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“Am I supposed to be scared?” she whispers, but she is already scared. I can hear it in her voice. That’s something nobody will ever be able to deny about me. I’m the best person at people-reading who has ever lived. I’ve got a keen, sharp sense of what makes people tick and shake in terror, too.
“I’ve left some people buried in the forest, Lexi.”
She does the worst thing she possibly could in this situation. She laughs, moving away from me, her arms folded. That gives her away. She’s trying to create distance, knowing I could mess her up at any moment. She’s trying to mask it with a demeaning laugh that only makes me want to end her.
“Do you really expect me to believe that?”
“Look up Sarah Hutchison,” I snap. Then I think, shit, but it’s too late, and who is she going to tell? Look at her. She’s terrified, just like Mia probably is right now, thinking of her mistake with me, the stupid risk she took. Both of them are idiots.
“You can’t scare me anymore, Ralph.”
“No, really. Look her up.” This is it now, the final chance I’ll give her. After this, I’ll use my skills to break her down further. Before she knows it, she’ll be crawling around for me again, drinking out of a goddamn bowl. “I’ll wait.”
Lexi scowls at me, then reluctantly takes out her phone. I stuff my hands in my pocket, doing a perfect job of showing how little this means to me. At least, that’s what she needs to think. She needs to see me how she should see me—how she used to see me.
After reading on her phone for a minute, Lexi whispers. “It says she’s missing.”
“She’s not missing,” I growl. “She just smiled at the wrong man. You hear that, Lexi? She smiled at the wrong man. That’s nothing compared to what you did, you stupid bitch. So what do you think I’d do to you?”
Suddenly, she takes another step back, and this time, bless her, she’s trying to seem calm. She smears an unconvincing smile across her face, her eyes wide and alight with something, almost like a glint of victory. She grins.
“I think you’re going to scream, Ralph.”
“Oh, really?” I say, shaking my head. “You’ve got nothing, Lexi. Nothing. No argument, no logic, no self-respect. You’ll always be that scared little girl who did any damn thing I said.” The pills puff me up and push me forward. I stand directly in front of her, glaring down, ready to crush her. “I’m done explaining. I’ve been too nice to you. My fault for having a soft spot for my first damn experiment.”
I pull my arm back, ready to give way better than I got earlier, and I don’t have to use pathetic sucker-punching tactics?—
What. The. Fuck.
Am I dying? I feel like my arm has just exploded. Maybe it’s the pills that let me detach from whatever catastrophic event this is. My elbow is pulsing, and it feels like hot oil is pouring over my shoulder.
I collapse to the floor, cradling my arm, and look up through blurry eyes with shock, not tears, shock, to find the man from earlier—the giant. He kneels beside me, every part of him swelling with rage, his muscles looking like they’re ready to explode.
“What did you do?” I whisper.
“I should do worse,” he growls, moving even closer to me. My chest feels like it’s somehow pinned to the walls. Oh, dammit. Urine trickles down my leg and my pants. I’ve crapped myself, too. “A little armlock, a busted elbow. If it weren’t for Lexi, you’d be in the dirt. Make no mistake. If justice somehow fails, you will be.”
“Justice,” I whisper.
Standing behind him, Lexi smiles. Something is terrifying about it. Far too late, I realize this was all an act. It hits me as the revelation about Mia’s little trick hit me way too slowly. I think it’s these damn pills. I’m an intelligent person!
Lexi holds up her phone and hits play. My voice fills the office. It’s me confessing to murder. It’s me thinking I’m being tough by bragging about the stuff I’ve done. Crimes, if you want to get technical about it.
It’s me, sealing my own fate.
“Fuck,” I whisper.
The man nods. “Fuck is right.”
Then he hits me in the face so hard my nose explodes.
CHAPTER 29
Colt
I turn away from the window that overlooks the city, my heart stirring when I see Lexi on the couch, her arms wrapped around Shadow. When I brought her to my apartment, my dog ran to her quickly, and he hasn’t left her side since. He cuddles closer as she watches me, her eyes wide with expectation.
“So?” she says.
“My police contact says they’re going to look into it. He’s got the recording. If Ralph was telling the truth, he’s going to jail.”
