I gritted my teeth, pushing even harder. She was a fucking annoyance from the start, and she couldn’t continue to be around, not with this stunt. I shook my head to push away the fogginess. Demi finally stopped thrashing, but I didn’t climb off her.
She had to die after this.She had to.
A soft snore from behind wrenched me out of the murderous thoughts. I let go of the pillow, sitting up with a gasp. Demi didn’t move.
My hand shook as I reached for it and nudged it until it plopped to the side. Shedidn’t move. I pressed my finger under her nose—nothing. So I pressed my fingertips to her pulse.
I’d finally done what I’d been accused of from the start—killed an Omega. I shoved off and stumbled back. Panic made my movements jerky.
Now I could add Omega Killer to my record.
The irony wasn’t lost on me.
I turned to look at Elias and Kyan. Kyan let out another snore . . . but Elias? His eyes were open the slightest bit, but he still hadn’t moved.
Would they think I’d lost it?
After all they’d suffered at the hands of Jennifer, after everything they’d been through, would they resent me for this?
I lifted a shaking hand, staring at the crimson adorning my hands and back to the still body. She’d left a few scratches along the top of my arms, and they had started bleeding. My knuckles also had cuts from how hard I’d punched her.
I turned back to Elias.
“Get this off me,” he mumbled, slurring his words as he twitched his hands. I licked my lips and turned back to Demi without acknowledging him. I had to get rid of the body.
My hands started shaking from the lowered adrenaline. Falling apart right now wouldn’t do me any favors.
Numb, I staggered from the bedroom. Sinclair lay on the hallway floor. Gasping, I ran to him, pushing his big, heavy body until he was flat on his back. His ankles were cuffed and wrists duct-taped, too.
But he was alive.
Relieved, I exhaled.
So she was only trying to kill me. I let my head dangle. Getting it together was a priority because I had to clean up my mess. Once the guys woke up, we could talk about the next steps.
I stood and swiped my bloody hands on my shorts and took the stairs down to the first floor. The smell of gas reached my nose and grew stronger the closer I got to the kitchen. All the knobs were turned on with no flame in sight. Fucking bitch.
Any guilt I’d felt evaporated. I rushed forward and turned them all off. The hiss of the gas tapered off. I ran to open the windows and doors, and the freezing air wafted inside.
With the flurry of the blizzard, the smell of gas quickly faded. There was a small shed behind the house. I could drag her body out there, but I had to wrap her in something to make moving her body easier.
A blanket would work, and then I could wrap the duct tape around her. I scanned some more and zeroed in on the tablecloth made of half cloth, half plastic.
I yanked it off the table, hugged it to my chest, and climbed back upstairs. I avoided Elias’ gaze, and with a bit of navigating, I spread it out enough to roll her onto it.
“I’ll do it,” Elias slurred, his head dropping onto Kyan’s. I ignored him, worried about how he’d look at me. Had he been watching me snuff the life out of her?
I rolled Demi into the fabric, grabbed the tape, and wrapped it around her ankles until it was snug tight. She lay in a still bundle.
“Briarrrrr,” Elias slurred.
His voice ripped me out of my daze, and I grabbed her ankles, dragging her out of the room with more effort than I had anticipated. As small as she was, she was heavy. I pulled again, past a snoring Sinclair, to the top of the stairs. I pursed my lips and went to the other side of her body and nudged it down. Ittumbled to the ground. The tape kept her tightly bundled inside the wrap.
Once downstairs and across the hall, I dragged her past the kitchen to the back door. My bare feet sank into the ice, but I dragged her until she was to the side of the house. I couldn’t stay out here to get her to the shack without risking frostbite.
I entered the cabin and closed the door behind me, figuring it had been enough time for air to billow into the house. For extra precaution, I checked the stove again, then padded across the cabin, closing the windows and the front door.
Hesitating at the bottom of the stairs, I lifted my numb hands.
