AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Fairy lights hang over the gazebo structure, casting a soft glow that I take care of quickly. The cover of darkness makes it easier to pounce without a fight. For a moment, the susurration of the rain is all there is above the humdrum of the city. I sit on one of the benches in the middle of the gazebo, my back to the building as the sound of bespoke soles on damp decking comes closer.
“Wait!” The sudden call triggers my pulse. “Hey, you there! I said, wait!”
Measured steps continue up the gazebo steps as the scent of Black Devils cherry tobacco tinges the air. I don’t know how the fuck Julian smokes that shit, but tonight, it’s come in handy.
“How much?” the woman asks, stomping up the wooden steps.
“More than you’re willing to pay,” Julian replies, sitting on the opposite side of the bench with his back to mine, leaving space for her to sit between us.
“You don’t know what I’m willing to pay,” she snaps back. “Name your price and—”
“How about we sit together and negotiate over a real drink instead of the cheap prosecco in there?” The squeak of his old hip flask grinds in my ears. “What price are you willing to pay, Miss…?”
I twist in my seat, taking the knife out at the ready while I position myself on the edge of the round bench, ready to strike.
“Annie,” she replies, looking over her shoulder at me.
Julian grabs her attention again, placing his hand on her knee. “Miss Annie…”
“Mrs.,” she corrects him quickly, pulling away slightly. “Mrs. Chapman.”
“So, Mrs. Annie Chapman, what are you willing to part with?”
There’s a second of silence where his spoken charm ebbs into the dark night. We don’t have time for him to flirt her to the grave. Before she can open her mouth, I spin towards her and slap my gloved hand over her Botox-inflated lips.
“Your life,” I grit into her ear with the roar of my rage in my ears as I stick her with the same blade her husband had my father killed with. I nudge it deeper, cranking it between her ribs into her lung. “That’s the price.”
She’s a spirited one. Her legs kick with the flail of her arms, but it only rips her more and more open. Her fight is her undoing as I pull the blade out and thrust it into her again and again, ripping her open.
“Go back inside,” I snap at Julian while he watches with his drink.
“Hardly seems fitting that her life should pay for his,” he states with a flinch when I stand and yank the blade through her, pulling her up with me when the knife hits her sternum. I use my full force to plough it all the way back down, gutting the writhing body in front of his eyes as I wrap an arm around her chest.
“Leave.”
“No.” His sharp breaths mix with the wet gurgle of hers as I cut her throat, ear to ear, once, twice, so that her head is barely hanging on by her spine and the scent of her blood is as sweet as petrichor. The scent of rain. The golden blood of immortals.
“Walk away now,” I bark at him through gritted teeth as he gulps down his drink. “We’re done here.”
Julian watches the puddle of blood grow, spreading around me as he steps back and takes in the big picture of it all.
There is no price that will pay for the life of my father. There is no blood that will repay that of his godfather. Those debts will never be paid.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
EVE
The cab comes to a stop outside my block. I haven’t spent that much time at my place in the last month. The evenings I spend at the club. I end up at Henry’s place. Then on the days I have a late lecture, he picks me up from the conservatory. Meaning we end up at his place too. If I’ve spent a couple of nights in my bed over the last six weeks, that’s being generous.
“Oi, Cinders!” Alfie calls at me from the kids’ playground in the courtyard. “Hey!”
I wave at him, chuckling at his big grin. As always, Alfie is the biggest oddball ray of sunshine. But today, Mr. Colourful is in a black suit while he watches his sister bounce on the seesaw with another kid from the estate. Something seems off as I head over to where he’s sitting on the swings.
“Where have you been?” he asks me when I sit on the swing beside his. “Haven’t seen you in ages. Mum said you ain’t home anymore.”
“I’ve been around. Probably just missed each other with my odd timetable and stuff…”
A smirk cocks one side of his face into a lopsided mask of glee. “And stuff. Is that like a code word for getting laid?”
