I tracked him all the way to Sunnyvale. I became obsessed, I barely slept, tracking his movements every day, trying to figure out who he worked for. That’s how I came across The Raven’s name for the first time. Thepsycho in me easily picked right back up where I left off, killing like I hadn’t been playing farmer for the previous four years.
Wren turns slightly, her hand coming to rest on my chest as she sighs in contentment. If psychos don’t have feelings, if they don’t feel empathy, then why did I care so much for my little angel?
Maybe she was my exception. Maybe she was the one person in the entire world who could get under my skin and make me feel again.
If that was the case, there was definitely no way I was letting her out of my clutches. Psycho, broken… it didn’t really matter, as long as I washers.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
WREN
“Are you sure we’ll be safe here tonight?” I ask again as I inspect our hotel room. Instead of a two-bedroom suite, we opted for a large room. It came equipped with two queen beds, two couches, a table with four chairs, and a kitchenette.
“We’re gonna barricade the door, and there is no patio, so there’s no other way to get in here,” Sly says as he starts to sort through some of our new supplies that have been dumped on the coffee table.
Everyone else sits on the couches around the table as I scan over everything we got. I don’t know what half of it is. But when I see a box of tampons, my cheeks heat as I try to sneak them away quietly. As I step back, Sly’s hand snaps out and grabs my wrist.
I swallow, feeling nervous for some reason, but he just starts handing me things without saying a word: a bottle labeled Advil, an electric heating pad, a bag of chocolate almonds.
“Um, Sly? What’s all this for?”
He finally looks up at me, passing me a package of underwear as he answers. “You’re period. Don’t you get cramps?”
“Yeah, but what does that have to do with any of this?” I ask, my chin pointing to the pile of stuff in my arms.
“What do you normally do to get rid of cramps?” Pete asks with a frown.
“Nothing.” They share a look, and I get the all-too-familiar feeling that this is not normal. “Is that not what women do? How do you all know this, anyway?”
“It’s just sort of common knowledge,” Sly says, standing as he points to the items in my arm. “You lie the heating pad over your stomach to help with pain. These pills, they’re Advil, they can help with cramps and headaches, but never take more than two at once.”
“What about the chocolate?”
“Apparently, women often crave it during their periods.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever had any, so I wouldn't know.”
“Never had chocolate?!” Dex asks with wide eyes. “That’s like a sin.”
“Actually, I had a chocolate bar from a bus station before I met you. I enjoyed that.”
“I hate that he treated you like that,” Sly says, referring to my brother as he reaches up to stroke my cheek with his thumb. “Why don’t you go put this stuff in your bag and then come back and join us?”
I do as he says and take a minute to look at the pack of underwear. It appears to be a special kind that’s absorbent, so I wouldn’t have to wear tampons all the time. Or maybe I could use them together on heavy days. Either way, I hadn’t known anything like this existed, and the fact that the guys just took it upon themselves to buy it all for me warms my heart.
When I move back to the couch, I look for a spot to sit, but the guys all have their knees spread wide, taking up most of the space.
Dex is the nearest to me, and I eye his lap, thinking how comfy it looks.
My mind flashes back to him calling himself my boyfriend earlier.Did he really mean that?
I bite my lip as I contemplate my next move. He always seems happy to carry me and hold me, so maybe he wouldn’t mind…
A small thrill runs through me. I move slowly, convinced that if I’m careful enough, I won’t disturb whatever he’s busy with, though I don’t know what he’s holding.
When my butt touches his knee, he stops what he’s doing and looks at me. Instead of stopping, I decide to commit as my butt slides down his leg and into his lap. I move my legs around to his side. He drops what he’s holding as his arms swing around to support me.
I snuggle in, getting comfy before reaching over to the coffee table and picking up the thing he dropped and passing it back to him. He takes it, looking at me like I’m a puzzle. But I ignore it, deciding a good nap is what I want right now. I tuck my feet in, leaning sideways against his chest as he leans back against the couch.
