Chapter 24 - Ryker
TWENTY-FOUR
RYKER
It’s a shame to cover the cuts up with bandages. I don’t think I went deep enough that he’ll need stitches, but at least one of them will scar.
He’ll have my mark on him forever.
“That stings,” Liam complains as I wash off the blood and use isopropyl alcohol to clean the cuts.
“Would you rather it get infected?” I ask. I cover another cut with bandaging. “Your friend will really hate me then.”
Liam grumbles. “No, I don’t want it to get infected, but it still stings. It’s like that shit my nanny used to use when I was growing up, except that was all red all over the place.” He ponders, considering. “I sort of liked the way it looked.”
It takes me a few seconds to figure out what he’s talking about. “You mean iodine?” I shake my head with amusement. “Also, this sting should be nothing compared to the cuts. I don’t know why you’re complaining.”
“Because that was at the height of passion,” Liam says, looking intently at me. “It didn’t really hurt. I mean, it does now, but it was great when it was happening.”
My heart tightens in an unfamiliar way, something I’ve never felt before.
“I could have killed you,” I point out, keeping my voice light.
Liam grins widely. “Nah. You’re way too careful. All the cameras around here, and Gran saw you earlier today, and hell, Maggie knows about you too. She would definitely mention you to the cops if I got murdered.”
I chuckle, and I don’t tell him how close I came to doing it anyway.
He’d been completely, utterly mine in that moment. The devotion in his eyes, the blood in the air, the red all over his pale skin, and his heart, waiting for me to touch it.
How would it feel in my hands, beating just for me?
“And I’m not a murderer,” I add. “That’s the main reason I didn’t kill you.”
“Mhm,” Liam agrees. “Definitely not a murderer.” He breathes out slowly. “You definitely didn’t come close to telling me details only a murderer would know, either.” He reaches up for me. “I deserve kisses.”
I lean down to indulge him, because apparently I like spoiling rich, stupid brats. He wraps his arms around my shoulders to keep me in place as we kiss, like he thinks I might disappear on him.
I really should.
Sticking around is stupid.
I thrive in anonymity. I never want to be in one place for too long, because that gives people a chance to know me.
I bite down on Liam’s lip, and he moans, arching his back in a way that must tug at his wounds.
“Idiot,” I mutter, pulling away entirely. “Don’t hurt yourself more. Your body is mine now.”
His eyes shine as he gazes up at me in adoration. “Promise?” he asks.
“Yes,” I answer, and even I’m not sure if it’s a lie.
I imagine somebody else hurting him, though, and that same rage fills me, the one that had me beating up a stranger in the back of a nightclub alley.
Once I finish patching Liam up, I put the first aid kit away and lie down on the bed next to him. He immediately snuggles up to me, completely ignoring my earlier warning about being careful.
“I’ll be really mad if the next time I’m in town, you’ve lost half your body weight to gangrene,” I say.
Liam scoffs at me. “If they start getting even a little red, I’ll get some antibiotics called in. I’m not that stupid. I like my body like it is, please and thank you very much. Even if you did add some art to it.”
“I had a vision. And a beautiful canvas.” I reach for the nearby remote and turn the TV across from the bed on. “Make it go to the news,” I say, handing the remote to Liam.
He obeys, clicking at least two different menu buttons before the TV starts playing an actual station. “You watch the news?”
“How else would I keep up with what’s happening in the world?” I ask while Liam browses through the millions of channels he has to find a news station.
“Why would you want to?” he retorts.
The current news story is about the city’s bid to renovate some youth center, with all the interviewees listing the great benefits the center brings.
“See?” Liam points out. “This is boring. Who cares?”
I snort. “They care, apparently. Maybe you can make a nice donation to the center and help the underprivileged.”
Liam watches the TV for a moment, then shrugs. “Sure, why not? I have some money earmarked to give away. I can’t ever figure out what’s worthwhile or not, but I guess helping out underprivileged children is as good a cause as any.”
“New Bristol must have a lot of these places.” I think back to Peytonsville, where most of the buildings haven’t been touched since the nineties at best. “Small towns don’t get youth centers. Hell, they barely get libraries.”
