Chapter 31
Quinnly
Iwasted a few weeks going back and forth between Lincoln’s apartment and my house. I ate many meals with Naomi, and listened to her talk about her new life with Killian, but I couldn’t stomach anymore waiting around.
Florida was hot despite the early spring.
Georgia and Alabama ended up being a two-for-one special at the border, and that’s where I found him, my next plaything.
I’ve stalked him for a couple of weeks now, longer than I’ve stalked anyone.
He wasn’t on Conall’s list, but seeing what he did back in Kentucky made me wonder if he’d make a good mark.
Lincoln’s still away on a job, so it’s just me and my prey.
I like sharing with my Shadow, honestly it’s been…
enlightening. He’s very structured, and I’ve learned I might be a tad bit messy.
This guy, with his dark hair and sweet face. He looks okay, normal even and the pretty blonde woman who jumps in his arms after the rodeo tonight must be a good friend. She can’t be… welp, I guess she’s more than a friend, unless these friends make out like they’ve been apart for months on end.
There’s an older guy with her, and he looks away from the spectacle. A closer look suggests they might be siblings. They share the same blond hair and freckled skin. She laughs, a tinkling sound that feels pleasant to my ears.
The couple walks off together, talking about heading to a bar. It’s pretty nice out here, and the sounds of nature are far more appealing than the sounds from the rodeo. These people really get riled up.
Murmurs catch my attention, coming from the trailers where all the cowboys have been hanging around.
“How many you need, man?” A sketchy, slender guy asks the dark haired man who was just with the blonde girl. I don’t know where she went, but the guy must be in a hurry… or he has to pee really bad.
“Only a few,” the dark haired one says.
“Come on Levi,” the slender guy laughs, but it doesn’t sound funny at all. “You want some easy pussy these’ll do, but I know you better than that. You’re gonna want somethin’ to take the edge off and make it a party.”
Levi, huh. Not what I pictured. I think he’s more of a Sleaze-E. Like a guy who thinks he’s cool when in reality people are laughing at him.
“Alright, alright,” he chuckles. “Throw in a bit of blow then.”
“That’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout!” The slender one says, and now I’m very interested in his activities. Pulling the camera up on my phone, I snap a picture of the two and send it to Conall.
[9:57PM @HQ]
If this one’s yours, sorry.
He knows I’m not really sorry, but I do like to give the illusion sometimes. Lincoln’s changed me.
Levi, or Sleaze-E, walks hurriedly back to wherever he came from and I figure I’ll catch up with him eventually since he’s my actual target. Right now, I’ve got a new plaything, and my what a mess he’s gotten himself into.
He walks around with a limp, something that seems permanent. His hair’s a touch greasy, and he peddles his drugs to anyone who has cash. Teens, old people, adults, none of them look too happy to see him coming, but when he puts poison in their hands they seem to perk up.
He’s made his way back to the rodeo trailers, and either everyone’s out celebrating, or fast asleep in their trailers because I can hear every huff from an animal within a ten yard distance.
“You got any left for me?” I ask, sneaking up his backside and making him nearly jump out of his skin.
“Geez, Louise!” He laughs grabbing at his chest, “Well, for someone as pretty as you? I’ve got it all.”
Stepping forward, his thin body almost presses against mine, but I don’t move. He’s got a black eye that’s turning yellow and he could use a shave. His cowboy hat’s a little worse for wear, and his clothes seem… well used.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you ‘round here before,” he comments, “must be a buckle bunny, huh?”
I’m not sure what he means, and I don’t much care to find out. My scissors are in the pocket by my knee–I fucking love cargo pants–and he doesn’t notice the slow movements I use to get them. He’s too busy focusing on what he thinks he might gain from me, assuming I’m an easy mark.
I love this game.
“What can I say, I like to have a fun time,” I giggle, it’s slightly hysterical but I can’t help it. He’s got no idea what’s standing before him. I should feel a little guilty, but I can’t seem to muster up the feeling, even to fake it.
“What’s your pleasure, darlin’?” He asks, licking his lips and digging in his pockets.
“Violence,” I laugh, plunging my scissors into his side and watching him fall. His eyes round and he coughs a bit before scrambling away. Skipping over to where he’s managed to backpedal, like a crab at the beach, I rip my scissors out and sink them again into the soft flesh under his chin.
His head jerks back, lips beginning to coat red in his blood as he chokes.
