Finn was Killian or maybe the other way around. However, how had a kid like that without medical training learnedsurgical precision? The lungs were definitely missing, Finn no doubt packaging them up for Aeron as a gift. Finn’s existence presented too many questions that I didn’t have answers to. Which meant he was a loose cannon and threatened my sense of control.
“Whew, he did a pretty number on the nurse but the doctor is intact. One quick jab to the heart.” Brent saddled up to my side, grinning down at the carnage. Scenes like this used to get me hard. I’d go home and find someone to fuck, to get rid of the adrenaline coursing through my body. Knowing who the culprit was and that it was the same person messing with us for much longer than I probably suspected, I found less enjoyment in cleaning this up.
“Just get it cleaned up.”
Finn was leaving us a message—that he could. That he had the power to disrupt our lives in Primrose without doing much. He knew our style, what got us going, what we craved. He knew that a scene like this would have every last person questioning the Skinner’s motives, especially since the small machete sticking out of Dr. Lewis’ chest wasn’t Slash’s usual MO.
I’d come back in the morning and ‘discover’ the scene before writing up a report and submitting it to Chief Matthews. Hopefully, he would believe my hint at a copycat killer which would shift blame from The Skinner. It would also raise the general anxiety flowing through Primrose. A once quiet littletown had become the home of multiple individuals with a love for death and chaos.
They had no idea what had just been unleashed on them because Finn wasn’t playing with Primrose. He was playing with us.
I stepped away from the bodies and dialed Finn’s number. “What’s the point, Finn?”
“Does there need to be one?” He cackled into the speakerphone, his voice barely above a whisper. “I enjoy seeing you three squirm after stuffing me into that crazy box. How could you? Killian screamed at you not to and youlovehim. I’m just seeing how much you truly care.”
“Finn-”
“I love hearing my name on your lips, Samael. I really do,” He purred and I hated the way it stirred up feelings in my chest. The emotions Finn brought were entirely different than the other three alters. I had a hate/love relationship with this version of Killian, whether Finn was the original or not. “I’m excited to see the story you’ll spin from this. Impress me. Oh, and return my fucking cat.”
Then he hung up, like he was my boss and I was merely a pawn playing on his chess board. Impress him? Was this what it had come to? And yet, some part of me wanted to accept the challenge. I wanted to see what it would take to knock Finn off of his feet, even for a second.
“Finn is dangerous, Samael. Why are you still dealing with him?”
I narrowed my gaze at Brent, some of my guys cleaning up the scene to paint a slightly different picture. “Who I choose to deal with is my problem. Your only job is to follow through.”
His face twisted up, the man letting out a nervous laugh. Brent might have been a friend before he became my closest confidant but pushing back against my orders wasn’t acceptable. I knew he didn’t really like Killian or any of his alters, Finn even less. But that wasn’t his choice to make.
“Samael, you know I’m only looking out for you. I know you like your relationships a little twisted but—”
I whipped around, grabbing Brent by his throat and dragging him toward me. “Let’s get one thing straight, Brent. You decided to work for me. You’ve been there every fucking step of the way, through the hell, the madness, and everything else. I told you before that your opinion of my lovers was unwarranted and not wanted. That hasn’t changed. If you feel the need to speak on it,don’t.” When he opened his mouth again, I thrust him backward in disgust. “Don’t push me, Brent. Not right now.”
Brent raised an eyebrow, silently demanding an explanation but I wouldn’t give him one. I was on edge and needed an outlet that neither Aeron nor Slash could provide. Killian would have been able to calm down this rage. Dark would have enjoyed it. Daemon would have basked in it. And Finn?
I must have been a sick bastard to wonder if Finn would accept me like this.
FINN
The Unknown.
That’s what The Revival had written up in the newspaper a few days later, bright and early, Monday morning after Detective Stenson was hailed a hero for discovering a gruesome crime scene at the edge of Primrose. A copycat killer. I mused over the flowery words written by The Gods, laughing my ass off through some of the obviously manufactured evidence. This tribute to my brilliance was amazing and I loved what Samael had done with what I had given him. So much so that I let Dark out long enough to text the man that we owed him a blow job.
Focusing on the more important things, I rolled over on my silk sheets and stared at the godforsaken alarm clock my father had placed in my bedroom. Returning home hadn’t beencompletely horrible, what with the luxuries Killian had refused all falling into my lap. New credit cards sat in my wallet, a bank account with more money than I knew what to do with, and an entirely furnished basement to myself. I knew that my father was trying to compensate for something but I’d let him do it.
Because why would I fucking trade silk sheets for that poor excuse of a one-bedroom apartment?
A throaty purr pulled my attention as I looked up to see my tabby rising from her perch on my hip. She stretched, her cute little claws extending and then retracting before she walked up to my face. Then she promptly tried to suffocate me with her fluff before I pulled her into my arms and snuggled back up with her.
Lucy was the only thing I ever truly loved. She was the light of my life and Killian had all but neglected her as he fell apart. That should be another strike, shouldn’t it? Definitely. I pulled up the board, disappointed to see the low number of tallies. They were lackluster at best, which meant I wasn’t taunting them enough. In due time, I’d sit them in the driver’s seat and let them think they were in control.
It would be like a metaphorical road trip right into our men’s arms.
Lucy grumbled and I released her, realizing that she would start clawing at my face if I didn’t feed her. Samael had had her delivered last night, my father weary of having an animal in thehouse. Telling him that Lucy was my daughter in some twisted way didn’t help.
“Let’s go, lollipop,” I sing-songed, jumping out of bed and heading to the bowl in the corner. She sat patiently beside it, waiting for me to grab the wet food from the fridge in the attached kitchen. I still had a day or two before I had to show up at The Revival, a job that Killian pleaded for us to keep. With them stuffed so far down into the darkness, it was more of a strong discomfort in my chest every time I thought about quitting.
I’d give in for now. After all, being tucked away in the corner of that office gave us time to do… other things. Like research.
The moment Lucy was fed, I stretched, relishing the way my spine crackled and popped. A slow moan filtered through my lips as I stepped into the bathroom and under the heated spray of a shower that should be illegal. There were more buttons along the wall than I remembered but the ability to relax in my own space was worth it.
