Tomorrow, I’m moving her into my house.
11
KATIE
I shouldn’t have gone to meet Leni.
The thought hammers relentlessly against my skull as I scrub blood from the trunk liner, my pulse roaring in my ears, my muscles protesting the nightmare of hauling dead weight and disposing of a corpse.
I keep glancing over my shoulder as I work, scanning the darkness obsessively, checking every shadow that moves. No one’s there. No headlights, no footsteps—nothing but the cold, empty silence pressing in from all sides.
Still, my stomach churns with the distinct, nauseating possibility that I might have been followed.
Impossible. I was careful.
Was I, though? Because as I finish cleaning and make my way back towards the sewer line, I realize something unsettling: for the first time since I left this very manhole earlier tonight, that persistent itchy feeling at the nape of my neck is gone.
Did someone see what I did? If so, who?
Fuck, I don’t have time to worry about that right now. If someone did follow me and witness me dumping a body,they’ll make themselves known soon enough. Until then, I have more urgent problems to handle.
I slip into the sewer line, muscles burning as I drag the cover back into place above me. The moment it seals, my mind starts running again.
I shouldn’t have approached Leni—but what choice did I have? The Nightshades’ constant search for me would have put everything at risk. Not just my mission, but my life.Kayla’slife.
Hell, it already has. I had to kill someone tonight.
This isn’t the first time I’ve taken a life. Not even the third. In my line of work, there have been shootouts and violent confrontations with criminals who refused to go down without bloodshed. Yet this feels different somehow. My limbs feel like they’re vibrating at the wrong frequency, the metallic tang of his blood mixed with the harsh chemical burn of bleach seeming to cling to me, my fingers still sticky no matter how many times I’ve wiped them. And that sound. God, that soft splash when his body hit the river, the way the water swallowed him whole…
It loops. And loops. And loops.
Stop it.
I did the right thing. IknowI did.
That bastard wouldn’t have just let me walk away. I know his type—have dealt with them countless times before. The type who think they can overpower any woman, that it’s their right to terrorize us. His slimy smile flashes behind my lids, those greasy fingers wrapping around my arm like he owned me, and some of my guilt fades.
I clench my jaw. It was either him or me. No—it was him or Kayla and me. Because if he had succeeded in overpowering me and delivered me to Rafael, that would have been it. My sister would have no one left protecting her against the people holding her captive.
The thought steadies my hands.
I make it back to the estate without incident, locking the well cover before ghosting through the shadows towards the maids’ quarters. Dim lights buzz overhead as I navigate the common room and hallway, my steps whisper-soft, my breathing controlled, until I’m finally behind the closed door of my bedroom.
No one saw me. No one tried to stop me.
I’m safe.
I strip off my clothes and stuff them into a black bin bag, then slip out to shower, scrubbing my skin thoroughly until it’s raw, until I’m sure there’s no trace of tonight left on me. Only then do I return to my room and dress in slacks and a top.
Bin bag in hand, I sneak to the shared kitchen to grab the lighter from the drawer and spot a bottle of whiskey tucked behind the breadbox—stolen, no doubt. One of the maids thinks her little habit goes unnoticed.
I grab it too, then carry my burden into the woods and burn it, watching the flames eat through the fabric until nothing remains but charred ash and smoke.
There. Now there’s really no evidence tying me to tonight’s incident.
Limbs heavy with exhaustion and emotional toll, I trudge back to the maids’ quarters, return the half-empty whiskey bottle to its hiding spot, drop the lighter into the drawer, and drag myself to my room.
I collapse onto the narrow bed, my pulse still racing despite my exhaustion, a vise clamped around my chest. I don’t bother changing out of my clothes this time. I just close my eyes and force myself to breathe.
