Chapter Sixteen #2
“I need to bait him so he’ll come for me.” She looked me dead in the eye when she said it, like she knew I might try to argue with her.
“No.” The word came out before I could stop it. I just needed time to think of a new plan. One that didn’t involve her using herself as bait.
“Valen.” She took a step closer to me, the pain evident in her voice. “I can’t let him keep killing innocent people. We know what he wants. He wants me. And you.”
“Fuck!” I threw the radio across the room, making her jump at my sudden burst of anger. “Fuck,” I said, softer this time, letting her wrap her arms around me. I squeezed her tight, not wanting to let her do something so reckless.
“I’ve been hiding from this for years. Moving from country to country, hiding behind my job, helping other people process their trauma because I was too scared to face my own.
” She gripped my chin, forcing me to look at her.
There was that familiar fire in her eyes, the one she’d had when she’d first shown up on my mountain and tried to drug me.
“But these past few weeks with you have made me remember what it’s like to be alive instead of dead inside.
And I won’t let Cyrus take that away from me again… I won’t let him take you away from me.”
It was like a bomb detonated in my chest at her words. The rawness in her voice sent chills through me. She was mine, always would be, but now I was seeing that I was hers too. My lips crashed into hers. I needed to taste her in this moment of vulnerability with me.
“OK.” I pressed my forehead against hers. “We’ll go through with our original plan.”
“Good.” She pulled back, her body tense, but filled with obvious determination. “Because I know how we’re going to get him here.”
“How?” I leaned against my workbench, crossing my arms over my chest as she paced.
“Emmeline Cross.”
“What about her?” I furrowed my brow.
“Her podcast. She’s got a massive following, and people are obsessed with the Sorority Slasher.
I’ll do an interview. Drip just enough details so Cyrus will know where to look.
” She stood in front of me, her hands on her hips.
“We’ll control the narrative, and he won’t even realize it. This will work, Valen.”
“You know the second that episode goes live he’ll come for you. For us.” Every protective instinct in my body screamed not to let her do it. To lock her away somewhere where she’d be safe. To hunt Cyrus down myself and drain him of his blood for even daring to think he could hurt her.
She nodded. “I’ll also need to tell Emmeline. She won’t agree to the interview unless I explain everything. She’s very overprotective of me.”
“I’m aware,” I scoffed, recalling the phone call Emmeline had made to me right after I was released.
“Speaking of, neither of you told me that she talked to you before. Spill it.”
“She called me when I got out of prison. Threatened me. Said if I tried to come after you, she would kill me with her bare hands. Said her father was a serial killer and she knew how to get away with it.” I shook my head. “She has anger issues.”
Seraphine chuckled, the sound breaking the tension of the last ten minutes. “She does, but I love her for it.”
“You trust her?” I asked, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear.
“With my life.”
“Alright, let’s set it up.” My stomach clenched as the words left my mouth, but I knew there was no stopping her.
*** ***
Seraphine adjusted the laptop on the kitchen table, her hands trembling slightly as she tested the microphone. She’d spoken to Emmeline last night, giving her the bare amount of details, enough to let her know we were setting a trap for the real killer.
“You’re sure about this?” I asked for the third time, knowing she wasn’t going to change her mind.
She looked up, her smile soft. “Absolutely.”
I sighed and sat on the opposite side of her. Out of view of the camera, but close enough that I could comfort her if she got upset.
Emmeline’s voice crackled through the speakers a moment later. “Alright, Sera. I’ll start the recording in thirty seconds. We’ll have time to listen and edit before I post it in two days, just like we discussed.”
Seraphine gave me a thumbs-up, letting me know they were recording. I tried to relax in my chair, even though what I really wanted to do was smash the laptop in half.
“Hello, Crimson and Ash listeners. Emmeline here, and today we have a very special guest. Someone whose story has haunted me for years.” Emmeline’s professional voice filled the cabin.
“I’m joined by Seraphine Ashford, the sole survivor of the Kappa Theta sorority house massacre that shocked the nation six years ago. ”
Seraphine’s back straightened, her face a mask of determination. “Thank you for having me, Emmeline.”
