Paint It All Red (Page 21)

The idiot tries to head-butt me when he’s standing in front of me, but I’m much shorter, and simply dodge it, spin around him, and kick him into the open tub.

A pained grunt escapes him as he lands on his back.

“What are you doing?” he asks, staring up at me while his legs hang over the sides.

“Using you to fulfill a fantasy,” I quip as I close the shower curtain. “Two fantasies, actually.”

Staring at the white, plain shower curtain, I pull out my knife. A dark smile curves my lips before I start playing the music from my phone, and I stab him through the curtain.

A cry of pain and surprise echoes off the bathroom walls.

But I stab again.

And again.

And again.

Until he’s just gurgling sounds.

Then I jerk back the curtain, smirking. “Life goals,” I say to myself, still smiling as I leave the dying man in the tub. I walk through the house and back to the living room where his service weapon is still on the table.

It’s the only loaded gun in the house, and shooting the sheriff—with his own gun—is just too poetic to pass up.

The song continues to play as I walk back in, and blood is flowing from all the wounds and the sheriff’s mouth as I watch him from the doorway.

His eyes are barely staying open as I point the gun at his groin. Words try to form, but he’s too injured to make an intelligible sound.

I grab a stack of towels and drop them to his lap, then I press the gun against the towels and fire. The sound is still loud, despite the muffling of it against the towels, but at least my ears aren’t ringing.

I hate guns.

But again…too poetic.

The sheriff jerks as I pull the gun back, and the white towels get redder and redder as he bleeds out. The tub catches all the blood, taking it down the drain as he continues to spill his shade.

I wipe my knife off as the sheriff slowly dies, and I listen to the song that is playing on repeat.

I shot the sheriff…

Then I take a picture for Jake once the life finally leaves the sheriff’s eyes.

Just to be sure, I check for a pulse. It’s gone. Then, to be doubly sure, I slice the knife across his throat, leaving his blood to continue to drain.

I wipe the knife off again, place it back in its sheath on my hip, pull my hood up, and walk out with my phone still playing that song.

The town is like an old western ghost town now. I half expect tumbleweeds to start rolling by me as the wind blows. The sun is three hours from setting, but the endgame is moments away from starting.

Everyone expects sundown to be the endgame time, since that’s what we told them.

But we have another set of rules we’re playing by.

And we’re ready.

Jake is already in my old house when I step inside the familiar home. This house is in the perfect location.

My heart thumps a little faster when I see the inside, because it’s like stepping into a different vortex. No pictures of us line the walls the way they used to.

The carpet has been replaced with hardwood. The blues have all been replaced with neutral colors. And they knocked out the wall between the living room and kitchen.

Everything is different, yet there’s a pang of familiarity in my chest.

He’s put in all his monitors, ready to start this process.

“You took longer than you were supposed to,” Jake says as I step in and strip out of my hoodie.

“I shot the sheriff,” I start singing, and he grins.

“Time to shoot the deputies.”

I strip out of my clothes, and start pulling on my kill clothes. I can’t wear a baggy hoody or restricting pants. This is the ultimate kill zone.

“Phase nine complete?” I ask him.

“As soon as you step into the middle of town, all I have to do is press a button. The next button gets pressed when you step inside. Then you’re on your own. You know the charges are set; you know the small window you have to get out; and you know to keep your head down. Don’t get killed on a part we could skip.”

I tug on my leggings, making sure to do the splits and double check their flexibility.

Jake watches me grimly.

“I’m not skipping this part, Jake. They need to feel the same fear. Just dying isn’t good enough. And risking someone surviving isn’t any good either.”

He blows out a breath as I grab my tank top, ready to brave the chilly air while being sleeveless. I’ll warm up once I start fighting.

After getting my boots back on, I grab the bulletproof vest that is thinner and less constricting than most—thank you, Jake.

Then I start packing in all the weapons into my many holsters, and use the action game assembly Jake has laid out.

“I’m having a moment,” Jake says, biting down on his knuckle as I finish loading the last of the weapons into their designated spots on my body harness.

“What?” I ask, arching an eyebrow.

“Times like these remind me why I can’t give up women. Something about a girl with a gun, and right now, you’re every nerd’s comic-book-sexy fantasy girl.”

I roll my eyes.

“Seriously! The tight pants, all the guns, the sleeveless shirt—”

“All meant for functionality,” I state dryly.

“Still doesn’t shatter the illusion.” He mocks a dreamy sigh, and I laugh despite the impending madness I’m close to stepping into.

“You ready?” he asks more seriously as I finish clipping on the last knife.

“As I’ll ever be.”

“Then I’ll get your theme song ready.”

“You’re really going to play music?” I muse as I walk to the door.

“Every epic climax needs a good theme song,” he quips, forcing a smile.

He crosses the room in a few quick, long strides, and his arms go around me, tugging me to him as he kisses the top of my head. I return the embrace, steeling my nerves and my breaths.

“I love you, little sister,” he says softly.

“I love you, big brother,” I say back, clutching him tighter.

He pulls back, cupping my chin in his hand as our eyes meet.

“Now go kill them all while I burn the town to the ground.”

I nod. “Phase ten.”

Chapter 14

The attempt to combine wisdom and power has rarely been successful, and then only for a short while.

—Albert Einstein

LOGAN

“Why isn’t anything happening?” I ask Hadley, watching the monitors that have been flipping at random for the past hour on the completely evacuated town.

A screen pops up; the heat signature screen from earlier that Jake shut down. It has the entire town on the screen, but the only heat signatures are all coming from one building.

“Town hall,” Hadley says to herself, echoing my own thoughts. “They cleared out the entire town with the exception of the deputies.”

“What are these?” I ask, pointing to the few near the side of the town, and the one right on the border but still inside the town.

“That’s probably Jake or Lana, just like this one,” Hadley says, motioning to one that is moving through the streets like it’s walking.

My stomach clenches as my eyes train on the moving ones.

“These here are probably some officers who were sent to the edge of the town border for some reason,” Hadley goes on, gesturing to the three dots off to the side.

A message box pops up before I can ask any more questions.

You ready for this? Or do you want to look away? It’s going to get messy.

Hadley sucks in a breath, staring at the message box.

“Is that Jake?” I ask, leaning forward.

“Yes,” she says as she types back.

Why are there officers outside of town?

Immediately, another message pops up.

Because I sent them there. They’re innocent.

Hadley’s eyes meet mine, a question in their depths.

“I need to see her, Hadley.”

She nods, then types back.

Logan is with me. He wants to see Lana.

The monitors flip to a whirl of dark hair from the back, guns loading her down as she carries a backpack through town. But I can’t see her face from this angle.

My heartbeat drums in my throat, and another message box comes through.

He should probably look away. Lana isn’t the sweet girl right now.

“I’m not looking away,” I say to Hadley.

She blows out a breath and nods.

We’re in.

Another message.

Check your email, and I’ll give you a front row seat to the show when you’re finished.

Hadley flips screens on her laptop immediately, and I see an email to her from a weird address. She opens it, and my stomach churns when I see a video download there. I also see tons of files to be downloaded, a complete gathering of evidence.

The computer dings like it has a new message, and Hadley pulls up the message box.

All you have to do is download it. The files will do the rest.

Hadley doesn’t even hesitate. She downloads the files, and within a matter of moments, we hear the commotion outside.

I go to look through the blinds, seeing everyone standing and moving toward the monitors. On the screen, I see the same footage I saw earlier at Delaney Grove, only this time, there’s also a lot of footage of the behind the scenes, including all the guys who were tied up and confessing their sins from that night.

I peek out the door, cracking it just a little.