35. Stevie
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
STEVIE
Sebastian pulls the car into the back of the dark parking lot at the old library downtown.
The trees hang low, casting the same eerie sentiment as a few weeks ago when all this began.
There is only one more event scheduled before this killing season is complete, and I couldn’t be more eager for it to end.
“Here we go again.” Sebastian grabs my hand from the center console, threading his fingers through mine. So much has happened since the last time we were here.
I blow out a puff of air. “I’m ready. After this, we only have one more event to go.”
He slides the car into park, then turns to face me. “We won’t be able to wear the SEs tonight because of security. But Christian will be nearby.”
Rubbing my lips together, I nod in acknowledgment. Then Sebastian exits the car and walks around the front to open my door. My heels hit the hard asphalt as I step out. Together, we walk across to the back entrance of the library. As we ascend the short stoop, the heavy metal door creaks open.
“Good evening,” Clara greets us with the same smug, fake smile permanently plastered on her caked-on makeup face.
“Good to see you again,” Sebastian greets her first.
I follow close behind him into the building, offering her a curt smile.
The hard close of the door behind us cuts through my chest.
“Right this way.” She steps in front and gestures for us to follow.
I notice there isn’t a security station to search us this time.
Maybe Silas doesn’t think it’s needed. But then my eyes loop across the dark hallway to find a man standing in the corner with dark clothes on and a gun hanging at his side.
The security guard’s prying eyes follow each one of my moves as I follow Sebastian and Clara down the hall.
Clara takes us into the large dining room.
The cold stone walls and bookshelves in the corner remind me of that first night.
My pulse quickens with a mix of emotions.
Bob, Dan, Harry, and Silas all sit around the grand oak dining table.
The air is thick—it’s suffocating, and I know right away something is off.
Sebastian gives my hand a quick double squeeze to let me know he’s reading the room the same way I am. Whatever it is, adrenaline floods my veins, because there’s no going back.
“Hello,” Silas greets us.
Clara pulls out two chairs at the end of the table.
Sebastian smiles at the group, preparing to play the part.
“Good to see you guys. Looks like everyone had an eventful wine country weekend.” Then he gestures for me to take the seat next to him while he sits close to my right.
His leg pushes against mine as if he’s not close enough for his liking and keeps his hand firmly on my thigh.
The men each glance at each other their eyes circle back to us.
“We did.” Silas clasps his hands on the table. “But it seems to be we’re missing a few members. Don’t you think?”
Oh my god. Do they know?
Sebastian’s forehead furrows. “Yeah, where’s everyone else? Aren’t these events mandatory?”
Silas shrugs, arching a brow. “We don’t know.” A dense silence surrounds us before Silas speaks again. “Wendy and Larry have only been with us a few seasons, but Pete has been a member of the Black Veil Society for some time, so his disappearance is unsettling.”
“Is it common for members to vanish like that?”
“No,” Silas answers coldly with his lips pursed.
My heart picks up speed, fearful of the direction this conversation is going.
“Okay?” Sebastian says. “So, what should we do?”
Silas leans back in his chair, clearing his throat. “I’m in a bit of a predicament. My other members…” His arm comes out to wave across the air at the killers who are seated with us. “Need to have reassurance their disappearances have nothing to do with the two of you joining.”
Oh fuck. My lips part to suck in a gulp of air.
Sebastian’s shoulders square, and he sits straighter in the chair. “Are you accusing us of something, Silas?”
“Not quite.” Silas shakes his head, his finger gliding the rim of his whiskey glass. “Where did you say you got our card again?”
“Andrew Hughes.”
“And how did you know Mr. Hughes?”
“We went to college together.” The lie easily rolls off Sebastian’s tongue.
“Ahh.” Silas nods.
Sebastian continues. “I also was a part of the cabin women’s ring this fall. I didn’t take part in it, but I helped him organize it.”
“Of course.” Silas glances my direction. “To be honest, I trust you both, but we also have another loose end that needs to be tightened up.”
“What do you mean?” Sebastian asks.
“Well, you two must prove yourselves once again. We need to be certain and have our minds put at ease.” He scratches his chin. “And what better way than to have the two of you tie up that loose end for us?”
What?
Sebastian’s eyes narrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Silas glances toward an old wooden door. “Clara.”
The door swings open. Clara appears, pushing a rolling metal cart with a man tied down on top of it. He’s lying on his back with his arms and legs secured at his sides and his mouth taped shut. A gash on his forehead suggests someone knocked him out.
Oh my god.
My stomach drops.
Sebastian jerks his head toward Silas. “What the hell is this?”
The man’s bound mouth muffles the screams while the rest of his body fights against the restraints.
Silas stands with his arms wide, presenting the victim to us. “This is Louis. He is—was a member of our great Black Veil Society.”
A chuckle comes from one of the monsters at the table with us, but I keep my focus on Silas.
“Now, Louis has caused a lot of trouble for us in recent months.” Silas bends to get close to his ear and slaps the side of his face. “It has not been fun. And not to mention one of the sloppiest serial killers I’ve ever encountered.”
“He was going to get caught sooner or later, and that would have brought us all down,” Bob adds, his voice laced with disdain. He must not have liked Louis much.
Silas straightens his back, eyeing Sebastian and me. “So, here’s my predicament. Since you two have only recently joined us, trust is still unstable. And we’ve had this minor problem on our hands for a while.”
“What does this have to do with us?” Sebastian counters confidently. “Looks to me like this was an issue on your hands before Annabel and I joined.”
“It would look like that, wouldn’t it? But since I need to rid my group of this problem”—he gestures to Louis—“I thought why not have one of you take care of him in front of us to prove you’re one of us.”
