Page 24 of Blood

He darts to the right through the doorway leading to the living room. He’s not making it to the front door.

My body slams into his, driving him into the wood with as much force as I can. He grunts before slumping to his knees.

Grabbing his shoulder, I force him over so he’s sitting on his ass. Gasping for breath, he leans on the door.

I rip off the mask and spit, “Who sent you?”

He shakes his head, coughing. Blood splatters his chin.

“You didn’t come here on a whim. Why are you in my fucking house?”

No answer. I stab the knife into the muscle of his thigh, earning a scream. Ripping it out, I lift the knife again, aiming for the other leg.

“Wait, wait, wait,” he begs, his hands stretched toward me.

“Who?”

“I don’t know.”

I raise my brow and shrug, the knife lowering to my next target.

“No, no! Mark chooses where we hit. He talked to some guy. He paid us four hundred to search this place. Find any safes or Halloween costumes. The guy was a fucking weirdo, but I don’t know his name.”

I believe him.Fuck!I should have killed this one first.Rookie mistake, Kaleb.

Grabbing the collar of his jacket, I rip him away from the door. His body drops like it’s lined with cement.

Standing tall, I roll my head on my shoulders, walking behind as he crawls forward, leaving a trail of blood on my hardwood floor. Stepping over his body, I cut off the world’s slowest exit.

“Please,” he begs, changing direction. “He was a cop.”

I freeze, stunned.It can’t be.

“A cop?” I repeat.

He nods frantically. “I don’t know his name, but he said he used to be a cop. He’s not anymore. Is that enough?” he cries.

“Yeah.” I nod. “That’s enough. We’re done.”I know who it was. Fucking Cooper.

Michael should have let Daniel and me kill him years ago.

I stand at the bottom of the stairs as he drags himself up, step by step. He’s determined, I’ll give him that. But a promise is a promise. We’re done. I don’t need him anymore.

My feet scream in pain as the glass that’s lodged in presses deeper. The carpet on the stairs is rough against my open wounds.

My bare chest heaves as I stab my way up his legs and back. The hum in my body grows with every injury that I inflict.

By the time I’m done, he lies motionless, and I’m euphoric.

CHAPTER TEN

Kaleb

I leave the home invaders where they lay, blood seeping into my carpet and floors. That’s going to be a bitch to get out. I need to call the sheriff and report the break-in, but first, I have a couple of other things to take care of.

A slap sounds when I slam my blood-covered hand on the wall, dragging it downward leaving a desperate handprint behind.

At the top of the stairs, I kick over the side table holding a vase of flowers. It tumbles to the floor with a loud bang. Ceramic and water spill out.