Chapter Eleven #2
Valen had dug out a path to his shed, but the snow was still coming over the top of my boots. The cold air bit at my cheeks as we crunched through, and I breathed a sigh of relief when he unlocked the big wooden door.
I gasped when I stepped inside. The space was warm, heated by a rock fireplace, and filled with the rich scent of pine and cedar. But it was the furniture that made my mouth fall open.
Off to one side was a dining table with intricate carvings all around the edges almost like frozen water. It looked like it belonged in a museum, not in a shed out in the mountains. Next to it were matching chairs, the same hand-carved designs on the backs.
“Valen…” I ran my fingers over the smooth surface of the table. “Did you make these?”
“Finished last week.” He moved over to what looked like his workbench, where several of those figurines he liked to carve were lined up. “Wedding gift for a couple in Seattle. They wanted something that could last generations.”
I walked around the table, taking in every single detail. It was beyond beautiful. Every curve of the design flowed perfectly. “How long did this take you?”
“Three months.” He picked up a piece of sandpaper and walked over to what I realized was a wedding arch. “I’ll make about twelve grand from it.”
“Wow. It’s honestly breathtaking. Did you learn this in…?” I stopped myself from finishing the sentence.
Great, way to ruin it, Seraphine.
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Prison? No, but they did have a woodworking shop. Kept me sane. Gave me something to focus on besides rage.” He stepped back, looking over the arch he’d been sanding.
“Before prison, I was a contractor, but I did carpentry on the side. Easy stuff like cabinets and built-ins.” He wiped his hand over the arch, wiping away any imperfections.
“But this, I love. Creating something beautiful. In prison, everything is ugly. Gray walls, fluorescent lights. I thought I was going to die in there. And now I get to make things that will outlive me.”
My heart ached at his tone. There was something in it I hadn’t noticed before. Out here, in this shed, surrounded by his creations, he was at peace.
“It’s incredible.” I meant it. The pieces that surrounded us were works of art.
“What about these?” I picked up one of the figures.
Most of them looked almost comical with large eyes and exaggerated features.
Others were disturbing, twisted and almost monstrous.
But scattered throughout were several rabbits with gentle features, not like the others. “What’s with the different styles?”
Valen’s jaw clenched, and he was quiet for a moment. I could see anger flashing in his eyes, and I set the rabbit figure down. “Didn’t mean to pry. You don’t have to tell me.” I clasped my hands together and took a step back.
“It’s fine.” He ran his fingers through his hair.
The silence stretched between us, and I regretted opening my mouth. But a moment later he picked up one of the monstrous figures, his fingers trailing over the twisted mouth.
“My brother.” He held it out to me, and I grabbed it with shaky fingers. “He was never normal. Even as kids. He was fixated on being exactly like me. Wore the same clothes. Tried to talk like me. He copied everything I did. It was an obsession I didn’t understand.”
He grabbed the bunny figure, sadness etched across his face.
“My sister Abby. She was obsessed with rabbits.” He smiled at the figurine.
“He killed her.” The words came out haunted, like he was trying to detach himself from the memory.
“Made it look like an accident. She was found at the bottom of the stairs with a broken neck. He’d been the only one home with her that day. ”
“Oh, my God, Valen.” I placed my hand on his arm, trying to offer him the comfort I knew he needed.
“She was closest to me growing up. Cyrus hated that. Hated that she loved me and only tolerated him. That she went out her way to exclude him because he was so… strange.”
Valen touched the scar on his face, his fingers trailing over it.
“When Cyrus found out I’d gotten a football scholarship and would be leaving for Texas, he couldn’t handle it.
This was right before Abby… and the others.
I was driving us home from a family celebration.
He grabbed the wheel before I could stop him, making us crash.
I broke my arm, and they had to put a metal bar in my leg. After that, no more football.”
My breath caught. “What about your parents…?”
“Shipped him off to boarding school instead of prison. Covered up the car accident… covered up Abby, rather than deal with the truth.” There was an edge to his voice now, anger rolling off him in waves.
“He got institutionalized soon after. He blamed me for letting our parents send him away. Said I betrayed him.”
Jesus Christ. Cyrus was crazier than I’d realized. This wasn’t just a sick man who liked to kill innocent women. This was a man with an obsession with his brother. “He’s actually insane,” I murmured.
I studied the twisted face Valen had carved, seeing the resemblance now. The same bone structure as Valen but warped into something terrifying.
“This is what he is.” Valen grabbed the figure from me and set it back on the table. “He destroys everything. And we’re going to stop him.”
“So, what do we do? Wait for him to find us?” My heart thudded in my chest, and I couldn’t keep the nervous tremble out of my voice.
This was the first time we’d discussed any plans; we’d established we were partners, but hadn’t gone into any details.
Talking about it made it real, and I had to accept the fact that this was going to happen, and it was going to be soon.
Valen was quiet for a long moment, his fingers tracing the rabbit’s ears. “I’ve been thinking a lot about this. Cyrus is smart, but he’s also predictable. He won’t want to just kill you quietly; he’ll want an audience, to make a show of it. Because you’re the key to all of this.”
“That’s… very comforting.” I laughed, the sound hollow. My stomach churned at the thought of Cyrus getting anywhere near me.
“It’s an advantage.” He set the rabbit down carefully. “He’ll want you to suffer, so he’ll take his time. And he’ll want me to be there. Which means he’ll need us both alive until the very end.”
A chill ran through me that had nothing to do with the snow outside.
Two weeks ago, I’d thought my plan was easy.
Announce my arrival on social media, wait in my cabin for the killer to show up and then shoot him.
It wasn’t until now that I realized how stupid that plan had actually been.
God knew what I would have suffered through if I hadn’t ended up on Valen’s mountain.
“We’re going to give him what he thinks he wants, then turn the tables on him.” Valen gripped my chin, tilting my head so he could look into my eyes. “He’s no doubt spent years planning this. But he doesn’t know about us. What we’ve become.”
Heat spread to my cheeks at his tone. “What we’ve become?”
“Partners.” He leaned down, pressing his lips against mine.
I melted into him, letting him control the kiss at his pace. Because if it was up to me, I’d be ripping his clothes off and jumping on him.
He pulled back, both of us panting. “Cyrus thinks I’m just a broken ex-con and you’re a terrified victim. But he’s fucking wrong.” He lifted me up, placing me on the edge of his worktable. “We’ll end him. No more hiding.”
For the first time in a long time since this horrible nightmare had started, I wasn’t afraid anymore. Because for once, I wasn’t alone. Cyrus would come for me, for us, but instead of finding two victims, he’d find two people who had nothing left to lose and everything to fight for.
“Yes.” I nodded as he unbuttoned my pants and dragged them down my legs.
“Now, no more talking, little lamb,” he murmured, trailing kisses across my jaw. “I’m hungry.” He hooked his arms under my legs, pushing me down until I was lying flat on the table.
All rational thoughts fled as his lips pressed against my center.
Because the moment Valen Creed touched me, thinking straight was downright impossible.
And right now, I was perfectly fine with that.