The palms of my hands are clammy as a cold sweat rips through my body. My eyes fly to Sebastian, but he doesn’t look at me.
The men seated around the table comment under their breath with approval.
Sebastian shrugs. “Fine by me.” He goes to stand, but Silas shakes his head slowly in response.
“Not you.” His voice is dark. “Her.”
And then my soul leaves my body.
The room becomes blurry, and the chatter silences.
“Absolutely not.” Sebastian stands to protest.
“Unfortunately, you don’t have a choice,” Silas scolds, then he turns his beady eyes on me.
I squeeze my eyes together, trying to refocus my vision.
He continues challenging me. “You seem to me like you’re soft.
Not the type of woman who’s a vicious serial killer.
Are you like-minded like us? Or are you simply along for the ride? ”
Sebastian’s arm shoots out, shoving Silas to the side, preventing him from getting too close to me. “I thought we weren’t allowed to kill other members?”
“First, you do not want to do that again,” he threatens Sebastian, but Sebastian doesn’t back down, stepping in front of me.
“And second, things changed as soon as members began disappearing into thin air,” he argues.
“The way I see it, it’s either you two or him.
My assumption, given his track record, is that he is the one who has something to do with the unrest. But I need to be sure, and that is why his life needs to end. ”
Sebastian takes a breath—his jaw clenches with anger. He opens his mouth to speak, but my hand darts out to grab his shoulder.
Shit. What am I doing?
“It’s all right,” I whisper. “I can do what he’s asking.”
Sebastian shakes his head, his eyes wide with panic. “You shouldn’t have to do this, Annabel. We’ve already proven ourselves to this group.”
Our desperate eyes locked on one another. “I know. But we have nothing to hide. We want to belong to a group of like-minded people, right? The support and protection of the community are important to us,” I croak out, air trapped in my throat as I swallow my terror.
Sebastian’s eyebrows knit. “You shouldn’t have to prove anything to him.”
I force a smile, my tears pooling beneath my eyelids. “But I do.”
“As much as I enjoy witnessing the pain of you two obsessive lovers, we don’t have all night,” Silas warns. “She needs to do it now, and that’s final. If she doesn’t…you do not want to know what will happen.”
From the corner of my eye, I catch Sebastian’s hands balling into tight fists at his sides.
I wish I could express to him how much his protection means to me, but right now all I have is myself.
We need to get to the last event so we can eliminate every one of them.
And if I don’t kill this serial killer lying on the table, it might bring this entire operation down.
“I need a gun,” I demand, turning my attention to Silas.
He waves Clara over. She steps forward, handing me a handgun, a lot like Sebastian’s with a silencer screwed onto the barrel.
With heavy steps, I walk around to the front of the table, my back to the group.
Sebastian’s focus burns holes through my skin as he watches in frustration, unable to help me.
The man’s garbled sounds become louder the closer to his head I get.
My fingers grip the handle of the gun as I take the position directly behind his head.
Even though this man is a serial killer, a monster, it doesn’t mean I’m at the point where I’m comfortable looking him in the eyes when I blow his brains out.
My hands shake at my sides. Not from holding a live firearm, I grew up around guns, and my dad taught Lux and me how to use one for safety when we were in high school.
“Annabel,” Sebastian’s voice captures my attention. My eyes dart over to him standing by the table about ten feet from me.
He gives me a confident nod, mouthing the words, You can fucking do this.
The room falls silent. It hits my chest with a powerful weight.
I suck in a deep breath and line the barrel of the gun up with the back of the man’s head. Then I rub my lips together, fight to keep my shaky arms still, and quickly filter through all the tips my dad taught me.
His voice plays in my head like a recording.
“Never take your eyes off the target.”
“Don’t forget about the force from the kickback.”
“Breathe in first, and as you’re blowing out, gently pull the trigger.”
I plant my feet shoulder-length apart onto the hard cement floor, stabilizing them, my eyes bore into the man’s dark hair, then I suck in another deep breath.
Hold for one…
Two.
Three.
I exhale, pulling the trigger.
The room suddenly becomes blurry as the shot vibrates through my ears.
Blood sprays everywhere—the floor, the walls, and my shoes.
The wind is knocked out of me, but two stable arms wrap around my body, hoisting me up.
I smell leather and know it’s Sebastian.
He lets the gun fall to the floor behind us and pulls both arms around him.
But I remain aware that our reaction is being watched, judged by Silas and the other members.
“Fuck, I’m so proud of you,” Sebastian whispers in my ear.
Then I wriggle myself down, high on adrenaline, and turn to Silas. “We’re not proving ourselves again.”
Silas returns my demand with a Cheshire smile and an obnoxiously slow clap. “Now, mark him,” he says, sliding a knife from his back pocket.
The X.
I quickly recall the position and placement of the markings on my patients and briefly remember how Silas described it to us.
Then I carefully remove the knife from his hand and trudge back over to the body.
I pull up the fabric on his shorts to reveal his inner thigh, then grip the knife and carve into his skin.
“Now that we’ve got that out of the way.” Silas’s joyful attitude makes me want to vomit. “We can move on to more fun things. Clara! Bring out the wine!”
I hand the knife back to him, my body still trembling from the high of what happened.
What I did.
Sebastian clutches my hand tightly as he leads me back to the table. Before I sit, I look over my shoulder one more time at the man whose life I’ve taken. He deserved it, sure, because he was a Black Veil Society member, but I don’t think anything could have prepared me for killing someone.
In shock, my limbs go through the motions while I move, but it’s going to be some time before I can process, because in this moment, I need to portray a calm and controlled cold killer, when in reality, I’m jumping out of my skin.