Chapter 8
EIGHT
KAT
I’m mad enough after dinner that I can nearly move the body myself. And this one’s a big guy. A teacher. A fucking teacher, doing those despicable things to kids.
Okay, I can’t quite move it myself, but I’m definitely taking more weight than usual. We drop him next to the well, my breath coming in puffs after going through the rough ground of the woods.
‘Feet first?’ I ask Liam as we unwrap the tarp.
‘Head first is easier, I think. Weightier.’ Liam slices the fingertips from the body. We knocked his teeth out earlier.
‘I think he’s pretty weighty all over, to be fair.’ Shivering in the cold evening air, I glance in the direction of my parents’ house. Do I even want it, or do I only want to keep the bodies hidden? ‘Do you think we can move the bodies somewhere else?’
Liam shakes his head.
‘Not since we added the concrete. We’d need power tools and some kind of crane system to lift the pieces. We could pour more concrete and just hope no one ever digs it up. Find a new place for the rest of them.’
Sitting against the mossy edge of the well, I rub my temples. Stress is giving me a headache.
Liam tosses the fingertips to be munched by the woodland creatures before we add this fucker to the well full of others.
Another man who hurt the boy I once knew.
Him and so many others. I know I should probably feel some sort of revulsion at spilling his blood, or at the crunch of his broken body as he hits the concrete deep below. There’s nothing.
They deserve it.
Liam rolls up the tarp into an impressively small bundle, packing it away with the knives to sanitise later. Not at home. Never at home.
We take a few minutes to wipe ourselves down with medical wipes to remove any further evidence, then add them to the rucksack.
My jumper dress is wholly unsuitable for the evening. Unfortunately, the teacher’s blood sprayed on my original outfit, so I had to rake around in the boot for an alternative dinner outfit.
And look at how well dinner went.
A balls-up from the start.
I really thought my parents would have at least shown a modicum of decency toward Liam. That some small part of their snobbish ways would stop them from treating him the way they did. But no. I expected too much.
And now I need to find a fuckload of cash to buy this stupid house I always hated so they don’t find out that I’m a murderer.
What a palaver.
Tugging my dress a little lower on my thighs, I sit next to Liam on the edge of the well. We still need to add the concrete, but we’ll need to go home and get the mix and the buckets.
‘I don’t suppose you’re hiding a couple of million somewhere?’ I say, leaning my head against Liam’s shoulder.
‘Oh yeah. Tucked in my back pocket, want to check?’
‘I have about half in my trust fund. I try not to use it because it feels like it takes bribery to stay in line, but I can use it for this,’ I say.
Liam nearly falls back into the well. ‘You have HALF? Jeez. I have less than a grand in the bank.’
‘I also have some jewellery my Nana left me that we might be able to shift, not that I think there’s much money in jewellery these days.’
Liam shifts uncomfortably beside me. ‘You can’t sell all your things.’
‘As much as I love my Nana, I don’t need the jewellery.’ Grazing my fingers over the heart stone necklace I wear, I smile. ‘This is the only one I need. And maybe a ring one day…’
Liam grins. ‘Say the word, baby, and I’ll have you to the registry office in the morning.’
It’s tempting.
To jump to our happily ever after.
‘I want nothing more than that. But we need to finish this. I see Sam in my nightmares. He’s begging me to make them stop.
And I see you in that cottage, and I just can’t let them keep doing it.
To go to death peacefully in old age, lauded as upright members of society.
They don’t deserve that.’ The nightmares have been increasing in frequency and darkness as the months have gone on since Sam’s death. This is the only way to quieten them.
‘I have them too,’ Liam admits. It’s not news to me, though; I’ve seen him lashing out in his sleep. I’ve heard the whimpers and cries that never come to the surface in the day.
‘Then we figure this out together. The kills. The well. All of it.’
‘Even if you have to sell your Nana’s jewellery?’
‘She’d approve of it to save my hot boyfriend and me. Nana was partial to a bad-boy type. My Grandad was a menace, from what I remember.’ Threading my fingers through his, I sigh.
‘I don’t think it’s doable in six weeks,’ he says, tracing his thumb over the back of my hand.
‘It’s going to have to be.’
The sun is low among the trees, throwing dappled light through the woods. My favourite time of day here now, as it has always been.
‘I could fight again,’ Liam says, his words soft.
Narrowing my eyes, I look at him. ‘What do you mean, fight?’
He chews his lip for a few seconds before responding. ‘That’s how I’ve made money since I turned eighteen.’
‘By… fighting people?’
‘Yeah. I could do one more. A big one. The purses for those are high. There are multipliers for the battle royale-style fights.’
Letting go of his hand, I face him properly, scanning his face for some sign of a joke. There’s none. ‘Who in their right mind is paying people to beat each other up?’
‘Not great people, to be fair. But the wins can add up. It’s why I haven’t needed to work since we met.’ Liam runs a hand through his dark, messy hair as my gaze catches on his scars. Some are much fresher than others. I’d put them all down to abuse. Clearly, I’ve been an idiot.
‘So you get paid for kicking some guy’s ass? Like potentially house-buying money?’
‘It’s a bit more than beating up. It’s a last man standing situation.’ Liam suddenly seems awfully interested in the ground, avoiding my stare.
‘Are you saying you fight until someone dies?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Are you fucking insane? No. Absolutely not. You’re saying you’ve KILLED people?’ There’s a buzzing in my head that hurts at the idea.
‘You do realise we’re sitting next to a well containing four people I’ve also killed, right?’
That’s different. That’s for justice. Not a way for rich fucks to exploit others. ‘It’s not the same.’
‘We all knew what we were signing up for. If you win big enough, you can get a whole new start.’ Liam finally looks at me.
‘Or die. I can’t let you die for a fucking house. I’d rather spend forever in jail than see you dead.’ I mean it. Even if it means not being together.
Liam stands, pulling me to him, but I can’t melt into him the way I usually do, with fury running through my veins. ‘And I’d rather die than see you spend one minute paying for my revenge.’
‘If you die, the result will be the same either way. Stop being such an asshat. This isn’t a solution, end of story.’ Turning, I make my way through the trees, anger propelling me forward.
‘Kat!’ Liam comes after me, grabbing my arm. I swing round to face him, my face pulsing with heat.
‘You never even told me about this. In all our nights together, we spoke about everything. But you hid this from me. Why?’
Liam swallows and looks to the sky. ‘You know enough horrific parts of my story; I didn’t want to add another. I want to be good enough for you.’
‘You are good enough for me already.’
‘Let me do this. For us?’
‘You want my blessing to go and get yourself killed? Never. You can’t go back on it once you’re lying on some cold slab and I’m having to identify you. Promise me you won’t.’
I don’t like the way he shifts and looks to the side before nodding. Eventually he sighs and says, ‘I promise.’
The sun is still glittering through the trees as I turn and stomp my way through the woods, my head thumping from too much angst in one day. How the fuck was killing a guy the least problematic part of today?
Insane.