A Devious Descent (The Deviants #1)

CHAPTER 8

Frankie

“I f you don’t call the cops now, I’ll do it for you.” Jess stabs her salad aggressively before forking a tomato into her mouth.

I tear a piece of chicken from my sandwich, feeding it to Ms. Kitty before taking a bite. MJ’s sleeping on her dog bed in the corner of the room, still recovering from last night.

“What are they going to do? They won’t even look for my missing brother,” I say with my mouth full. “Like they would do anything about a stranger standing on the edge of my property.”

“We have to at least report it.” Jess grabs her phone and walks outside.

I don’t know why I didn’t tell Jess what really happened last night. We never keep secrets from each other, but he did let me go, so he must not be a complete psycho, right?

I know it’s fucked up, but I was drawn to him. A part of me wanted to see what he would do if he came back. I always wondered what it would feel like to have someone fuck me until I couldn’t think. I bet my stalker knows exactly how to do that.

I really need to have my head examined.

Jess stomps back into the house, slamming her phone on the counter. She’s pissed. “Small town cops act like they’ve got so much going on. They can’t do anything unless he comes on your property and threatens you. Isn’t it a little too late at that point? I swear, I’d make a better cop.”

The corners of my mouth curl up as I take the last bite of my sandwich. “I hate to say I told you so,” I say with my mouth full, amused.

“No, you don’t. Those are your favorite words,” she chides as she grabs the takeout containers, throwing them in the garbage. “Why don’t you stay with me until everything settles down?”

I fetch two cans of carbonated water from the fridge, handing her one. “I’m not letting this asshole scare me out of my own home. I spent enough time fearing my own home when I was a kid. I’m not doing it again.”

“I know, but this isn’t the same.”

I raise one eyebrow at her. “I’m not running away.”

“You are so stubborn,” Jess grumbles as she grabs her bag and walks outside.

“I know.” I bat my eyelashes at her, giving her my best smile as I follow her outside, sitting next to her on the front step.

The soft breeze gently caresses my skin. I close my eyes and listen to the birdsong. The land surrounding my house isn’t as intimidating in the light. I can’t believe I was chased through the woods. What’s even harder to believe is how much my body longed for him once I was safely locked inside my house. I shudder thinking about my stupidity and quickly change the subject.

“Now tell me about Brent. What are you guys going to do when the band leaves town to make it big?” The best way to get Jess’ mind off something is to get her talking about herself.

Jess sighs. “I don’t know. I dropped so many hints about keeping in touch after he leaves, but I think he wants to see other people. I know we’re not serious, but I was hoping he wanted to try the long-distance thing.”

“It’s not a bad idea for you to see other people.” I grab her hand. “You just got out of a serious relationship. Don’t settle for someone because you’re scared of being alone. There are plenty of great guys out there.”

Jess rolls her eyes. “Says the person who hasn’t been on a date in years.”

“Hey, there was that one guy, Jack. We went out four times.” Maybe it was three times. I can’t remember.

Jess huffs. “Flashing your boobs at him while he was helping his niece sell Girl Scout cookies does not count as a date. And his name was Jake, not Jack.”

“What?!” I laugh, “That was not me! That was you in junior high, dork.”

“Oh, yeah.” Jess grins sheepishly. “We made a lot of money selling thin mints that day thanks to me.”

Jess pulls a baggie of dark green buds from her purse. “Speaking of Girl Scout cookies, I scored a parting gift from the band.”

“No way! If only we had actual cookies to go with it!” Caramel deLites would be amazing right now.

We smoke a joint, and our worries are soon replaced by giggles. Jess forgets about Brent, and I push Nate and my stalker to the back of my mind for now.

Jess is sucking sugar off her sour patch kids, and I’m busy dumping crumbs from a Doritos bag into my mouth as we walk back to my house from the gas station when we hear a sickening, sucking noise coming from the woods.

“What the fuck was that?” Jess asks.

We take a few more steps before spotting an enormous silhouette crouched over a dead animal. The silhouette turns its head, fixing its glowing red eyes on us.

“Holy shit!” I grab Jess’ hand as we cautiously walk backwards.

The silhouette stands at full height. He’s almost seven feet tall, his skin so translucent you can see every vein running through his body. The creature steps into the light, bares his fangs, and hisses at us.

I drop the bag of groceries and rub my eyes. “Do you see that?” I ask, not trusting what I’m seeing.

“I was hoping the weed was making me see things, but you see it too?” Jess’ voice shakes.

The creature runs toward us. “That’s not the weed,” I yell.

Jess and I turn to run when a large man rushes toward us from the opposite direction. He releases a deafening roar, leaps six feet in the air, and jumps over our heads.

I squeeze Jess’ hand harder and scream. What the hell is happening?

The creature makes an ear-splitting screech, and charges forward. The man sprints toward it. Their bodies collide, making a loud thud.

