Page 31 of Savage Wounds

What did they take from him?

Every part of me itches to ask him. To know. To feel.

But instead, I rush out of there and into my bathroom. With my back against the wall, I close my eyes and temper my breathing, needing to be okay before I head back out.

The door slams shut while I stay here wondering…

What am I even doing caring about this psychopath? I mean, heisa psycho. Who else wears a mask like that and isn’t even fazed by a dead body?

Shit. It hits me now.

Is he stalking me? He must be. What are the chances of him just showing up here? Oh my God. I have a stalker, don’t I?

This is just great! A bodyguardanda stalker. How did a girl get so lucky?

Not even a minute later, I hear him return.

Grabbing the things he asked for, plus some thick yellow gloves for each of us and towels from the closet, I force myself toward the exit.

I drop everything gently on the floor as soon as I’m out.

“Here.” I hand him his pair of gloves, holding on to mine.

He zips his line of vision to my hands.

“What?” I snicker. “Thought I’d let you do it alone?”

He chuckles all deep, and my stomach dives, heat sprouting between my thighs once again, like a flame that won’t simply put out. I hate it and love it at the same time.

“My, my, little wolf. You just keep surprising me.”

“You make it sound like it’s a bad thing.”

“That’s ’cause it is.”

I stare at him, and through the mask, I just know he’s staring right back.

He drops a jug of something that readsoxygen detergent. As he slips on his gloves, I pick it up, examining it.

“What’s this?”

“Ah, I see my little murderess hasn’t read the latest on forensics.”

“I’m sorry we’re not all career murderers like you, apparently. Promise to do better next time,” I scoff.

“No, you won’t,” he chuckles, his leathery rasp sending an electric chill up my spine. “But that’s because you don’t plan it out. You just do it. That’s when mistakes happen.”

I hate to admit how right he is.

“So, will you enlighten me on your secret weapon, or should I guess?”

His silence greets me for a moment before he goes on. “This is a special type of bleach. Not the chlorine kind, which makes blood stains invisible, yet will still show the presence of hemoglobin. Oxygen-based bleach erases all traces of it, leaving no evidence.”

“Wow…” I say almost sarcastically. “You really are a murderer.”

“You sound pretty judgey for a woman who just killed a man. Two, I might add.”

“Touché.” My mouth quirks up, and I pause, staring quietly at him for a few moments. “Will you show me your face?”

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