24. James

24

James

I leave Wendy at her house with barely more than a goodbye, impatience snapping at my insides like a rubber band with every wasted second.

The trip to Rockford Prep took longer than anticipated, but I felt it important to let the Headmaster know what I expect of his staff when it comes to Jonathan Michaels. I’m not sure why I feel such a kinship with him. Maybe because he’s Wendy’s brother, and since she’s mine, by proxy he is as well. Or maybe it’s because I see so much of myself in him. I notice the way his muscles tense, defending against an offense he knows he can’t control.

In either case, I could tell from simply looking in Wendy’s eyes that today was a struggle. She would have been able to do it on her own of course, in the short time I’ve been with her, it’s easy to tell that while she’s docile and well-mannered around the majority of the world, she’s also strong willed and loyal to a fault. She loves her brother, and for some reason, that type of familial bond resonates, making me want to ensure her happiness when it comes to the people whom she loves.

It’s another thirty minutes before my tires are crunching on the gravel path leading to Cannibal’s Cave. The sun has barely set, bathing the landscape in a pinkish hue, not light enough to see clearly, yet not dark enough to be blind.

I draw close to our normal meeting spot, my chest squeezing at the realization that there are no other cars here. I’m running behind, but I’m not that late, and a shiver skates up my spine, my gut telling me to stay alert. I park the car, leaving it running as I take in my surroundings.

Emptiness.

The weight of my knife is heavy in my pocket, and I reach across the console, opening the glove box, retrieving my gloves and my H the life force of the only man on this earth who cared enough to take me in. The burn in my middle flares, scratching up my throat and pouring from my eyes. Tears track down my face and drip off my chin, the gaping hole in my chest cracking and shaking until my insides feel like they’ll rip in half from the quake.

Bile burns the back of my throat from the smell of his insides, but I ignore the stench, my fingers reaching up and gripping the nail embedded into his left hand. It’s slippery, caked with blood that’s starting to dry, and as I tense my arm and pull, the sick pop of metal releasing from flesh is enough to make even the strongest of stomachs churn.

I stare at the nail in my palm, feeling as though it’s being hammered through me , until something dark and heavy breaks through the cracks, slithering up my middle and wrapping around my neck like a noose.

And as I force myself to finish his other limbs, his body slumping down the tree and dropping on the ground, I realize that even the most fractured of hearts have further to break.

Because mine was just decimated to ash.

They didn’t just kill him.

They gutted him and strung him up for the animals to feed.

But I’m worse than any of the wild that lives in these woods, and I’ll hunt down everyone involved like prey, bathing in their blood and dancing to their screams until they repent for their sins.

My teeth grind so hard my jaw pops, my vision going blurry as a deep ache settles heavy in my chest.

I could have prevented this.

But I was with…

Wendy.

My head looks to the sky, my mind shattering into a million pieces as I wonder if somehow she was in on this plan. If she knew that by distracting me, her father could sneak in and once again take away the only thing that matters.

His little shadow.

Words from George the baker flow through my head, only this time, I see it from a different angle. My head is clear, no longer clouded with the lust of a woman who has the same DNA as the man responsible for so much of my pain.

“It was a woman. Said there was a new boss in town.”

Shock rushes through me like an electrical current, clashing with the simmer of my rage until they combust into an explosion of heat, wrath singeing through my veins and bursting from my pores.

Acid teases the back of my throat.

I had assumed it was Tina, Peter’s assistant. But Wendy was there that day. She was there. I blow out a deep breath.

My gloved hand runs over my mouth, the leather rough against my dry lips. “They won’t get away with it.” My voice catches. “I will make them suffer for every moment of pain you endured.”

My thumb brushes over the inscription on the lighter, still held tightly in my palm.

Straight on ‘til morning.

With a deep breath, I flick it open, the clink of the lid and spark of the flame the only sound, other than the silent screams clawing at my soul.

“Rest easy, friend.”

Pain splinters through my stomach as I toss the lighter onto fallen leaves, watching as they catch fire and spread, Ru’s body slowly being engulfed in the flames.