“How many nerve endings in the forearm?” I ask over the screaming.
“Five branches of the radial nerve,” Aiden replies, not missing a beat. His blade slices a thin layer of skin from “Moe’s” kneecaps, then takes a nice chunk of turkey bill from under his chin.
“Wanna do me next?” Aiden turns with a scowl; I drop my chin to my chest to prove a point. I have a fat roll I’d like gone. “What’s that? An inch? I can’t see.”
“Katie…” he growls, but I can tell he’s trying not to laugh.
I grin and stand up, patting my stomach. “Or if you’re feeling generous, I’ll take the Kardashian.”
“You’ll sit the fuck down before I shove that blade up your arse.”
“Handle first, I hope; I’ve read Den of Vipers.” Taking a few steps forward, I lean to the side, glancing at “Moe,” then spring upright as Aiden marches for me. “Though I can’t seeyou stabbing yourself for shits and giggles, other people, yes, but…”
His lips fuse with mine in an attempt to shut me up. “What do you need? What dopamine fix do you need to get so I can work?”
“I don’t know,” I mumble against his lips. “Getting tea bagged first thing this morning is still weighing heavily on my mind, and not just because of your sopping balls slapping against my chin.”
“Katie…”
“I want ice cream.”
“Done,” he spins on his heel.
“Do you have a Ghostface mask?”
He slowly turns back to me, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Why?”
“I’m sure TikTok unlocked a new kink.”
He lifts his chin until he’s looking at the ceiling, suppressing a laugh. “If I get the mask and promise we can get ice cream on the way home, can I please?” He gestures to the remaining survivors in the room.
“As long as I don’t have to clean it up. Too many textures.”
“Deal,” he turns his back on me again, most likely praying I shut the fuck up and let him work.
“Babe?”
His head snaps up, a look of annoyance flashing across his face. “What now?”
I give him a large, toothy grin. “Love you.”
He all but snarls it back at me.
We know the two dead bodies were not the person who stabbed Robbie. I know my little festering rat is not the man who did it or his companion a few doors down. I know Tubbyover there is definitely not the masked attacker, which means one of the final three is the poor bastard.
Screams echo throughout the warehouse, and I find my noise cancelling headphones again.
Robbie is thankfully recovering back at Aiden’s house in Foxrock. The coward that shanked him though, well, if the other two are lucky, the man being flayed alive right now is the perpetrator, and they can be given a swift death. If not, they better start praying for a miracle because Aiden’s punishments are getting progressively crueller as time goes on.
I tap away on the phone for a little while longer; I’ll only have this until we leave here, then, like every other burner, it will meet a malicious end.
Ciara keeps tagging me in posts with Vivenne Westwood wedding dresses, I can’t help but smile at the shimmering, virgin white gowns fit for a Disney princess. Huge, dazzling, and perfect. I glance up at Aiden, who is tugging a wad of muscle and fat from “Moe’s” left arm, his eyes gleaming with sadistic pleasure.
I always wanted to feel like a princess on my wedding day. I just never knew my Prince Charming would be so skilled at dismemberment.
35
RAVEN
