Page 65 of Dirty Love

“What the fuck did you just do?!” he whisper yells, his eyes wide with shock and horror while he studies the mess I’ve made in front of him.

“No one touches you,” I remind him, leaving it at that while I pull the patio door open.

I tilt my head for him to follow me and he does, swallowing a few times while we make our way back to the car. I don’t help him this time, because I’m caked in blood and I can’t get any on him, but he manages to climb in by himself without touching anything with his fingers. I jump in beside him and reverse out of the driveway, the tires screeching beneath us while I speed off through the gate. A flash of headlights blinds me for a second and I look over, cursing when I realize it’s Mark’s dad. I thought he was out of town for a week, but he must have come back early after finding out about Nicky. I react without thinking and swerve into the side of his car, hoping that’ll distract him for a minute or two before he goes inside.

I just need a minute or two.

Nicky winces and I lock my jaw, resisting the urge to reach over and comfort him. “You okay?”

“No, you fucker,” he breathes out, his sleeve pressed to his mouth as if he’s trying his hardest not to puke. “I can’t believe you just did that. You killed them.”

“They killed you,” I reason, quickly looking both ways before I run the red light in front of me.

“Jesus Christ, Kade, haven’t you ever heard of two wrongs don’t make a right?”

“I have, and I think it’s bullshit.”

He laughs at that, but I don’t think he finds me funny. “You’re out of your fucking mind.”

I shrug and break every speed limit there is, almost crashing into the back of my truck as I force the car up onto our tiny front lawn. “Shit, I’m sorry, baby.”

“Are you talking to me or your truck?”

“My truck doesn’t give me attitude,” I joke, climbing out to walk around to him.

He shakes his head at me and damn near falls out of the car, his walk a little shorter this time considering the passenger side is right next to the front door. I follow in behind him and pull the ski mask from my face, careful not to get any of the dead boys’ blood on my skin as I throw it into the fire.

“Boys!” Dad roars over the music, but I don’t even look his way, quickly ripping his gloves and clothes from my body to burn those, too. “Open this fucking door!”

“Fuck, he’s breaking it, Kade.”

“I’m almost done.”

“Kade.”

“I’m almost done,” I repeat, quickly tossing any evidence they can tie to us, dropping both guns into the kitchen sink before I rush back over to Nicky. “Let him come for me and then get inside the office.”

“What?”

“I’m gonna kill both of you!” Dad threatens, his voice getting louder as he manages to split the wood.

“I need you to make it look like he locked us up in there,” I explain, feeding him another pill as I back him up into the hall. “Can you do that for me?”

He nods and I slide my middle finger over his tongue, kissing the nasty cut on his bottom lip before I move him out of the way. I unlock the office door with the sleeve of my jacket and Dad runs out dressed in nothing but his shirt and underwear, which would be a little funny if he wasn’t shoving his fist into my face. He punches me and I purposely fall back a few steps, glaring at him while I spit the blood from my mouth. He keeps coming for me and I keep moving backwards, relieved when Nicky stumbles into the office like I told him to.

Good boy.

“I’m gonna kill both of you,” Dad says again, and I nod mockingly, fighting a grin when he backhands me in the jaw to stop me. “You think this is funny?!”

“I already told you what I think, asshole.”

He growls and takes a fist full of my hair, hitting me so hard that I fall down for real this time, my temples throbbing while he pins me to the carpet. Seconds turn to minutes and I do everything I can to keep his attention on me, laughing to myself when I catch the blue and red lights flashing across the ceiling.

Fucking figures three straight guys and a closeted gay boy get themselves killed and the cops come running to catch the bad guy.

Dad’s body tenses above mine and he stops punching me, his eyes widening when it hits him. “What—”

“You deserve this,” I tell him, just as the front door gets kicked open and bangs against the wall.

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