Wicked Little Nightmare (Shattered Souls #1)

1. One Cam

One: Cam

M y bed was empty when I woke this morning, as I expected it would be. Dani must have found her way home. Or Lakey had already killed her. Groaning, I rolled over and checked my phone, sixteen missed calls and seven texts.

Fuck that.

Stretching, I forced my feet to the floor. Shower time. My mind replayed last night. Dani was a good fuck. I mean, really good. Girl was small and let me throw her around. Hardly freaked out when I busted out the cuffs. Cute considering she knew nothing about me. She paled in comparison to my girl, but for a normie, she was better than most Lakey made me fuck.

I could have been a serial killer for all Dani knew and she willingly gave me that pussy. Perks of being sexy, charming and a good lay. Turning the water to just short of scalding, I relaxed against the counter as the bathroom fogged.

When we laid out the terms of our agreement, we made a rule: never mess with the same woman twice. It kept things simple. Fuck, chuck, kill. Lakey was adamant that the only way for her to stay under control was by sliding her knife under someone’s skin and watching them die. So, my girl allowed me to fuck and in exchange she got to dump them over the cliff when I was done. It was kind of a monthly occurrence, though lately I’d been stretching it between events. This shit was getting boring. I’d once asked why we didn’t just pick up some addicts from the corner and she looked at me like I had three heads.

Apparently, she had some sick sense of justice because she only wanted to kill people that she had deemed as dirty. Fucking a taken man was considered dirty enough in her eyes, and it was good enough for me. The truth was, I didn’t want to fuck anyone except my girl, but if I didn’t keep Lakey under control she could be…

How do I say it?

Unpredictable.

Sighing, I lathered and washed, my cock hard at the thought of shoving Lakes against a wall and taking her until I’d fucked the violence out of my system. Contemplating taking care of the problem, I opted to ignore it instead.

Lakey would be furious if she knew I was thinking of calling off this whole arrangement. She was a little firecracker. Wild and untamed. The best sex I’d ever had and ever will. The thought turned me on even more and my balls twitched. My good little girl. Lakey was…

How do I describe the only person on earth I gave a shit about?

Perfect. That’s the word.

Standing at 5’5”, 110lbs soaking wet, she looked the perfect little doll, but inside she was the devil incarnate. We’d been through shit together. More shit than anyone should have to withstand in one lifetime and because of that, my beautiful little psycho got a free pass for almost anything she wanted to do. Hence my current predicament. Stepping out of the shower, I grabbed a towel and dried myself off, staring at my reflection in the mirror.

Practicing my smile, I chuckled. Yeah, on the outside I looked like every girl’s wet dream, but my insides were twisted, infected with a kind of rot that doesn’t just go away with buzzwords like ‘therapy’ and ‘meds’. Grabbing my phone off the side table, I messaged Lakes to ask where the fuck she was.

My phone buzzed just as I pressed send.

Breakfast time, asshole. You’re late.

Running my hand through my hair, I looked at the time. I was, indeed, late. Lakes was a lot of things, but one thing she was not was late. She hated when I ran late.

Shit, sorry babe… Be there in a minute. I messaged back as fast as my fat fingers could.

Throwing the phone down and grabbing a pair of grey sweatpants, I rushed through getting ready. Effortlessly sexy, as Lakes calls it. She’s not wrong.

Another buzz. It’s fine, I’m just gonna head to the boutique across the way and grab a new necklace. Text when you’re there.

I grinned. She only ever bought herself something when she’d done something naughty. And she’d make it a fun game trying to figure out what it was this time.

Grabbing my bike keys off the key rack, I locked the front door and headed to the elevator, pressing P to get to my spot. As expected, Lakey’s bike was missing, but mine was waiting. The second love of my life. Sitting down and starting the engine, I smiled, seeing a red kiss on the mirror.

Oh, she’d been a bad girl and was looking for punishment. The parking door couldn’t open fast enough before I was ripping to our spot. Grabbing a space along the curb, I didn’t bother paying. Those fat fucking parking maids can suck my dick.

Here, babe . I messaged her before going to our table, far end at the back, where we both had a view of the street from both directions. I took the time to check my GPS, and a small smile crept over my lips. She had been a very naughty girl last night.

The bell jingled and I looked up. My breath caught as she walked into the cafe, her long legs skipping in time to the static beat coming through the speakers. Fuck she was a vision.

She squealed and gave me a hug before settling in beside me and flipping through the menu.

“Hey, babe, how was last night?” She sounded nonchalant to any eavesdropper, but I knew that tone.

“Great, you?” I smirked, sipping my coffee.

“Oh, you know, same ol’ same ol’,” she hummed, those haunted eyes of hers boring into mine. “Mine was a bit more”– she leaned in dramatically– “exciting.”

“Yeah? Where’d you go? You didn’t come home.”

She giggled, “I was just around. Doin’ stuff. Evan wanted to hook up, but you know…” she held up her thumb and index finger before whispering tiny dick.

I rolled my eyes. She knew she wasn’t allowed to fuck anyone but me. I wasn’t so free with her body like she was with mine and if I had it my way, I wouldn’t be either. She was trying to get under my skin, but I knew exactly where she was last night. I’d traced the tracker I’d put in her neck when I got out of juvie, and it put her where she always was when she didn’t come home. Outside the home of this little girl that she had a fascination with watching. At first, I’d found it weird that she’d just sleep in the tree across the street and watch her through her window. But she told me she found it oddly comforting. That she had some kind of weird voodoo connection with her.