It’s so dark out it’s almost impossible to see between the two trailers, but I can hear his wheezing breaths, smell the despair that rolls off his body.
The sucking sound my scissors make coming out of his throat is one of my favorite sounds.
“Unfortunately, I’ve been told violence isn’t edible,” I whisper, pulling him close to my face so I can see the moment he’s gone.
How his last memory will be of a pretty stranger that took his life.
His eyes gloss over, the light behind them extinguishing little by little. “So I guess you’ll have to do.”
He chokes out a sound before there’s nothing left but a sack of blood and bones. I really hoped he’d put up a little more of a fight, pity. Voices come from a few yards away and I sigh, “Usually I wouldn’t be so crass, but I’ve got to put you away for now, okay?”
The trailer beside me isn’t locked and I scoff, humans are stupid, and most of these mobile type homes have an undercarriage that seals pretty well.
Locating the panel on the bottom of the bathroom floor, I pull it up and step back out.
Shoving him under the trailer until I can’t maneuver him from out here, I head back inside and grip his shoulders from the access within the floor.
He moves over the dirt easily enough, and by the time the voices pass, his body is completely covered. Lincoln would be proud… I think.
Now, I need to find my other friend, Sleaze-E, and finish what I came here to do.
It’s been a few days, and though Lincoln’s sent me many text messages–that I’ve yet to respond to–my curiosity’s gotten the better of me.
Watching the blonde woman and Sleaze-E, I’ve grasped that maybe Lincoln and I are doing this whole relationship thing wrong.
We don’t kiss like they do, all the time, and in long stretches.
Then again, Lincoln has roofied me…
They’re fighting again, which they tend to also do pretty often. I can hear them from the soft grass I’ve perched on in the backyard.
A horse nibbled my hair yesterday, and that’s about as close as I’ve come to being seen here. I rubbed his snout and shooed him away, even though today I’ve been feeling… lonely.
I’ve gotten used to being with Lincoln for all my activities, and now that he’s gone I feel… empty. Kinda like when it finally hit me that Paps wasn’t coming home with me after the coroner took his body.
Does that mean I love him? Probably not, but hey, I’d like to think it’s possible. I’ve gotten this far in life, surely I could figure out how to love.
A loud bang comes from the front door, and I pause from picking single blades of grass to listen for any notion that someone’s coming this way.
Sleaze-E is grumbling under his breath before getting into a truck and roaring down the dirt road I walked up to get here. There’s a bar not far and the owners were very friendly, even after I told them I wasn’t here for the rodeo and didn’t understand why it was so important.
Walking back down the hill to the bar, I manage to secure a ride into town where I suspect Sleaze-E might be headed.
“The rodeo, darlin’?” The nice guy asks, he’s probably close to Lincoln’s age, but hey, what do I know. He runs a hand over his floppy hair, securing it with a cowboy hat and nods toward a truck that could use a paint job.
“That’s the happening place I hear,” I smile, offering him the smile Paps made me rehearse over and over after my stint in the hospital.
He chuckles and nods, opening my door for me and letting me slip onto the bench seat. He doesn’t try to talk to me again. I think he’s got some stuff on his mind, as do I.
Like, how will Sleaze-E run? Will he laugh at me as if he knows a ‘little woman like me’ couldn’t possibly bring a guy like him down? Since Lincoln’s not with me, I’m free to be as messy as I want, as long as I keep it somewhat contained.
The guy pulls up to the gate of the arena and smiles, remaining blessedly silent as I exit the truck. Maybe my smile needs some work because he looks a little nervous…
With a shrug, I walk into the arena in hopes of finding my new toy. Lady Luck seems to be on my side, or maybe I’m Lady Luck and I bless those around me with my actions. The thought makes me giggle and the sound travels, eerie considering he won’t be able to see me from where I’m standing.
There’s hardly any other sounds happening in here, and I’ve not seen anyone other than Sleaze-E since I walked in.
He stops at the sound of my giggle, and his shoulders lift a smidge as he slowly turns around.
His head weaves to the left and right, searching for me in vain before he turns back around and keeps walking.
I could get this over with quickly, but I do so enjoy playing with my prey, and I’ve got the time. He pulls open a door and scoffs at whatever he finds. “Oh. It’s you.”
“It’s who?” I quietly wonder aloud, he doesn’t sound too excited to see whoever it is, and the other voice doesn’t seem to be happy either.
“You shouldn’t be here,” the feminine voice replies, it’s clipped and stern like how teachers used to talk to me.