“Well, maybe I’ll donate to a few of them too, then,” Liam replies.
We fall silent, Liam simply resting against me.
The program cuts back to the two news anchors.
“Now on to crime. Our first story for tonight: police have discovered the body of Isaac Kutchner, strangled in his own home.”
It’s the same victim I’d read about earlier.
A picture of the victim—alive and smiling—is posted on the screen. He’s young and dark-haired, with a wide nose and strong jaw.
I gaze down at Liam.
“I didn’t leave a calling card,” he says with a shrug. “And I made a mess before I left.”
I sigh loudly. “I didn’t ask.” After a beat, I add, “What kind of a mess?”
“You told me not to lie to you,” Liam points out. “Lying by omission counts, too. And I dunno, I ransacked the place. It was kind of fun, actually.”
“Find anything interesting?” I ask. “I only meet people out hitchhiking or camping. They don’t have a lot of stuff.”
“A few things, but I didn’t take any souvenirs.” He sighs. “Which was a pity. He had some neat daggers on display. I should invest in my own collection.”
I gently stroke the back of Liam’s neck. “You’ll end up stabbing yourself. Stick to the ropes.”
“Probably a good idea,” he agrees. “But I should start a collection of something. Maggie says my apartment is too boring, but I had an interior designer decorate it. I like it.”
“A collection of dangerous weapons will make you more suspicious,” I point out. “Maggie probably means you should put up more posters or paintings.”
The news doesn’t have a lot of details about the strangulation. The news anchors implore the public to call law enforcement if they have any information.
“Do you think this is related to the murder of Senator Savage’s nephew?” the female anchor asks. “He was strangled too, right?”
The male anchor shrugs. “Unless the police put out a statement about it, I wouldn’t want to speculate.”
I scoff loudly at that. “Okay, so they don’t want to speculate, but they just speculated on live TV. Nice little loophole.”
“Uh-huh,” Liam says. “I’m sure Cereals & Serials will have something to say about it soon. We should make sure to listen to the next episode. They’ll do all sorts of speculating.”
“That’s why that podcast is trash,” I point out. “It’s more of a true crime gossip podcast than anything serious.” I squeeze his neck lightly. “Don’t go on that show again.”
“But they want me to,” he protests, but he deflates when he looks at my face. “Yeah, okay, fine. I won’t.”
I grab his hair and give his head a small shake, eliciting a groan from him.
“You wanted me to teach you? I told you already. Don’t draw attention to yourself.
If you go on that show, you might accidentally say something incriminating.
And it’ll be recorded, broadcast to hundreds of thousands of listeners. ”
“I said I wouldn’t!” Liam says. “Or any other ones. I’m laying low anyway. Well. Mostly. If I stopped going out, it would be suspicious.”
“If you keep escalating, it’ll be suspicious,” I point out. “Jesus, brat. That’s what, three in under a year?”
“Four,” Liam says smugly.
I twist my fingers in his hair, and he yelps. “You aren’t helping yourself.”
“I needed something to do while you were away,” he says. “I’m bored. I can’t even masturbate to pass the time. But okay, I get it. I need to slow down, or I’m going to get caught. And I don’t want to get caught.”
“I’m not going to help you if you get caught,” I say. Liam pouts, and I dig my fingers into his scalp. “I’m serious. You thought it was bad when I left you on the side of the road? I won’t come back if you’re under real suspicion.”
The anger rushes through me again, imagining Liam under arrest and charged for crimes he definitely committed.
Hurt flickers across his expression. “So you’d… what? Abandon me for real? Even after cutting me up, even after saying I’m yours?”
“You’ll just have to not do anything stupid,” I growl. “You want me here with you? Don’t get caught.” I kiss him, devouring his mouth, and Liam lets out a loud moan. “Yeah, I like how needy you are, you brat, but I’m not risking myself for you. If you can’t control yourself, we’re done.”
“I won’t get caught,” Liam replies, breathless. “And I’ll take a break for a little while. Okay?”
I’m torn between being glad that he’s listening and wanting him to flourish.
