Page 60 of Anathema Codex

“You know how I know you’re a fucking liar?” I ask, grinning at him maliciously through the rearview. “Because Ichabod doesn’t have a goddamn cell phone. There are no computers or fun little gadgets in my house that I don’t have control over. Not to mention, he knows what happens if he tries to get a little brave. Now, before you start up with your bullshit again, there’s a little something you need to know about me that your Mommy didn’t tell you.”

He pulls his legs up on the chair and keeps a hand on his face, refusing to look at me, but that’s okay. He doesn’t have to look—he only has to listen and understand.

“Anyone that ends up on my bad side usually doesn’t get very far. Like I said before, your whore of a mother probably slipped away when I was asleep, but long drives take it out of me sometimes, so that’s a mistake I can forgive myself for. What I didn’t expect though, was for that fucking mistake to show up on my door and expect me to immediately embrace it and give a shit about it. There are only a few people I give a shit about, and you know who’s at the top of that list? Not you. You’re not even at the bottom of the fucking list, and if you keep lying to me about things, then you’re more than likely going to end up at the top of another one of my favorite lists that youdon’twant to be on. Make no mistake about it, kid—son or not—I’ll slit your fucking throat and leave you on the side of the road.”

I glance over at Red, the grin spreading over my face when I see how in awe she suddenly is of me.

But now they know the rules.

Blood or no blood, cross me and I’ll fucking take you down.

I turn my attention back toward the road in front of me and let out a heavy sigh before I reach for another smoke.And speaking of being crossed; here we fucking go again.

New Mexico. The Land of Enchantment.

I only ever cross state lines for one crazy bitch, and I’m not even sure how many years it’s been since I graced her doorstep with my presence, but I’m sure she’ll be excited.

“Come out, come out wherever you are,” I mumble under my breath as I press down on the gas pedal toward the first stop on the road trip back to Hell.

SIX

Parking Lot Party Favors

AFTYN

I don't know what I expected from Lakyn Meyer, but a death threat in the first hour of meeting the asshole definitely hadn't hit my radar.

He thinks I was looking for some warm welcome, for him to hug me or whatever—and he's wrong. I never thought that would be the way this shit went. If anything, I thought whoever my sperm donor was would just deny being my father, I'd find out who was fucking with me and out them to the jackass, and then get back on the road with Willa.

Willa.

Just thinking her fucking name makes my chest hurt like someone punched me right in the center of it. Staring down at my lap, I tuck my thumb under her hair tie and roll it back and forth across my skin, watching the way it distorts my fingerprint. It's leaving a dark pressure ring behind, but my wrists are bigger than Willa's are…were.

Swallowing, I try not to think about how she used to take her hair down whenever we watched a movie, popping the little hair tie on her wrist so she wouldn't lose it. On those nights sometimes she'd lean against me, let me put an arm around her, and even if I copped a feel, she'd just smack my hand away with a laugh and we'd keep watching the movie.

Maybe things could have been different between us if I hadn't been so quick to back down, but she was the only other person I let in my universe. She helped me kill my whore of a mother, she helped set me free and then set me up with a place to live. She could be a raging bitch sometimes, and that bullshit with Dexter was annoying as fuck, but I still loved her.

She was my best friend… and now she's gone.

Because of me.

I snap the hair band on my wrist, letting the sting of pain soak into my flesh as I glare at the two fucks in the front seats. I may have dragged Willa into their line of fire, but Daphne actually did the deed, and Lakyn told her to do it.

Looking at the hatchet in the floorboard, I imagine what it would feel like to swing it, embedding it in Daphne's chest so that she'll choke on her blood like Wills did—except I won't slit her throat to end it faster. I'll let her suffocate on it, and I'll watch every last twitch of her body, so she knows exactly why she died. I don't think Lakyn would stop me if I went after Daphne, but I'll have to come up with something other than an outright attack to take him down. He's still got a few inches on me, and although I'm a hell of a lot younger than the asshole, he doesn't look out of shape.

Patience.

That's what I've got to do. Just be patient. Bide my fucking time until I can get revenge and add the matching patricide to my matricide. Mom would be so pissed to be joined in death by this asshole, and that's honestly just the cherry on top of this idea.

Cracking my neck to the side, I roll the window down and pop a cigarette between my teeth. Lighting it, I focus on the smoke moving in and out of my lungs instead of the irritating music my sperm donor has on the radio.

* * *

An hour or so later, Lakyn suddenly swerves to change lanes, and I catch myself against the door of the car as he barely makes it onto the exit ramp. "What the fuck? Who taught you to drive?"

"Satan," Lakyn says over his shoulder, flashing a smirk at me in the mirror that pisses me off even more because it's the same damn smirk I sent his fucking boyfriend. I hate that we look so similar, it makes it impossible to deny that this motherfucker actually fuckedmymother.

"Where are we going?" I ask and he rolls his eyes dramatically.

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