Page 68 of Even Vampires Bleed (Even Ever After #2)

Cassiopé

I t takes me another two days before I can steal a weapon and bring it back to the trash system linked to Gabrielle and Michael’s bedroom, which means I have to endure another two days of listening to their bedtime antics.

Michael throws tantrums like a kid both nights.

I really don’t think we won with the change.

And his father wasn’t far from being the devil himself, so it says a lot.

So, yes, I’ve been looking at a man-child being handled by a woman who knows what to do to gain power.

I have no doubt that this wedding was her idea and that she’s just doing everything in her power to keep Michael happy and mainly subdued.

Hence why I’m pretty sure she’s faking, but that’s another problem.

That shouldn’t be my problem, but after two days of listening to her moans and screams—she sounds like a banshee—I feel like I should burn my own ears.

At least my hiding spot hides them from me as much as I’m hiding from them.

But I can hear too well, and that’s awful.

I need to stop complaining though, because they’re almost done, and soon, they won’t be able to moan, groan or scream.

I’m about to make sure of that.

If only they could hasten and stop fucking once and for all.

I look at the butcher's knife I stole from the kitchen.

I can’t carry it in my bat form so it’s been hell to bring it here, which explains why I’m not letting my eyes stay away from that thing until the two assholes inside the bedroom are finally asleep.

Every second feels like an hour.

Every minute is like a day.

And when I know it’s been more than an hour and they’re still not done, it feels like an eternity.

What the hell is taking them so long?

When I’ve finally lost track of time, I hear the loudest moan ever coming from inside the room and then silence.

I can hear bed sheets rustling and someone padding to what I know is the bathroom. Someone flushes and then walks back to the bed.

More bed sheets rustle and then nothing.

Now I only have to wait.

Now I’m only minutes away from getting revenge for the man I love.

I know it might not be enough to let him live freely.

I have no idea if there are, yet again, other holo linked to that chip in his brain.

But I also know that those two deserve what I have in store for them.

One of them pushed the button, and the other one knew what it would do and probably encouraged it from the interactions I’ve seen the past few days.

Now that everything is silent, the time flows differently and what was once annoyance is now anticipation.

I’m so freaking ready.

But I still have to wait because their heartbeats haven’t completely calmed down, which means even the slightest mistake could still alert them.

And first, I have to shift inside the trash system, slip the knife through the aspiration hole, and then shift back to my bat form to enter the room.

Only then will I be able to pick the butcher's knife and do what I came here for.

It’s a lot of things that could make more noise than I’m willing to let slip in these conditions.

I can’t mess this up.

I take a deep breath and listen some more.

Everything calm—heartbeat included.

So, very slowly and very carefully, I shift, push, shift, pass through the opening, and shift again.

It’s all going well.

I don’t want to jinx it and say it’s going too well, though.

Well, I had to spend days with trash and listening to things that almost made me want to puke more than the smell. So I can’t say it’s going too well.

Carefully, I walk to the bed.

It’s a good thing I’m used to sneaking around because it made me study this room closely.

The wooden planks the floor is made from are old, and there are three spots in the room that creak—one being on Gabrielle’s side of the bed.

This is why I make my way to Michael first.

I don’t wait.

I don’t take a minute to look at him and print his image in my mind.

He doesn’t deserve that.

He doesn’t deserve my consideration.

He doesn’t even deserve my attention.

But he still has it all.

He stole from me.

He stole Léandre’s life.

It’s my turn to steal his.

In one swift movement, I drop my left hand to his mouth and swing the butcher knife at his throat.

There is a wet cutting sound, but I don’t pause to listen if Gabrielle wakes up. I run to the other side of the bed and do the same.

But she indeed wakes up and tries to stop the descent of the knife.

She screams.

But she doesn’t seem to realize completely what is happening, because my knife goes through her hand and then stops its course in the middle of her throat.

She looks at me with vivid horror as bubbles of her own blood pour out of her lips.

That’s right.

I’m the one who did this.

I can’t wait and gloat, though, because her scream alarmed the guards, and I can already hear three people running down the corridor to get here.

For good measure, I grab both of their holos—conveniently on their respective nightstands—and smash them to the ground before forcing them through the hole at the bottom of the wall.

And then I shift and follow after the bits and pieces of Léandre’s doom through the trash system.

I did it.

I finally did it.

And now I’m going back home.

I need a freaking shower.

Maybe a scrub and another shower after, too.

And then, I need a bath for good measure.

And finally, I need days of sleep.

Yes, I need sleep, and then tomorrow, I can go back to the south of France and find Léandre.

Because he wanted to set me free from him, but instead I’ll be the one who will set him free from this nightmare.

Because this single gesture from him—wanting me happy despite going against what he wanted—is what made me realize it was too late.

I’m already in love with this new Léandre.

And I won’t let him live in fear for his memories for the rest of his life.

I won’t live in fear, either.

I’m not waiting for life to throw us another curveball.

I’m tackling it at the root, and I’m making sure we can have the life we want.

But first, I’ll shower.