Chapter 21 – Aster
ASTER
A twig snaps beneath my boot as the moonlight guides our path towards the Westerford estate. I’m not sure if we’ll be able to get inside, but we can at least case the place and see if we can garner any type of intel. “We’re about a mile out,” I tell Lily.
“Bless.” She inhales loudly, pausing to take a sip of water.
“Not keeping up with your cardio?” I tease, and even in the dim light of the forest, her dagger eyes slice through me.
“Yes, I do! I just didn’t realize the last mile would be uphill. I know why we couldn’t drive the entire way, but damn, I’ll definitely have to skip leg day tomorrow.”
“Consider it your karma.” An unidentified flying object whooshes past my head. “Hey! I had to skip it for weeks after you left your little present in my thigh.”
“You know, I wish I could say I was sorry.”
“Don’t worry.” I sidle up beside her as we continue our trek through the woods. “I liked it.”
“Aster.” She shoves my shoulder with her free hand. “You can’t say stuff like that.”
“Why not?” I reach out to push a strand of hair behind her ear, but she swats me away. “You like it?”
“No,” she says firmly. “It’s creepy.”
“Creepy?” I scoff, putting a hand over my chest. “I think you’re getting your words confused. Buddies—lovers. Creepy—sexy. Shall we have you checked for a concussion?”
“Ha. Ha.” She pats my shoulder. “Hilarious, my creepy little buddy.”
I narrow my eyes at her, wishing she could feel the full effect of the laser beams I’m shooting her way. “You promised not to call me that.”
“Maybe we should have a ‘you don’t flirt, I won’t call you buddy’ agreement.”
“I reject your proposal.” The reduction of flirting is simply not possible with a woman who’s been plucked from my dreams and placed beside me in a skintight matching workout set.
“Then I reject your change of nickname request.”
“You know, I can just go back.” I spin 180 degrees. “You’re more than capable on your own.” And while I’m certain that’s entirely true, there’s a zero percent chance I’d leave her. Definitely not alone at night in these dark woods. Near these people whose intentions are God knows what.
Leaves crunch beneath my boots as I commit to the bit, and then I hear a pleading, “Wait.”
An unabashed grin creeps across my face, and I spin toward her. “Yes?”
“Can you at least leave me your extra flashlight in case mine dies?”
My mouth falls open. “Mean!” I stalk her way, nudging her shoulder as I pass. “Come on, we’re wasting moonlight.”
She giggles, trailing after me. “If you insist.”
I fill her in on my little one-on-one with Vetrel earlier, which truly gave me no more answers besides he clearly knows something, and twenty minutes later, flickers of illumination scatter through the trees.
“We’ll have to use those as a guiding point from here,” I suggest in a hushed tone, and we both click off our flashlights.
Slowly and carefully, we make our way through the brush, the minimal visibility causing the last hundred yards to be more difficult than the three-mile trek here.
A large stump appears in my path, and I step over it with Lily behind me. “Watch out,” I tell her. “There’s a—”
A quiet yelp slips through the air, and Lily’s body slams into mine.
I lose my footing as we both tumble to the ground and land with my back to the earth and her slumped on top of me.
She bursts out laughing, and given our proximity to the estate, I throw a hand over her mouth.
My other hand grips her waist, and she quiets instantly, her wide eyes meeting mine.
“You okay?” I whisper.
She nods, her warm breath hitting my hand, and I remove it. “Do you think they heard me?”
“I think the astronauts orbiting the moon heard you,” I tease, pulling a leaf out of her hair.
“I’m serious,” she says, pressing a hand on my chest to look towards the estate. Fuck, she’s so pretty.
“I think we’re good,” I choke out.
“Are you okay?” she asks, our eyes meeting just inches apart. The proximity of her lips makes concentration difficult.
“Oxygen’s a little lacking, but nothing is broken or bleeding this time.”
“The night is young,” she says, and I stifle a groan as she slides her body off mine to stand.
I force myself off the dirt, and a few minutes later, we finally make it to the tree line of the estate. The yard is illuminated like an airstrip thanks to solar lights placed around, but there are still a few parts shrouded in shadow.
A tickling feeling scatters on the side of my neck, and I jump, swatting it away.
“What’s wrong?” Lily asks, and I glance over at my shoulder, noting something on my shirt.
“Eww!” I flick a few creepy crawlers off me, swiping my hands through my hair and checking every inch of my clothes to make sure there aren’t any more.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
“There are bugs on me,” I shriek as quietly as possible. She clicks on her flashlight to the dimmest setting, pointing at the ground, and chuckles. “What’s so funny?”
She gestures at a pile of leaves. “It’s just a few beetles.”
“Yeah, well”—I fight a full body shudder—“I don’t like beetles very much.”
“I’m sorry.” She holds up a hand. “You’re a serial killer who’s afraid of bugs?”
“We’ve been over this,” I say in a hushed, firm tone as my blood simmers. “I. Am. Not. A. Serial. Killer.”
“You kill people, yeah?”
“Well, yes, but—”
“What’s your body count?”
