Page 35 of Madness & Mayhem

I lift my chin. “I want to. I want to do it, and I want you to show me how.”

His eyes narrow. “Do what, now?”

Grinding my teeth together, I can feel the ache in my jaw as I face him. “I want to kill her.”

His lip curls. “You’re being a fucking idiot, Lakyn. Quit talking.”

Shoving off the counter, I walk toward him, my heart pounding in my ears. I plant my hands against his chest, giving him a shove, but his fingers wrap around my wrists and he holds me tightly, keeping me secured against him.

“You want to commit a murder, baby Lake?” he asks with a cocked brow.

I think of this girl, with her fake sadness and her legitimate anger. She isn’t someone who will just drop it out of boredom. She looks like someone who will dig until her nails bleed.

I can’t let that happen.

“Yes. Yes, I do.”

He brings his hands across my jaw, sliding down until his fingers wrap around my neck. He gives me a little squeeze, with his fingers that have taken so many lives. The blood which has been spilt from these hands is so many, it could fill a river.

“You think you could take a life, Lakyn? You really believe you could end a life, watch someone take their last breath of air at your hands? Could you watch the life drain from their face as they plead for help?”

I swallow beneath his fingers, feeling them tighten with each second.

“I don’t know. I think I could. I want to.” I narrow my eyes. “I want to hurt her,” I whisper.

He smirks, and it looks evil. Menacing.

“You can’t do it, and even if you could, I won’t let you.”

He releases me, taking a step back.

My eyes narrow, my mouth falling open. “What? Why?” I shriek.

He turns his back to me, heading toward the front door. “Because I’m not going to let you fucking kill someone. Think of what Zane’s death did to you. How it fucking affected the rest of your life.”

“This is different,” I snap.

He sneers, a vicious look entering his eyes. “Why? Because you aren’t fucking her?”

My hands clench into fists at my sides, my nails creating crescents against my skin. “Because she deserves to fucking die.”

His hand goes to the door, and he unlocks it before he swings it open. “You aren’t killing anyone, Lakyn. It’s not in your blood, don’t pretend otherwise.”

“You know nothing, Reign!” I shout at him.

Anger filters into his gaze. “I know a shit ton more than you do, Lakyn, and you aren’t doing it, so quit fucking asking.”

Stepping outside, he gives me one more glance before he pulls the door closed behind him, leaving me alone.

I draw in a shaky, rage-filled breath as my feet pound toward the front door. I pull it open angrily, watching as he stalks into the woods.

“Reign!” I shout at him, rushing out the door.

He glances at me over his shoulder, and I can see his body tense from here. “Go back in the house, Lakyn.”

I keep rushing toward him, fear and anger commingling into a hurricane of emotions. “Where are you even going?”

He shakes his head. “I’ve got shit to do, Lakyn. Go back inside.” He keeps walking away from me, like we’re not on the run from the police or sleeping in some creepy shack in the middle of the woods.

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