Page 159 of I Never Stopped Loving You

“Damn, he's annoying. How have you not killed him yet?” Monty teases.

“Oh, he doesn't actually hate me. We're good pals, aren't we, Killer?”

“If by good pals you mean you're my personal punching bag, sure.”

“Now, now. I don't even remember the last time you really made things hurt. You're going soft, Killer,” James says, grinning that sadistic smile of his.

I go to reach for his throat, but Monty's voice suddenly stops me.

“Uh…Maverick? It's alive,” he says creepily.

“Wha…What the fuck? Where am I?” Alex groans as he slowly shakes his head back and forth.

“Welcome to hell, victim number…What number are you on now, Killer? Nine? Ten?”

“Ten that you've seen. Twenty-eight total,” I say calmly as I make my way back to stand in front of Alex.

He blinks rapidly, fighting against the post-chloroform haze. He stares deep into the glowing sockets of the skull mask then over my shoulder where Monty resumes his position against the wall.

“Why are you doing this?” Alex whines like the pathetic little fuck he is.

“He's like a rabid dog. Got a taste of blood once and now it's all he craves,” James says before tossing his head back and laughing when Alex whimpers.

I'm sick of hearing his voice. I don't even speak, just shift my body and punch him square in the mouth when he tilts his head back up. When my fist connects with his jaw, some teeth shatter falling out onto the floor with spit and blood. His head snaps back and his screams of agony are a cathartic symphony. But I need to shut him up completely right now.

I grab a needle off the table and the vial of sedative I've used on him before. He groans, lifting his head and spitting blood and another tooth out onto the floor. His eyes widen when he sees the needle, but I quickly sink it into his arm and push the sedative into his system. His eyes unfocus as he loses consciousness before his head falls forward resting his chin against his chest as he finally goes silent.

“Good. That's better. Now, where were we? Ah, yes, Alex Miller. Nice to meet you finally,” I say as I get down to his eye level.

“Please, just let me go. I didn't do anything,” he pleads.

“What do you think I think you did?” I ask coyly.

“I…” His voice stops as he glances over at Monty again. “Why are you doing this?” he asks, looking back at me.

“Molly Spruce.”

His eyes widen in horror when I say her name. He knows exactly why he's here.

“I swear I didn't mean to hit her. She just walked out in front of my car. I didn't even see her,” he lies.

“Bullshit!” Monty snaps. “You ran her down.”

“No, no! I swear. It was an accident. Ask her. She'll tell you.”

“She can't,” Monty says, stepping closer to Alex. “They don't think she's going to survive.”

“What? No. I was just there this morning. She was a bit banged up, but…”

“Banged up?” Monty shouts, getting right in Alex's face.

I stand up and move to the side. It seems Monty might need this more than I do at this point. I can see the sweat dripping down Alex's brow as Monty continues. “You fucking ran her over and left her for dead. You drove off and went to your buddy's shop to get your car fixed. A deer? Really? Are you that fucking stupid?”

*Crack*

Monty's fist connects with Alex's jaw snapping his head to the side.

“I'm s…sorry,” he stammers.