“I mean…” A grin splits across my face. “Feels like a bit of a change of subject, but I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours, gorgeous.” She slaps the back of my head, and I bring my hand up to rub it. “Ow, what was that for?”
“Murder body count, dumbass.”
I brace myself, knowing she won’t like my answer. “107.”
“One hundred and—?!” she shrieks. “Jesus, fuck, Aster! You get started on that when you popped out of your mother’s vagina?”
“Lily! Shh!” I attempt to remind her of our proximity to the estate, then whisper, “My mother would roll over in her grave if she heard you say that.”
A silence falls between us. “Oh my god.” Another beat of silence. “I’m sorry. I-I didn’t know.”
I wave her off. “It’s fine. It’s not a fresh wound, but damn, baby.”
Her scowl returns. “Okay, then back to my point. You’ve killed people.” She holds up a finger. “One hundred and seven people to be exact. And you intend to kill again?”
My eyes narrow on hers. “If the situation calls for it, yes.”
“Right, so that would make you a…” She waves a hand, as if that should help me finish her ad-lib.
“Hero,” I say, smiling smugly.
“No,” she deadpans. “Serial killer.”
Frustration courses through me. “I am not a serial killer!”
“Aster.” She brings her fingers to her temples. “You kill people… serially!”
Yeah, and every one of those pieces of garbage deserved it tenfold. “You know what? There’s no time for your judgy high horse semantics right now. Can we refocus on the task at hand?” I gesture towards the vast estate before us.
“Fine,” she says, her tone sticky sweet. “We’ll return to labels later.”
“Can’t wait,” I grumble. Here I am, imagining how fun it would be to chase her through these woods and fuck her against a tree, and she probably thinks I want to run through them and murder her. And that I’m also her buddy.
The only way she’s allowed to refer to me as such is at Christmas if she wants to straddle me while I’m dressed like Buddy the fucking Elf.
Returning my attention to the Westerford estate, I focus on security.
Two guards stand on each corner, and after timing a few shift changes, we confirm they rotate every ten minutes.
It takes one minute for them to walk the side of the house, and three for the front and back.
The place is massive, I’ll give them that.
I’ve been assaulted by beetles three more times.
Flinching, I flick another off my arm.
Four.
“How are we gonna get inside?” Lily asks.
“I think tonight might be a recon night. At the event there were two guards in each room and four by the front door. We know there were others throughout the estate, but I’m not sure how many there are for a normal night.
And unfortunately, I don’t think our ruse to get out of being caught would work this time considering we’re here uninvited. ”
“Well, then let’s get invited,” she recommends, as if it’s truly that simple.
“And how do you suggest we do that?”
“These people are pretentious.” She waves a hand at the expansive yard. “The only thing they love more than their money is showing it off.”
“Okay…” I say, entirely unsure where she’s heading.
“They’re for sure having another party soon, and we need an invite.”
“Well, Jude Westerfuck actually hated me, in case you couldn’t tell,” I remind her.
“True.” Lily breaks into an unabashed smirk. “But he couldn’t keep his eyes off me.”
“Oh, so you noticed?” I ask, ignoring the rumble of jealousy within me.
“It’s my job to be perceptive, Aster.” She pats my shoulder.
“You think he’s just going to invite you over? Did you forget about his cougar of a wife?”
Lily sighs exasperatedly. “It’s not like I’m going to fuck the man.” Not unless she wants him dead. “I’ll just use his attraction for me to get an invite, and I’ll bring you as my plus one. Then we can slip away and try to not get caught while we investigate more of the estate.”
“Lillian Huxley.” A Cheshire grin splits across my face. “Are you asking me on a date?”
Her jaw falls open, and she howls a laugh that echoes off the trees.
Her eyes widen, and she slaps both hands over her mouth.
We drop flat to the ground as the two closest security guards’ heads whip in our direction.
My shoulders shake as I fight a chuckle, and the earthy scent of the soil surrounds me.
“This. Isn’t. Funny!” she hisses. They shine flashlights our way, but given we’re hidden by the tree line and they switch shifts in—I glance at my watch—two minutes, I’m hoping they’re too lazy to check it out.
One of them pulls something from their pocket, and a moment later, a red ember and puff in the air tell me they’re taking a smoke break, not even remotely worried with the hyena laugh my partner in crime just let out.
Rolling on my side, I rest my cheek on my hand and whisper, “I accept your offer of a date.”
She shoves my head. “It’s not a date.”
“Whatever you say.”
The sound of creaking hinges has our attention returning towards the estate.
We both rise to a crouching position, spotting the large doors of the barn opening on the opposite side of the yard.
Two figures emerge, each carrying the end of a long box.
They meet the guards, then walk together towards another door on the side of the estate.
A man pulls out a set of keys and fiddles with the lock, then opens it.
The two carrying the box disappear through, seemingly walking downwards.
“Basement?” I suggest as the guard closes them inside and they return to their post.
“What would they need to move between the houses at one in the morning?”
I shrug, a smile creeping across my face. “Guess we’ll find out on our date.”