A tree branch snaps behind us, and we all turn around to look. Four flashlights dance in the darkness. “Did you guys hear something?” Deke asks.
“I thought I did. But I don’t see anything,” Shane answers him.
“I’ll go check it out,” I say, walking away from them. “And hurry it up.” I grab my light off the ground and shine it ahead of me, listening to them laughing behind me as they finish off the sick bastard who deserved every little thing he got tonight.
My tennis shoes crunch the ground, and I come to a stop to just listen. I shut my light off and stick it in my back pocket. I know this land like the back of my hand. And no one is ever out here. No one who is up to any good.
The Lowes estate is down at the bottom of the hill, but they’re never home. And if for some reason they are, they’re already in bed.
My hands hang by my sides, the blood slowly dripping off them and falling onto the leaves. My body craves more.
Slowly taking one step after another, I tune out the guys behind me as their voices grow quieter the farther away from them I get.
A sound to my right has me smiling. Whoever it is, is close. Very close. I stand and wait, not making a move. They’re in the dark just like I am because I don’t see any light. Then I hear it again. It could be an animal, but it doesn’t sound like one. I hear two distinct sounds—a pair of shoes.
I take a step to the right, and I hear an intake of breath. So close.
Then they take off. Their shoes pound the ground, and I run after them. I run into a small frame, wrap my arms around it, and tackle it to the ground. It makes a noise of annoyance and two hands slap at my face unable to make contact. I grab them and pin them down to their sides and then straddle them to pin them down underneath me.
I yank my flashlight out of my back pocket and turn it on, shining it down onto the intruder.
Dark green eyes look up at me, framed by long dark lashes. Soft pink lips are parted, and she has a small diamond stud piercing in her button nose. Dark brown hair covers half her face, and she growls, “Get off me.”
She blinks several times, the light blinding her, but I don’t move it. It keeps her from seeing me.
“Get off me,” she demands this time, panting.
I tilt my head to the side, just watching her squirm under me. I’ve never seen her before, and I know every woman in this town. I know every woman within thirty miles. But not her. Not this face. She starts fighting harder, but I hold her easily. She wears a black hoodie, and it’s up, covering the top of her head and side of her face. I reach down and yank it back, causing her to twist her neck.
“Don’t touch me!” Her voice snaps.
“Cole?” I hear Deke call out.
“Over here,” I answer, not taking my eyes from her.
“You sorry son of a …”
“What did you find?” he asks as he comes up next to me. He shines his light on her, and she turns her face from him, closing her eyes. Six earrings run up her ear in various colors. “Oh, a toy. Where did she come from?”
“Not sure.”
“Are there more?” he asks.
“Fuck you,” she spits out while her body nervously shakes under my weight.
How much did she see? Does she know I almost beat a guy to death? She should be afraid of me. My demons like the rage. Feed off it. And I’ve never been one to starve.
Deke laughs. “I like when they have a dirty mouth.”
She arches her back and delicate neck, letting out a scream of frustration that rings out in the dark night.
“No one can hear you out here,” I tell her, my free hand coming up and wrapping around her throat but not choking her. The blood on my hand covers her sun-kissed skin as if I’m painting a picture on her body. She swallows hard against it. “There’s no one to come save you.”
She whimpers.
“I love it when they scream. Go ahead, sweetheart,” Deke says softly. “Scream for me,” he says, kneeling next to us. He wraps her long dark hair around his bloody fist, and he jerks her head to the side to face him.
She bares her perfect teeth, sucking in a breath, but she doesn’t cry out from his force. Both of our lights stay on her face, and she squints, trying to see.
In the distance, I hear an engine roar as Shane, Kellan, and Bennett leave. “What were you doing out here all alone?” he asks her.