A therapist might say it had something to do with the trauma Lakes had experienced in her own childhood. But I wasn’t a fucking therapist, and this wasn’t a paid counseling session, so we didn’t go there.

Half of me wondered if she didn’t do it so that I could set her up for her kill therapy because it just didn’t make sense. Lakey didn’t care about anyone or anything– except for me. And the feeling was mutual.

“So, whatcha ordering today?” She asked, her leg bouncing under the table as her brilliant blue eyes bore into mine.

“Same as always, Pinky, eggs benny.”

She smacked my arm, “How many fucking times do I have to tell you that I’M brAIN and YOU are Pinky.” She put her arm up to grab the waitress’s attention, “Fucking moron.”

“Same as always, Trixie,” I said, winking at the waitress who giggled and took our order, sliding two coffees on the table before she left.

Lakey grabbed my hand. “Cam, I need you to help me with something.”

“You know I can’t say no to you, Lakes. You know that. What do you need?”

“I’ll explain later. It’s just something I’ve been thinking about lately.” She twirled a knife around, the edges catching the light before she slammed it down. “Anyway, after breakfast, whatcha wanna do?”

"Lakey... are we going to talk about what you did?" I sighed when she rolled her eyes at me, "Dani didn't text me back this morning."

“Who the fuck is Dani?” A devilish grin spread over her face. One might assume it was innocent, the way her big eyes widened, and her cheeks tinged with pink, her hand flying to her mouth almost as if in shock. But I knew better. It was a dance we'd done for years.

“You know exactly who she is, babe.”

"Oh right… vague memory. I’m sorry for your loss, Cameron. Did your giant dong scare her away?" She giggled and moved into the booth across from me, grabbing the cup of coffee with a grateful sigh. "Mmmmm, I needed this."

"Late night?"

Her eyebrow quirked. "Whatever are you implying?"

"You've got blood on your sleeve, Lakes." Pointing to her t-shirt, I smirked. The GPS had already told me what she’d been up to before crashing in that damn tree. Pushing a certain someone’s body off a cliff.

"Well, fuck."

Before we could discuss it any further, Trixie returned with our food. She looked back and forth between us, her brow furrowed as she noticed the energy shifting.

"You two lovebirds having a spat?"

Lakey looked forlorn, full of despair even. It took everything in me not to burst out laughing. "Our first fight. It was as bad as you'd think."

"Aw, don't let it ruin the day. This one's on me."

"Thanks, Trixie."

After she left, Lakes leaned in. "So what? You know the deal, Cam.”

I did know the deal. We’d made it when I got back from juvie at 18 years old. Lakes and I were the Yin and Yang, although, with both of us having some form of diagnoses that run along the lines of ‘psychopath’ and ‘sociopath’, who knows which is which. All we knew is that we were meant to be together. We had been since we were kids in foster care.

The full details of the deal had become kind of murky over time, but for the last nine years we’d done this song and dance.

Given that we both got off on violence, Lakey was allowed to do whatever she wanted to the girls who were stupid enough to let me fuck them. Sometimes she video-taped it to show me later while she gave me head. Fucking hottest thing in the world, I swear to God. This whole thing seems insane to an outsider, but it’s a fair deal. The fucking part of the deal was only one way, but she got off on the violence and I got to empty my nuts, risk-free. It had been a win-win for years until something inside me started to feel repulsed by it.

You’d think this was cheating of some kind, but she needed an outlet for her pain, I needed one for mine, and neither of us wanted to hurt each other.

It just worked. Until it didn’t anymore, and I could see that even she was getting bored. The plateau had been hit, and we needed… more.

“Yes, Lakes, I know about the deal, my blood is on the paper alongside yours, but I kind of wanted to fuck her again.” I watched her squirm, her eyes pinning me to the spot. It wasn’t the truth, but sometimes I had to fuck with her to remind her that she isn’t the only one who held the winning hand.

“You… what?” She picked up the knife and fork and casually began to eat, but I knew she was picturing all the ways she could slit my throat and get away with it. I loved when she was feisty. The sex was fire.

“You heard me.”

“Say it again, Cameron.” She was seething. “I want you to say that again.” Pointing the knife at me, she suddenly broke out in a smile, transforming her face with that megawatt dazzle.

“I wanted to fuck her again.” Leaning back, I put my hands behind my head, watching as her eyes trailed my body. Most men wouldn’t handle a hellcat, but I wasn’t most men and Lakes wasn’t just any hellcat.

She was my hellcat.

She shoved a forkful of eggs in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully before swallowing. “You know, if I didn’t know you better, I’d think you’re just trying to start shit so you can face fuck me later.”

“Lakey, why would I ever need an excuse for that? You’re mine, little vixen. I can fuck you ten ways from Sunday and all you’d do is take what I gave you.”

She stood, slamming her hands on the table. It’d be comical if I didn’t know what her tiny body was capable of. To any outsider, it must have looked ridiculous. This slip of a thing yelling at the huge brooding male across from her. But they didn’t know her. Not like I did.

“Get your ass on that bike. I’ll see you at home.” Throwing money on the table, she stalked off.

So much for breakfast being on Trixie, I guess.

Oh, yeah. Sex was gonna be fucking lit. I smiled at Trixie, giving her a little wave and watching her chest flush before it reached her cheeks. Hmmm… another day perhaps.

Adjusting my pants, I walked to the door just as my phone buzzed.

Tick-tock, Cameron.

Cam-1

Lakey-0