Page 26 of Fatally Yours

“I hope his wife doesn’t come home,” I muttered, staring at Officer Wilson’s limp form.

It turned out he had a home gym, and August removed a punching bag from a hook.

Of course, the force paid him well enough for him to afford that, but not enough to bring his killer to justice.

Now, the feeble officer was suspended from it.

His head hung limp with a splash of red cracking along the top of his scalp.

Bright beams of light were filtering through the lone window, reflecting off the damp spot on his skin.

“Me too,” he said. “I’m not entirely excited about killing an innocent person, let alone a woman.

” My eyes burned holes in him. I was mostly innocent, but he took that from me.

Perhaps I still held a hint of resentment towards him for his impulsive actions.

Dying was painful—agony personified—but that didn’t matter all that much.

It only mattered because he was the one who did it.

My condition made me lose a lot of the normal functions that I had in life, including my period.

I was supposed to start it the day after I died, and yet, it never came.

I had no history of irregularities, and I knew in my heart that it would never return.

Some things you just know. Sure, it was nice not to have to deal with it anymore, but that meant there was no way I could achieve my simple dream, no matter how much I wanted it.

“Then what the hell happened with that Kelsey chick?” I asked. “I seriously thought you were going to kill her.” August gave me a smirk that could’ve melted my heart had I not been so irritated with him.

“Just a show, baby,” he said. “I needed her to stay quiet, and fear is a good motivator, isn’t it?” I let out a breath. If only it didn’t make me shudder when he said that. Officer Wilson’s voice interrupted our conversation.

“W-what the hell is going on here?” he asked.

I glanced at August, hoping he would provide a suitable answer.

There really was no easy way to explain coming back from the dead.

The officer blinked a few times as if stunned.

“August? What the hell? I thought you were dead.” He smiled in response, staring down at him, surely enthralled by his vulnerable position.

“Lots of strange things have been happening recently,” he said emotionlessly. “Like what you did to Natasha.” I could see his fist ball, thinking about what had happened only a few moments before. Officer Wilson jostled the binds above his head, but he did a lovely job again, just as he always did.

“They put you in the ground,” he said. “I saw your body. We took you to the morgue.”

“Yeah, they did,” August affirmed, glaring down at him. I thought for a moment that he must’ve hated him more than even Devin, and that was really saying something. The officer’s leer turned suspicious.

“What kind of prank are you two pulling? Whatever it is, you’re going to be in big trouble for it.” I almost wished it was just a trick or illusion. This could all just be some terrible dream, and I would wake up beside August as he soothed me back to sleep .

If only.

“I really am dead, creep,” he chuckled. However, his expression was more cynical than joyful, and a chill crawled down my spine.

“Oh, I’m sure,” he said. “Why are you even here? Is it because you want to know who killed you? Because we know. The records are here. But getting justice for some minimum wage bum like you isn’t exactly on our list of priorities.

” I thought my face flushed. Glancing at August, I noticed his brow raise at the idea of finding out who set this abhorrent series of events in place.

Yes, if that person had never taken him away, none of this would’ve ever happened.

“We were going to make an arrest soon, but your slut went missing, and we only have so many resources to deal with you fucking delinquents,” he snarled. August and I shared a look. Neither of us was sure about what to do with that information.

“I should cut out your tongue for talking about my woman like that.” He stepped forward, making my heart leap to my throat. “She’s not missing. She’s dead. Maybe if you fuckers figured that out sooner, you wouldn’t end up in the same state.”

“Yeah, right. What a bunch of shit,” he said, pulling on his binds again.

That stain of blood atop his head never left my gaze, sticking to the back of my eyelids even when I blinked.

“When I get out of here, you two are going to prison for a long, long time. I can’t wait to finally watch you rot like you always deserved.

” His words were sickeningly ironic. August must’ve also found it funny as he broke into a roar of laughter.

Then, silence fell on us as he wiped away a tear.

