“The hogs,” she whispered. “They eat everything. Even bones.”
“Then let’s feed the hogs.” I shoved the candy cane in my mouth with a toothy grin curling around the surgery shaft. “They’re gonna eat good tonight.”
I instructed her to grab a tarp from the garage to wrap his body up and tossed it into the cart attached to the ATV Hogan drove around the farm.
Fortunately, according to Clara, he drove it to the barn all the time. So any tracks left in the snow wouldn’t be suspicious, especially if we left the ATV parked in front. As if he’d never gone back to the house.
Luckily, the cart already had a few empty beer cans inside. Conclusions would be drawn without much investigation.
“I’ll get the body,” I told her as I hopped off the ATV and crossed around to the back of the cart, bundling up the plastic-wrapped body in my arms.
“I’ll help,” she insisted, grabbing Hogan by his legs. “He’s a heavy bastard.”
I chuckled, knowing that I could easily carry both of them, one over each shoulder, even in my unshifted state. But I let her help as we shuffled into the barn, a symphony of oinking pigs excitedly greeting us knowing a meal was on its way.
“Will they eat his clothing?”
“Hogs will eat just about anything,” she grunted as we dumped the body into the pig pen and watched the beasts swarm their owner. “If they're hungry enough, and they are. Ever since Hogan started drinking he’s been pretty shit about taking care of them. Especially during the holidays with his ham shop. Refuses to hire extra help. Cheap jerk.”
“Hogan’s not so happy hogs,” I muttered as we watched them tear into their meal.
Casting a side-long glance at Clara, I was surprised to find a smile on her blood-splattered face.
I always thought I was the one with the monster locked inside. Turns out, Clara was also quite the little beast when pushed.
“I’m finally free,” she sighed. “Ya know, on the off chance I get away with all this…”
“You will get away with it. You just have to be careful. We’ll finish cleaning, then in the morning you can call the police and report that you fell asleep and Hogan never came back in from feeding the hogs. They’ll come over, ask you a few questions. No one will be surprised that he passed out drunk in the hog pen.”
She chewed her plush lip with thought and I couldn’t help but think what her perfect mouth would feel like against my flesh. Clara was fucking beautiful to the point where it was almost painful to look at her.
The monster inside me especially loved how she looked covered in blood.
I wasn’t exactly a Christmas fantastic, but goddamn, did I love the color red. It especially looked good on her. Blushing cheeks. Blood-splattered lips.
Turning, I leaned against the fence so she wouldn’t see the tent in my jeans. Watching her covered in gore, feeding her abusive ex to his pigs was doing wicked things to me.
“Thank you for the book. I haven’t even read it yet but…” She turned to me, tears once again brimming her eyes. When her attention landed on me, her smile brightened, and the demon inside me paced back and forth impatiently.
“I guess I should go inside and clean up the mess in the kitchen.”
She started to turn away from the pig pen but I caught her by her coat. She paused to pin me with a look that had me stepping closer. Instead of pulling away like she always did when I got too close, she shuffled nearer to me.
I stroked my thumb over the edge of her jaw, marveling at how soft her flesh was. “Are you going to be okay?”
Clara peered up at me like I’d asked a silly question. Maybe it was. “How am I supposed to be okay after something like this? What am I supposed to do exactly? Sleep for a week? Drink myself stupid?”
She took a breath like she was familiarizing herself with being honest about how she actually felt for the first time in years. “I don’t want any of that shit.”
“Then what do you want, Clara?”
She shook her head, as if to dismiss the thought that came to her mind. “It’s gonna make me sound crazy.”
“I just fucking watched you murder the town’s beloved honied ham man and helped you feed his body to his own hogs. Pretty sure that ship has sailed.”
Despite all odds, she laughed.Mein Gott.The sound was heaven.
“Alright. You know what I want? To disappear into one of my books, literally. I want some dark romance hero to kidnap me and take me away from this place and give me the dicking of my life. And I know—” Her cheeks flushed and her gaze flitted away, unable to hold eye contact. “I know it sounds crazy, fantasizing about being kidnapped after being stuck in an abusive relationship.”