I listened as Emmeline and Seraphine hashed through the old murders, the details I’d memorized years ago while I was locked in a cell.
They discussed the trial, my conviction, my exoneration, and Detective Parsons planting evidence.
Seraphine remained steady and calm, like she was discussing someone else’s trauma and not her own.
Emmeline’s tone shifted slightly. “Seraphine, if you could say anything to Valen Creed right now, what would it be?”
Seraphine’s eyes found mine from across the table, and when she spoke, her voice was raw with emotion that I hadn’t been expecting.
“I’d say I’m sorry. I’m sorry that my testimony helped put an innocent man in prison.
That he lost five years of his life because I was so traumatized that I couldn’t see clearly.
” Her voice cracked and I wanted to reach for her, to pull her into my arms and tell her—no, show her—how I’d forgiven her already.
Tears spilled down her cheeks as she continued.
“I’d say thank you for not hating me when you had every right to.
Thank you for saving me when I crashed on your mountain, even though I’m the reason you lost everything.
And I’d say that despite everything that happened to you, you’re still one of the most honorable men I’ve ever met. ”
My throat tightened at the rawness of her confession. She was taking blame for something that wasn’t entirely her fault.
“It sounds like you’ve actually met Valen recently?” Emmeline asked.
“I have. I came home to make amends, to apologize face to face and bury the past.”
“And where is home for you now, Seraphine?”
This was it. The moment we’d rehearsed all night. The moment we knew would change everything.
“I’m back where it all started. In the Adirondacks.
” Seraphine’s face turned dreamy as she glanced out the kitchen window.
“I’m staying in a remote cabin that overlooks the most magnificent lake.
You can watch the sunrise come up over the eastern ridge every morning, turning everything gold.
It’s so isolated and quiet, tucked away in the mountains. A perfect place for healing.”
She was good at this. No, great. She painted herself as vulnerable, isolated, and the perfect prey.
I had to stop myself from ripping the laptop away and cutting the connection.
Five years in prison had taught me the only way to survive was to never show weakness. Never give your enemies an opening.
And here she was, about to give Cyrus a fucking set of GPS coordinates to our front door.
The rational part of my brain knew this was the plan. That we’d discussed every detail, and it was the fastest way to lure him out here and end his killing spree. But the part of me that would burn down the world to keep her safe was clawing at my chest trying to break free.
“It sounds peaceful,” Emmeline commented.
“It absolutely is. Though I have to admit, being back home has stirred up a lot of painful memories. The real killer is still out there, and it sounds like he’s not done.
Those poor college students…” Seraphine’s voice trailed off.
But a second later, her face hardened, and she leaned in closer to the laptop.
“He’s a coward, hiding behind Valen’s old conviction, killing innocent people. He deserves to rot in prison.”
“Are you concerned for your safety?”
Seraphine laughed, shaking her head. “He’ll never find me. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
The interview continued for a few more minutes, and when it was over, she closed the laptop. “Was that good enough, you think?”
I walked around the table, pulling her into my arms. She was shaking despite her steady voice during the interview. I wanted to take it all back. The plan to bait him. The podcast. But it was too late. “Yeah, you were perfect.” I weaved my fingers in her hair, tilting her face up.
“Valen, what if—”
I silenced her with a kiss, tasting the salt of tears she’d held back during the podcast. When I pulled back, we were both panting.
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, little lamb.” I stared into her eyes, needing her to see that I would be true to my word.
“I’m not worried about me, Valen. What if something happens to you?” Her eyes became glossy again, and it was doing something to my chest that I didn’t like.
“You don’t get it, do you?” My thumb traced her bottom lip.
I hated the way she was trembling. “I waited six years to confront the man who destroyed my life. Cyrus thinks he’s hunting you, but he has no idea what’s waiting for him.
I promise I’ll burn down this entire fucking mountain before I let him take you from me, or me from you. ”
Somewhere out there, Cyrus was planning to destroy us.
The hunt had officially begun.