Page 25 of Dead Love

But I wasn’t finished with Kora yet.

Holding a wet cloth to my face, I went through the window to Kora’s room. The smoke seeped through the cracks at the bottom of her door. The fire hadn’t reached her room yet, but it would soon.

She stirred, coming to life.

“Vincent?” she asked, rubbing her eyes. “What are you doing here?” I smacked a wet cloth over her mouth and her eyes widened. Her muffled screams vibrated through the cloth, but I pressed my palm firmly on her mouth. The fire around the house flickered in her eyes, and she panicked, twisting in my arms.

“We need to get out,” I said.

She thrashed just long enough to get out the words, “But my mom!” Then I tightened my grip with the wet cloth around her mouth and nose, cutting off oxygen, until she fell silent. I let myself out through the gate, then threw her in the back of the car, pinning her body down with my weight, using cable ties to bind her wrists and ankles. She woke again, coughing as she did. I removed the wet cloth, the drops of water dripping down her face.

“My mom,” Kora said, her voice hoarse. “My mom.”

Her breathing was shallow, her skin flushed. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to wake herself up.

“Your mother is a smart woman,” I said, as if brains could save a person from a fire. I almost hoped that Sheawouldsurvive; her reaction to the abduction would be intriguing. I strapped Kora’s body lengthwise to the seatbelts. “Don’t move.”

Back at the house, the dogs came to the car, panting at my feet. Well-trained, they didn’t make much noise after dark, but once I opened the back seat, Kora kicked my shin. I grunted, stunned for a second. The pain seared through my bones, and I grinned. The dogs growled, their eyes glowing in the night. I crawled over her, enjoying the sharp pains turning to a dull discomfort. Then I held her neck, gripping her tightly as her eyes widened. She pleaded with those green gems:Don’t do this.

But I squeezed harder. I had waited for this for years.

Her body went still, and a calmness settled over me. I sat back in the seat, looking down at her limp body. The babydoll was pushed up, exposing her thighs, the cotton underwear pushed to the side, a few trimmed hairs poking out of the fabric. Sarah sat by my side, and Bernie and Ulysses paced next to her. A few seconds later, Kora opened her eyes, gasping for air, and I leaned down to her.

“Make a noise, and it’s the chloroform next.”

“What?” she asked. “Chloroform?”

Well, then.

I went to the front and grabbed what I needed. She inch-wormed across the back-seat, and Sarah growled again in warning. I moved the dogs out of the way, then pressed the cloth to Kora’s face. She struggled, thrusting her body as hard as she could, but there was only so much you could do without your hands and ankles. I held the cloth there for several minutes, putting more pressure on her face each time she squirmed.

Finally, she relented.

I stretched for a moment, the pain in my shins surging to my thighs, but then I leaned down, about to pick her up, when a woman’s voice interrupted.

“What are you doing?” Catie asked.

Her flashlight beamed at me. I straightened. From her position on the other side of the driveway, she likely couldn’t see inside of the vehicle.

But that didn’t change the fact that she had come here unannounced.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“You didn’t sign off on the Andersons’ invoice. You were acting strange today—”

“Did I ask you to come here?” I said. She was like the little sister I never wanted.

“Whoa, there.” She lifted her hands. “I thought I heard someone scream. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Probably the dogs.” I needed to play this off. I leaned down and scratched behind Bernie’s ear, and he whined affectionately. “You know how they are.”

“Right,” Catie said, hesitation in her voice. “They can be loud.”

Which didn’t explain what I was doing this late at night, but Catie knew better than to ask any more questions.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said.

“Yeah,” she said, her voice drifting off. “Tomorrow.”