Chapter 42
Chapter Forty-Two
King
It was only fair that I let Jim know we’ve pulled Ezra, Kindra, Frankie, and Maverick into the fold. I didn’t expect him to take it this poorly, however. He throws his snifter of brandy at me and ruins my new khakis.
“In every simulation where we told the children before the final day, it didn’t end well. You survived none of them, King.” He paces in front of his bed the best he can. It’s a three-step job each way, but he’s doing it. “Do you want to die? Do you have a death wish?”
I don’t want to die, and the only wish I have is an impossible one.
“None of it matters anymore. I’m calling it.” I stroll to the bed and take a seat. He won’t risk throwing anything at this expensive duvet. “It’s over, Jim. Bennett and Aven won’t be moved, and in four days, I’ll be dead.”
Jim stops pacing. He shakes his head and folds his arms over his chest. “No. I won’t hear of it.”
“I came here to make sure you’ll take care of Josie once I’m gone. The kids—”
“No!” He stomps his foot and throws his fists down to his sides. “I’ll tell them I did it. I’ll tell them that I took your semen without your knowledge and performed this entire experiment myself. Let them kill me. I’m surprised they don’t want to already.”
“No one is angry with you because everyone understands you meant no ill will. You’re too daft to hurt someone intentionally. Me, on the other hand . . . I’m known for my callous and unfeeling ways. I have no excuse for abandoning them.”
He finally sits beside me. “I don’t know whether to feel moved or hurt.”
“That’s my point. You’re not even a serial killer, Jim. You just join in sometimes because you like group activities. You’re the fun uncle, even if most of them don’t know it. No one gets mad at the fun uncle.”
“There is a way, King. I’ll find it.”
“Jim—”
“No. I won’t look after Josie, and I won’t look after the children. You’ll do it all yourself.” He folds his arms over his chest again. “I’m tired. I’d like to go to bed now. We have a long drive in the morning.”
I sigh and rise from the bed. “Okay, Jim. We’ll table it for now, but I’ve made my wishes known.”
He says nothing more, so I leave the RV.
Scraggly pines stretch toward the night sky.
Their branches look like ink marks against the navy backdrop.
Like someone painted this melancholic sight just for me.
The stars are white paint splatters winking behind drifts of gesso clouds.
I tip my head back and inhale summer air into my lungs while I still can.
Cat and Bennett laugh somewhere nearby. Maverick and Ezra stand by a campfire with Chef and turn hot dogs on sticks. Frankie, Quinn, and Eve sit opposite them, and Josie and Kindra are tucked beneath a tree in the shadows. Judging by their arm movements, they’re discussing stabbing techniques.
Turning a circle, I find Aven, Ice Pick, and that asshole Blayne. Ice Pick and Aven are chatting, nodding their heads and taking turns talking. Blayne stares into the distance, and I follow his gaze to Josie.
I don’t much care for that.
“Josie,” I bark, and her head rises in my direction. I beckon her over with a curl of my finger, and she finishes up with Kindra and comes to my side.
I don’t blame him for staring. Even dressed down in a flowy peasant top and flared jeans, she’s a vision. Her red hair swishes behind her, matching the sway of her hips.
“How’d it go with Jim?”
On the ride to camp, I told her I needed to let Jim know we’d told Frankie and Ezra, plus their partners. I didn’t let on that I also planned to give Jim my verbal last will and testament. She doesn’t need to know we’ve lost. I’ll keep pretending to try until the last moment.
“Jim’s fine, but your permed prince keeps staring,” I say as I pull her into me. “Let’s give him something to look at.”
“What do you propose? Want me to get on my knees and start sucking in front of everyone?”
I smirk at her. “As lovely as that sounds, I don’t feel it’s appropriate to get my jollies in front of my offspring.”
“Fair.”
“I can’t lean down and kiss you, so this will have to do.”
Stepping into her, I bend and place my hands on her ass, then raise her into the air.
She squeals and wraps her legs around my middle.
Her arms band around my neck, and when I settle her high on my waist, she’s looking down at me and smiling.
I think I’m smiling too. I can’t tell. The world is a blur with her mouth so close to mine.
“Think he’s getting the message?” she asks, and her warm breath fans over my lips.
I breathe her in. “We should stay like this a little longer, just to be sure.”
I firm my grip on her ass, and she presses her forehead to mine.
“We should use this position tonight.” I raise an eyebrow. “I could bounce you quite nicely on my cock. When my arms tire, you can even support yourself.”
I give her a few bounces, just to show her.
“Gross,” Bennett says as he wanders toward the fire.
Josie smacks my chest and slides down my waist. I give her ass a pat as she scurries back to the fire to join Kindra and the other girls. When I glance at Blayne, he’s no longer standing with Ice Pick and Aven. In fact, I don’t see him anywhere.
Maybe he’s gone to hang himself. If so, mission accomplished.
I’m not in the mood to socialize. As a solitary being, I rarely am, but this is different. I feel like an old dog who wants to slip away from the house to go die in the woods. That’s an option, I suppose. What better end for a killer than to make himself his last victim?
But I won’t do that to my children. I’ve robbed them of enough. I won’t take this last chance at revenge away from them as well. And I won’t do that to Josie. When I leave her this time, it will be after a proper goodbye. No more running into the rain.
With a sigh, I head to the RV to grab something clean and comfortable. A shower ought to clear my head, and if not, at least I’ll wash off this brandy in case Josie wants to take my mind off things. If I’m lucky, she’ll be stretched across the bed when I get back, begging for it.
That thought finally brings a smile to my face, and I head for the showers with hope for the night ahead.