“Revenge,” he gritted through his teeth.
“Elijah,” Scarlett could barely get the word out of her throat. “Can’t. Breathe…”
“Your lips are turning blue. Should I squeeze harder? Snap your neck?” He watched her try to form words that refused to come. Tears came from the corners of her eyes with her eyelids squeezed shut.
Elijah let her go suddenly.
Scarlett fell to the ground and gasped for air as Elijah kicked her in the ribs. She whimpered and curled into a fetal position, glancing up at him, “Why are you hurting me?”
He crouched over her and took his knife, and traced around her eyebrows, “I need to add to my quota. No hard feelings.”
Scarlett screamed and attempted to get away from him. Elijah grabbed her by the hair and rolled Scarlett onto her back. He crouched over her and pinned her arms over her head with one hand.
“Elijah! Please! Don’t do this!”
He ignored her pleas and cries.
“Open your fucking eyes,” he growled. When she squeezed them tighter, he grunted and forced her eyelids open. Taking his knife, he stabbed it into her eye.
The scream was one he remembered from his first kill. With a curse, he pressed further into Scarlett’s eyeball and pulled out with all his might. Muscle and tissue tried to keep the round orb in place, but with enough force, the nerve snapped.
Scarlett howled.
There was blood on one side of her face. With luck, she would bleed out.
If not, she would suffer in other ways.
With a smirk, Elijah went to a bag in another room in the house and grabbed a felt box. Lifting the lid, Elijah set the eyeball inside and put it back in the duffel bag. He picked it up, walked back into the main room, and picked his phone up from the table.
Scarlett writhed and moaned on the floor.
With a flick of his finger, he dialed 911.
“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”
“Yes!” Elijah exclaimed. “I think-I think someone is hurt! I’m-I’m not sure, someone just ran from the house!”
“Okay, sir, calm down. Where are you?”
Elijah rattled off the address, then hung up. Without a passing thought, he opened the door to the house and tossed the phone in a garbage chute.
Whistling, he walked down the street in the opposite direction of the sirens. He whistled to an oncoming cab driver. After he got in, he gave the cabby the directions.
He leaned back, more relaxed than ever before.
“Last phase,” he said to himself. Elijah glanced outside. “Get ready, Autumn.”
Chapter 19
“Nicoislikeason to you.”
Luna finished her wine. A genuine smile touched her lips with a faraway glint in her eyes. “He is, God bless his mother’s soul.” Luna crossed herself. “Maggie was a wonderful person and mother.” Something fierce entered her dark brown eyes. “She was the little sister I never had. I would do anything for her.”
“How did she die?”
“From burn wounds and smoke inhalation.” She looked Autumn in the eye, “She asked me to take Nico in even though he was of age.”
Autumn crossed her arms and peered closely at Luna. There was something the woman wasn’t telling her. Luna left details out.
