, I’m not the Black Widow Killer.We’rethe Black Widow Killer. There’s a network, a system. You’re the bait, I’m the venom, we’ve got a cleaner…”
“Wait, so I am the Black Widow Killer?” I ask, turning the information over. “At least… One of the legs of the spider.”
She laughs quietly. “I like that. There are other legs. Other jobs. I don’t even know all the members. But I know you, and you know me, so if you wanted to keep working together… I think we make a good team.”
“Me too,” I admit, feeling shy all of a sudden. I can’t help but smile though. She wouldn’t have asked me if she didn’t trust me, despite the scan when we arrived. In truth, I wouldn’t trust her as much if she hadn’t done that. I like that she’s careful, not sloppy. I like that she knows I never tell, and she let me in on all of this. And most of all, I like feeling like part of something important.
“So, what do you say?” she asks. “Want to help make the guilty pay?”
“I can’t sleep with the men anymore,” I tell her. “Baron would never allow it.”
“And judging from the messes he’s left, that would be a lot more work for us. I’ve already had to get an apprentice for my cleaner.”
“You still want me?” I ask, peeking at her from under my lashes as I pick up the thermos.
“You’re the best at what you do,” she says. “We could definitely use you. And we can have your job end online. You never have to meet them in person. It’ll make it easier, and safer for us, if we don’t take all the men from one area.”
“Okay,” I say, smiling at her. “I’m in.”
“Swear a blood oath?”
I swallow hard. “I mean… If we have to…”
She laughs. “I’m joking.”
“No,” I say. “I think we should. To show that we trust each other.”
“You’re serious?”
“We did it before.”
“I know, but we were kids.”
I hold out my hand. “Got a knife?”
She hesitates, then pulls a hunting knife from her pocket and hands it over. I pull it out of its sheath, then stare at it, wondering if she’s killed with this knife.
“It’s clean,” she says, reading my hesitation.
“I guess it’s no more risky than sex with a stranger,” I say, putting the blade to my palm. I haven’t cut in a long time, not since the last time my grandfather touched me.
One cut for each time.
I brush the thought away and press my lips together, take a breath, and slice open my skin for the first time in seven years.