In his empty hand, a knife appeared, making me take a step back.

I didn’t want him to make me do it this time.

My chest tightened as he turned to me, beckoning me to join him.

With a gulp, I stepped forward. Sure, I hated the guy, but I still wasn’t ready to kill someone.

I wasn’t fully corrupted by death and obsessed with revenge yet, at least not on the same level as he was.

He pressed the handle into my palm, and I looked at him, pleading with my gaze for him not to make me do it.

“Hey, Tash. Remember when I killed you?” he questioned, stepping forward and running his thumb along one of the scars on my neck. “I’ll never forget that.” My lips thinned as I slowly nodded, unsure where he was going with this. What he said next utterly baffled me.

“Do the same thing to me.”

The officer’s face was suspicious, his expression bewildered. Who could blame him? My hand still trembled as I held the knife, unsure if I could do something as simple as that. Stab August? Even if it wouldn’t kill him, the idea nauseated me.

“Come on, baby. It’s not like it’ll hurt,” he assured.

“I know you’re still mad at me for killing you, so use that gorgeous anger of yours.

Prove this asshole wrong. Then I’ll destroy him for putting his hands on you.

” I hated to think about what could’ve happened had August not been there.

Or how he had done similar actions to other women before.

That probably wasn’t the first time he took things too far, either.

Just thinking about it made me want to sink my nails into him.

Using that fury to fuel myself, I sucked in a breath and, without hesitation, lunged forward and sank the knife right into August’s stomach—exactly as he did to me. Much to my relief, he didn’t even flinch. In fact, there was a satisfied smile on his face as I wrenched it from his gut.

Even though I knew he wouldn’t bleed, it was still strange not to see the steady flow of crimson that would’ve followed had he been alive. When I glanced at Officer Wilson, his eyes were as wide as saucers, watching in horror as I symbolically took my anger out on him and mended our bond.

“Again,” he demanded. Without a hint of resistance, I stepped forward, using my weight to plunge the blade into him again, this time just below his ribcage.

My throat tightened when I thought I had nicked one of his bones.

And just like before, his expression never changed.

Just as I pulled the weapon from him again, I saw the officer’s face twist out of the corner of my eye.

This wasn’t just a prank as he thought, and the realization was hitting him faster than I had stabbed August. “Again, baby. Like I did to you that night.”

I nodded, feeling my emotions flutter in my chest as I thrust the knife into him, once, twice, three times, and more until his shirt was full of puckered holes, and I lost count of the number of times I did the cruel deed.

And it felt fucking good. It felt like revenge.

The wounds I inflicted on him would heal over in a few moments, and we would have matching scars for eternity.

“What the fuck…” The officer’s face paled as I ripped the knife from his chest a final time, feeling myself almost want to habitually huff as I would have in life. Stabbing someone was not as easy as it looked in the movies.

“My god, that was beautiful,” August said with a smirk. I still gripped the blade in my hand, feeling a sick buzz go through my body. Perhaps his praise made me hunger for more, but I wanted to see him exert his power over a man who wronged me once again. Then he turned to our victim.

“It’s nice to be the one with the power now, huh, officer?

” he snickered. “I get it now. It’s almost hard not to get drunk on it.

” Officer Wilson was stunned into silence, his mouth flapping open and shut.

His eyes darted from August’s polka-dotted torso to the sparkling blade in my quivering hand and back again.

“So tell me, when’s your wife coming back?” he inquired. The officer shook his head quickly, once again yanking on his ties.

“S-she’s out of town, but you don’t need to bring her into this,” he pleaded as his arms went limp again. “Please don’t bring her into this. Whatever this is.”

“Revenge.” August reached his hand out. “That’s what this is.

Nothing more, nothing less.” On command, I passed the knife to him, watching the sunlight bounce off the sparkling metal.

“I don’t like men who treat women poorly or harass people they think are below them,” he said, staring down at the blade like he was hypnotized by it.