The creature snarls, baring its fangs. Quick, and obviously skilled in combat, the man unleashes a flurry of punches. Blood streams down the creature’s face.

Just when it seems the man is victorious, the creature sinks its teeth into his shoulder. With a fierce roar, the man retaliates, driving his foot into the creature’s kneecap, sending it crashing to the ground.

The man grabs the creatures head with both hands, twisting until it completely rips away, the body falling to the ground.

Holy shit! Was there something wrong with the weed? There is no way that happened.

The man’s legs wobble, his movements growing sluggish. He drops the head, and the body beside him bursts into flames, quickly disintegrating into ash.

His amber eyes briefly lock on mine before taking a step toward us and collapsing to the ground.

“What the fuck? Did that just happen?” Jess shrieks.

I’m too shocked for words. Am I hallucinating? Jess must be too. Can two people hallucinate the same thing?

The man’s groan pulls me from my stupor. I don’t know why, but I run toward him. Jess grabs my arm to stop me, but I pull away. I can’t resist the invisible magnet pulling me toward him.

“What are you doing? We watched him rip the head off a monster,” Jess states with wide eyes, her hands grabbing her chest.

I know it’s stupid to go near this dangerous man, but the urge to be near him is too strong. “I know, but he saved us. We need to help him.”

I stop dead in my tracks when I realize I recognize him.

It can’t be.

I cautiously walk toward him. A small part of me is thrilled when I see it’s my stalker.

Jess pulls out her phone. “I’ll call 911.”

I should be grateful he saved us, but I’m so stunned. What the hell is he doing here? Why is he following me?

“Frankie, are you okay?” Jess pulls me from my trance, her phone still in hand.

I nod my head. “Yeah, I’m fine. We can’t call 911, though.”

She looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Why not? He needs help.”

“What would we tell them? I swear I’m not high, officer. A monster tried attacking us, so a random stranger leaped over us and ripped its head off. Not to mention, the body bursting into flames. They will lock us in the loony bin.” Which is where I should obviously be right now, because I’m pretty sure being excited to see your stalker is certifiably insane.

“Do you have a better idea?” Jess asks.

What I should do is leave him here to die after last night. But he let me go, and he saved me just now. “Maybe we can call the ambulance and say we found him here.”

I kneel down next to him, pulling my phone from my back pocket, when a gigantic hand weakly covers mine. “No. No hospital,” he slurs before passing out again.

“Well shit,” Jess curses.

I don’t know why I say what comes out of my mouth next. Maybe it’s because I grew up in fear and secretly revel in it. Maybe it’s because I’m thinking with my stupid vagina instead of my head. “We should take him to the house. My brother has a well-stocked first aid kit.”

Jess stares at me like I just suggested we go skydiving without a parachute.

“We can’t just leave him here,” I say.

Huffing, she runs her hands down her face. “Okay, I’m completely sober now. I’ll get my car. You stay here in case he wakes up.” She takes off jogging towards my house.

It will take about fifteen minutes for her to return. I take the time to study my stalker’s features. I knew he was attractive, but damn, he is devastatingly handsome. His dark, long eyelashes rest on his cheeks. He has a strong chin and a straight nose. He’s much larger than I initially thought.

He only looks a few years older than me. How the hell did he rip the head off that thing’s body?

When Jess finally gets back, we spend thirty minutes loading the behemoth into the car. We drop him twice before pulling him into the back seat, only scraping his back a little. I’d say we’re doing pretty well considering the circumstances.

When we get home, we drag him from the car, leaving him where he lands in the driveway. Jess and I both stand over him with our hands on our hips, breathing heavily as we wonder what to do now.

Thank God neither of us are in the medical field. I’m sure moving him around this much isn’t good for him, but he doesn’t seem to have any broken bones so he’s probably fine.

I look at my front porch. There’s no way we’re getting him up my steps. “Should we at least move him to the grass so he’s not laying on sharp rocks?”

Jess stretches her back before bending over, grabbing his shoulder. “Alright, let’s do it, but I’m not moving him again. He’s freaking heavy.”

Mustering up more strength, I squat down next to him. As I hook my arms under his other shoulder, a warm, earthy scent wraps around me. I suddenly feel an overwhelming sense of home, as if my soul recognizes his. Why does he have this effect on me? I definitely should not be feeling this way about him.

Dragging him across the gravel driveway, we place him next to the peonies in front of my porch. I can’t help but admire his broad shoulders and muscular arms. I pull up his bloody shirt, looking for a wound. All I find is a fresh-looking scar, but nothing to cause this amount of blood.

“Maybe the blood is from the monster.” Jess lifts the other side of his shirt.

We check him over the best we can, and other than his perfectly sculpted body, see nothing noteworthy. Too bad his pants aren’t bloody. I wouldn’t mind taking those off to check for wounds.

It’s getting dark and chilly out, but I don’t want to leave him alone, so we grab blankets and snacks from inside the house and camp out in my front yard.