Page 148 of A Wild Darkness

“How does it feel to be a permanent member?” Silas’s expression beams through his covered face. “You now belong to us.”

In your fucking dreams.

Stevie answers first. “It’s great. I look forward to future killing seasons.”

“Wonderful.” A chuckle behind the sinister lightness of his tone. “Typically, the new members make a sacrificial kill at the last meeting, but you’ve already done that, haven’t you, Annabel?”

“That is correct,” she confirms coldly.

“And you, the Dark Prince. I’d recognize your level of evil anywhere, so there’s no doubt in my mind you’ll bring death and destruction anywhere you go,” he adds.

Great. He’s trying to bond with me. How disgustingly sweet.

“Can we talk about our kills yet?” one member interjects, and I immediately recognize it is Bob, The Butcher.

“Oh, yes.” Silas walks back over to his spot, leaving the front of the room without being shot yet. What the hell is taking them so long? “Bragging is the best part, am I right?”

“Obviously,” a different member mutters.

“Okay, who would like to begin?” Silas asks.

The same member who I vaguely recognize as Dan, Doctor Dread, speaks up. “Well, you fuckers are going to be jealous of this one.” I doubt that. As he clears his throat, Stevie’s hand squeezes mine. “Let me first begin by saying what an amazing choice Seattle was this year, because that state campus is a goddamn gold mine.”

Silas nods. “It was an excellent location.”

“Yeah, can I petition to have us return next year? I need another crack at those college girls.”

Bob chuckles, his raspy voice breaks through. “I’ll second that motion.”

“Can we hear what happened?” the last masked member interjects, craving the horrific details. That must be Harry. He doesn’t like to waste time—as a shooter, like me, he wants to get the job done as quickly as possible, forever chasing that high of his first kill.

While Dan begins again, I catch sight of a black shadow from my periphery. Hayden is taking the south side—it must be him.

My shoulders relax slightly.

“And then I took her back to this rundown motel in a seedy part of town. Got all my tools ready, gave her a little exam…” He pauses, as if the sick fuck is reliving his kill. “She screamed, and it made everything so much better. I reminded her I’m a doctor and only doing what’s best for her and then I sank my cock into her tight little pussy.” He flips his mask up to expose the lower half of his face, then brings a balled fist up and bites it. “Took me two pumps until I filled her with cum. Then gave her one more beautiful pelvic exam to appreciate how I leaked out of her, before slitting her throat.”

My leg twitches, fighting back the reflex to lunge at him and slit his fucking throat.

A soft pop sounds in the air. My limbs lock into place, and my eyes frantically scour the room before landing on Dan. Blood spills from the side of his neck. His body quickly falls limp, dropping to the marbled floor with a thud.

And for a split second, a suffocating silence rips the air from my lungs.

Finally. Let’s get this fucking thing started.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

STEVIE

My scream cuts through the silence as Sebastian’s hands fly up to cover my mouth.

“Get down!” Silas shouts into the void.

Sebastian shields my body with his, dragging us both down to hit the cold floor.

“Hayden and Christian?” I rush out in a loud whisper when Sebastian lets go.

He nods. “Yes. We need to stay out of range so they can focus on taking out the other guys.”