Chapter 90

NINETY

AMETHYST

Panic floods my veins. I freeze in the doorway, staring at Locke. Any minute now, he’ll raise the alarm, telling Delta I’m an impostor and his precious wife is dead.

The golden-haired pretty boy glances from me to my deceased twin sister and smirks. “What did you do?”

Swallowing hard, I steady my breathing, trying to channel Dolly’s insanity.

Huffing, I say, “After everything she took from me, I had to work off a little steam.”

He steps closer, his brows pulling together. “Your eyes are red. Have you been crying?”

“Despite everything, she was still my twin.”

He shakes his head. “That was reckless, baby. We agreed you’d play along until the time was right for Delta to die.”

My mind races, and the room tilts on its axis. Dolly mentioned wanting him dead, but I didn’t realize she had a plan.

“Dolly?” Locke moves from the side of the bed, closing the distance between us, and places a hand on the arm that holds the knife at my side.

My skin crawls at his touch, and I fight the urge to recoil. Raising my other hand to the back of my neck in a gesture of awkwardness, I grimace. “I lost it.”

“Have you changed your mind?”

“No,” I say.

“It’s normal to trauma bond with an abuser. Delta’s only giving you freedom because you’re helping him capture Xero. Don’t be fooled by this truce. It’s only because you’re giving him what he wants. Once Xero is under his control, he’ll truss you up like Grunt again and pimp you out to anyone he wants to impress.”

I bow my head, trying to force back crashing waves of sympathy and guilt. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me that they would have treated Dolly worse than Grunt. It looks like my going viral on social media triggered a series of events that elevated her into a position of power.

“Talk to me,” Locke says.

“You’re right,” I reply, my fingers tightening around the knife.

“Good girl.” Locke pulls me into a hug that makes me want to heave. “Once he’s dead, we’ll take control of Xero and the assets he stole from Delta. Then we’ll discard him and live the rest of our lives together in luxury.”

This star-crossed love story might be believable if Locke didn’t participate in snuff. If he gave a shit about Dolly, he would have helped her escape. Instead, he sold her a dream. Bringing up the knife, I plunge it into his gut, making him stumble backward with a shocked cry.

“Dolly?” he whispers, his eyes widening.

“Guess again.”

I slash at his chest, sending out a spray of blood. It splatters across my face, giving me a thrill of satisfaction.

Recognition flickers across his features. “Amy.”

“What was the plan?” I ask through clenched teeth. “Manipulate Dolly into signing over Delta’s assets, sell her to the highest bidder, and run off alone into the sunset?”

“She was a broken whore.”

My lip curls, and I raise the knife again. “What does that make you?”

“I can explain.” He lifts a shaking palm.

“You have ten seconds.”

“Delta blackmailed me to drop out of medical school so I could take care of Dolly.” Lips trembling, he darts his gaze to her corpse, cooling on the bed. “I had to keep her medicated, heal her wounds, and keep her alert for the patrons.”

Nausea churns in my gut. I clench my teeth, resisting the urge to strike. He’s describing the worst kind of pimp.

Locke licks his lips. I’ve never seen him look so nervous. “We grew close. She told me about her past. Then someone on the membership forum saw your posts and asked if she’d set up some social media.”

“Hurry up,” I snap, my grip tightening on the knife.

“It was all her idea. She knew Xero had stolen from Delta and knew he was desperate to get back everything he’d lost. So, she convinced Delta to use you as bait.”

“What’s your point?” I sneer.

He breathes hard through the pain, his golden features turning gray. “It was all her idea. If you want to blame someone, look at her. Or Delta.”

Disgust coils through my insides like a constrictor, poised to strike. “You’ll say anything to save your hide.”

“No—”

I rush forward, plunging the knife into his gut, eliciting a satisfying gasp. “What was it you told me about having four holes? I’m about to give you five.” I twist the knife for good measure, savoring his choked scream.

“Please—”

“I wish I could draw out your death after everything you did to me at the asylum, but I need to save the man I love.”

Locke falls on his face. Dropping to my knees beside him, I roll his carcass to his front and plunge my knife into his midsection once more, making him groan.

“That’s for injecting me with all kinds of drugs.” I deliver another stab to his chest.

“Fuck,” he says, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

“That’s for the mockery.” I slash across his pretty face, turning his mouth into a giant grin.

“And that’s for violating me with the pessary.” My blade digs into his groin, eliciting a gurgling scream.

He stares up at me, his face frozen in a mask of agony.

Rising to my feet, I roll him under the bed. Blood soaks the front of my robe, but I’m too far gone to care. I rush to the dresser and close my fingers around the gun.

Cold washes over my senses, slowing my heartbeat and bringing a newfound sense of power. After this baptism of blood, I’m ready for anything.

I walk through the bedroom, trailing bloody footprints out into the hallway. A door up ahead opens, and Delta steps in with a man I recognize as one of the spectators.

He’s a middle-aged blond with round glasses, who raises his arm and points.

“I thought Dolly was dead.”

“Obviously, she survived.” Features hardening, Delta strides toward me, his eyes flashing.

I raise the gun and shoot him in the leg.

When the man behind him turns around, I shoot him in the back. He falls flat on his face with a groan.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Delta snarls.

“Take me to Xero, or the next thing I shoot won’t be a leg.”