I frown. “What?”
His lip drops into a cutesy pout. “Please.”
“I’m not in the mood for jokes right now.” Grinding my teeth, I growl, “Move.”
He latches onto my bike’s handles. “It’s not a joke.”
“I don’t take passengers,” I say.
His blond locks fall over his ample shoulders as he leans in. “I don’t want a ride … I want you to kill me.”
My jaw slowly drops.
How does he know …?
“Make me your next victim.”
Is he insane?
I pull my knife from my pocket and hold it under his chin. “Who gave you that information? Was it Xavier?”
He doesn’t even seem remotely fazed by the fact that I have him at knifepoint. “No, I figured it out on my own, and I am so, so fascinated.”
I push the knife deeper into his skin until it begins to bleed, and a slight whimper escapes his lips. “Then un-figure it.”
“I can’t,” he says. “I need this. Please.”
What the… What is wrong with this guy?
“You want to die so badly?”
He nods several times.
“Then do it yourself,” I growl, and I tear away my motorcycle and drive right past him by a hair, still clutching the knife that just scratched his precious fucking skin.
Xavier
I waituntil the sun goes down to make my move, hoping I’m quick enough before Sunny arrives. I stare at the man leaning against a grimy-looking shop at the far end of Crescent Vale City.
That’s him. That’s the picture I saw on her phone when Elliot shoved it into my hands for those brief few seconds. It wasn’t much, but her screen showed a time, a date, and a location, along with the man's name and photo. I didn’t have time to take a picture before she snatched it back from me again, but the mental snapshot was enough to memorize the exact details. If it’s important to her, it’s important to me.
When the man pulls out a smoke and retreats into the small alley to the side of the shop, I get out of my car and shut the door. My hand is firmly pressed against the needle in my pocket as I make my way to the alley, sweat droplets rolling down my neck.
No time to regret decisions you already made, Xavier. Just do what you came here to do.
When he’s turned around to check his phone in private, I approach the man from behind and pull the needle from my pocket, then stab him in the neck. I grab his arms to make sure he doesn’t struggle or try to fight me off as I inject the drugs into his system.
It was easy enough to get access to them, thanks to Orion’s half brother Heath, who hooked me up with one of his past dealers back when he still struggled with addiction. He didn’t ask why I needed the details, and I didn’t tell him out of my own volition either. We had a mutual understanding, and I appreciate his discretion.
No one needs to know I’m aiding a killer and making her life just a little bit easier.
And if she won’t tell me what’s going on, then I’ll find out on my own, by watching her every move.
The man sinks to the floor in my arms, and I slowly pull him farther down into the alley so he can’t be seen from the road, then leave him there. Tucking the needle into my pocket, I bolt away and head back to my car, then check my watch. A motorcycle drives up the street, and a smirk forms on my face.
Right on schedule.
I sit back as Sunny stops near the shop and turns off the engine. She pulls off her helmet, and her velvety black-and-green hair swishes from side to side, dazzling even me. She leaves the helmet and grabs a bag from the small compartment in her motorcycle, then marches toward the shop.