“I-I’m sorry…”

“It’s not me you need to be apologizing to.

You tried to hurt Natasha. And you shouldn’t piss off people who have nothing to lose, including their lives.

” The officer turned to me with pleading eyes, looking for mercy, and somehow, I couldn’t find any.

He could’ve subjected me to a lifetime of trauma had August not stepped in.

“I-I’m sorry, Natasha. I shouldn’t have done that, and I’m sorry.” Averting my gaze, I confirmed that I could not forgive him after everything he did. August cracked a smile, taking a step forward .

“I think it’s time you get a taste of your own medicine,” he said.

My chest was bound with anxiety, but just like before, there was a hint of excitement.

I knew what was coming. No amount of anticipation had prepared me to watch someone perish.

Even though he damn well deserved it. We were doing the world a favor by taking him out of it.

“Listen, if this is because of the stuff I do with the girls, I’ll stop.

I promise. I’ll even quit the force. Please, I don’t want to die,” he begged.

August’s signature smile only wore away at my worries, making a strange calm wash over me.

We were bound in blood and secured by death.

Then he flicked away the blade, and a familiar, blood-splattered hammer appeared in his grasp.

His speed was faster than the blink of an eye.

“It’s kinda ironic, isn’t it? You didn’t make my death a priority, but I made yours the first thing I wanted to do when I got back.

” His mismatched eyes snapped to me, then to the weapon in his hand.

“Besides keeping the love of my life with me and slaughtering her scummy boyfriend.” Whatever color remained in Officer Wilson’s face drained.

A sick thrill ran through me, thinking how funny it was that I was just the one terrified only a few moments earlier.

“Y-you’ve done this before?”

“A few times. But not nearly as often as you’ve tried to fuck on the job.

Practice makes perfect, as they say,” August said.

Rage was coursing through my body as I remembered his violating hands and the way he pressed himself upon me for his own sick pleasure.

My patience was running thin. August was dragging this out way too much, allowing him to beg and plead when he didn’t allow anyone else the same luxury. Stepping up, I turned to him.

“Quit fucking around and give this asshole what he deserves,” I said flatly, feeling my nails digging into my palms. Like before, there was no pain, and I almost thought the lack of it was fueling my emotions. August raised a brow as a surprised but satisfied look crossed his face.

“I didn’t think you could get any more perfect, but here we are,” he beamed, walking over and giving me a kiss. I remained stoic, waiting impatiently for him to enact our revenge. That’s what this was —our revenge. He stepped up to the still-bound officer as he trembled .

“G-god would make you two right,” he said in one last act of defiance.

My jaw clenched, thinking about his pathetic plea, and August chuckled at his ridiculous assertion.

He gave me one final glance as I nodded, affirming what I needed him to do.

He turned back to him and spoke the last words he would ever hear.

“Hey fucker,” he said coldly. “Your headlight’s out.

” Officer Wilson opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly silenced by August raising the hammer above his head and bringing it down onto his rounded skull.

A spray of dark blood scattered across his face as the man cried out, exacerbated as his cranium caved into itself in a sickeningly beautiful act of revenge.

His hands were fighting against the binds, causing the joist above to tremble with his weight, but to no avail.

Again and again, just like he commanded me to do a moment before, he drew back the weapon and brought it down in a display of pure, ecstasy-inducing power.

Officer Wilson’s pale bones popped and splattered with shades of pink and red as it dribbled down his revolting face and to the floor, pooling beneath his feet.

My tongue felt dry in my mouth, but for some strange reason, the sight made me want to grab August and kiss him.

His porcelain skull shattered like ceramic, and hollow sounds reverberated through the room, each one sending a chill down my spine.

The shine of his brain matter glinted in the low light, catching my eye as I watched it fly through the air.

And yet, I felt nothing but glee. If anything, watching it was much more thrilling than anything I had ever experienced.