Page 107 of From Hell

She bobs her head at my coaxing, like a good fucking girl, and my cock hits the back of her throat. It’s too much. I grab her head and fuck her mouth, savoring the velvet way her tongue slides over my cock.

I want to thrust inside her, slow and deliberate, fucking her until she can’t walk. And then spend the rest of the night with my face buried in her sweet pussy, making her scream. Addison’s rotting corpse can fucking watch.

But the sound of sirens cuts that fantasy to shreds.

Laine releases me and sucks in a breath, shaking her head. “Fuck. I called them. Shit. I’m sorry.” She’s trembling in fear as she leans close, and slumps against me. I draw her up until her head is on my chest and carry her upstairs, inside the house. As I place her on the couch, her soft and inviting lips taunt me from this angle.

Fuck it, I don’t care if I get caught.

Don’t you dare go back on our deal,the Ripper snarls inside my head.

Doing up my trousers, I place a tender kiss on her forehead and run a thumb over her lips to wipe away the spots of blood. “Let them come.”

“No, you need to go.” She tries to push me away.

I grip her jaw and make her look at me. “I’m not going anywhere.”

She scowls. “Then I’ll tell them I did it.”

My lips twitch. “There’s a knife downstairs with my prints on them.”

“Please, Jaxon. It can’t end like this. I thought…” She places her forehead on mine, a sob caught in her throat. Her delicate jasmine and vanilla scent is headier now we’re away from the blood. “…you were the Ripper. It was Addison, right? He called me little bird. You don’t call me that.”

A surge of something dark twists through my mind. Amusement weaving through my gut as he flares to life.She’s fucking delusional,he hisses. His harsh laugh escapes my own lips and darkness stains the edges of my sight.But you should listen to her.

We pull back.

“No. You were right.”

“Jaxon?”

“Little Birdis what we call a witness. I’m the Ripper, little fox.” An ache spreads through my chest as I dig the penny I’ve carried in my wallet all these years and place it in her palm. Telling her I’m the Ripper is the only way to keep her away. Maybe she would understand that I didn’t kill those women, even if it was my body doing the slaughtering. That the Ripper sleeps inside of me until I let him out. But even if she did understand, I can never trust him. And if I’m going to give him total control, I don’t want her anywhere near him. “That’s why I left all those years ago, to protect you.”

As soon as she got the Ripper’s attention by seeing what she shouldn’t see, I had to leave. It was the only way to keep her safe from him. When she disappeared, changing her name, I thought it was safe to come back.

That’s why I have to leave now.

It was easy to let you think that, Mr. Fucking Uptight,the Ripper laughs inside my head.

Her hands flinch away as I get to my feet, her face a contristed mask of confusion laced with fear. The pounding behind my eyes getting stronger. I’m tired. I need to leave now before he takes control and destroys her like he tried to do years before. Killing Laine wasn’t anything more than my alter following the Archkey’s orders and in the same token, taking away what was mine in a fit of jealousy.

Only he failed, and he’s been carrying that damn penny ever since. Making me carry it. It was only recently my blackouts have become less and less, and I’ve been able to communicate with him, gaining knowledge of what he does.

What he did.

Does telling yourself that help you sleep at night, brother?

Before Laine, I was content to stay in the dark and let the Ripper do what he wanted, but now the stain of it is my burden, too. I see his thoughts just as clearly as I see my own.

He mutilated women and still does. And I do nothing to stop him. I thought I had him under control. I was wrong.

The Ripper laughs, drowning out the rest of my thoughts as the banging on the door becomes loud and clear. The police are outside. Laine doesn’t try to stop me as I take the stairs back down to the wine cellar where the rear entrance leads into the garden, a hidden escape route for occasions just like this.

But before I make it outside, my alter surfaces,Ah, brother, what a mess you’ve made. Don’t worry, Jack is back to clean it all up. I’ll keep your little bird safe.

My head feels like it’s splitting open, rage engulfing me from the inside out.

Then I black out.