How many would I have killed in a year, if I didn’t have to worry about being caught?
More than one, that’s for sure.
More than two, probably.
Maybe the reason I isolate myself isn’t because I long for anonymity.
Maybe it’s because I don’t trust myself not to lose control. The fewer people around me, the less likely I am to kill someone.
What would it be like if I trusted Liam with all of this, and we took down a man together? If I’d given him what he wanted at the campsite, and we’d carved up Jimmy and made him scream?
Killing him with a single, quick cut had been so unsatisfying.
“Good,” I growl. “If you’re very, very well behaved, maybe I’ll take you on a proper vacation with me.” I smile. “On the Appalachian Trail.”
“I will absolutely not behave, just to avoid that trail,” Liam says without hesitation. “You are not getting me out of civilization for months. I would wither away and die.”
“Somebody would die,” I agree. “And I bet you wouldn’t miss civilization. You don’t even like most of the people in your life.”
“I like toilets. And proper showers. And Gran and Gramps,” Liam counters, snuggling back up in my arms. “But maybe I could be persuaded to go into nature more often… for the right price, of course.”
“You have more money than I do,” I point out with a smirk.
Liam scowls at me. “You know what I mean.”
I kiss his lips gently. “Do I? I’m not a killer. But did you see how many hikers regularly disappear? Those mountains are vast, and it’s so hard to find anyone who purposefully cut themselves off from civilization…”
He shivers, leaning in to kiss me hard. “When you put it that way… Maybe.” His eyes go distant for a moment, and I wonder what he’s thinking. “It’s not like anyone but Gran would really notice if I bailed. Maybe Maggie, but she’d mostly just be pissed. She wouldn’t miss me.”
I don’t think that’s actually true. Unlike Liam, Maggie might actually have a conscience of some sort, and she did give me a drunken speech about taking care of Liam.
If she didn’t care, she wouldn’t have bothered.
Not that I give a shit either way.
“You can tell them all you’re taking a social media sabbatical,” I suggest. “It’ll be your New Year’s resolution next year. Several months away, finding yourself. Or finding corpses. Whatever.”
“We’ll see,” Liam says. “I’ll think about it. But that much time in nature sounds like torture, and I’m not into torturing myself.”
I run a finger over one of the bandages. “I think you might be.”
He rolls his eyes. “Okay, touché. Fine. Like I said, I’ll think about it.” He eyes me. “But could you really tolerate me for months? Or would I end up one of those bodies that no one ever finds? Because it’s one thing to go out in the middle of great sex. It’s another to go out in a boring way.”
I laugh, louder than I mean to. “Oh, you brat. If you die, it’ll definitely be in the middle of great sex, with beautiful patterns on your body. I’d jerk off to that image for years. Tragic though it would be, of course.”
“Definitely tragic,” Liam agrees. “I’m going to end up with so many scars, you’ll ruin me for anyone else, aren’t I?”
“Or you’ll have a great story to tell future lovers as you cry into their arms about how abused you were.” I grin. “I assume in that scenario, you strangled me and dropped my body off the side of a cliff somewhere.”
Liam scoffs loudly. “I can’t carry you. I’d have to roll you off the side of the cliff.”
We both burst out laughing, and Liam contorts his body so much that he winces and blood seeps through one of the bandages.
“Idiot,” I say between chuckles. “Lie back and I’ll fix it.”
“Mm, you take such good care of me,” Liam replies, looking smug as he rests back on the bed. “You should feed me and get me something to drink, too.”
I kiss his lips gently. “Sure. I have to make sure you’re in top shape to go hiking with me.”
He groans. “I would throw something at you if I could, you know that?” He grabs the remote. “Watch out or I’ll toss this at your head.”
“Careful. You want me to stay the night, don’t you?” I ask.
Liam brightens, peering up at me. “You’re going to stay the night? We can sleep in and order breakfast and watch movies.”
“Sure,” I respond. “Now stop wiggling around before you hurt yourself more.”
I never thought I’d be the kind of person who wanted to spend the night with anyone.
Liam isn’t exactly like everyone else though, now is he?