Page 6 of Her Wicked Knights (Their Hallowed Queen #3)

Colton

The rain offers me the perfect cover as I stand out in the dark night, letting it plaster my hoodie to my skin.

It’s late summer, not yet fall, but there’s a definite chill in the air.

Fall is coming, and winter will be right behind it.

And fucking Jake North is going to be the one keeping Marley warm.

My fingers flex around the hilt of the knife as Marley laughs, throwing her head back to cackle unashamedly.

She’s always been so blissfully ignorant to the world around her.

It allows her to sit there with Jake on one side and the red-headed whore on her other and laugh at something I guarantee isn’t even that funny.

Would she laugh if I barged in there right now and buried this blade in Jake’s lungs?

Would she think it was all a joke when I slit Audrey’s throat, so I never have to hear her whiny fucking voice again?

Would Marley Lavigne beg me to stop as I claimed every inch of her as my own?

Would she forgive me if I took what I’ve wanted from her for so fucking long that it makes every cell in my body feel as if it’s been shrink-wrapped, unable to breathe?

In just over a month, Audrey has sank her claws into Marley so deep I expect she’ll bleed out the minute Audrey lets go of her.

If she ever lets go of her. It doesn’t seem likely, given that they spend every waking minute together.

They even spend the sleeping ones together—Audrey stays over, even on school nights, sleeping in the room across the hall that Hadley vacated when she left for the city.

I hate her, but she’s a necessary evil. If I don't want to drive away the person I want the most, I have to tolerate Audrey Graves. At least, in front of Marley I do.

Her sheer curtains are shut, with just a gap in the middle where the two panels meet.

She usually doesn't even do that much, but tonight, it's to my advantage.

Looking up at her from down here, I can see her in perfect clarity.

.. a fucking vision. She'd have to come to the window, bracing her hands on the sill, and look down below to notice that I'm out here.

But she wouldn't. I've watched her like this for the last week.

She doesn't notice me when I'm right next to her, so why would she notice me standing out here?

The laugh behind me makes me tense, as I expect to find her father or something.

I haven't yet figured out how I'll explain it to him if he finds me waiting outside her house with a knife.

The Lavigne's have always been so welcoming.

I don't doubt they'd just invite me in out of the rain, but her dad's smart.

The chief of our small-town police department, he's perceptive, intelligent.

There's no reason I could give him for being out here with a knife that he'd buy into.

Fortunately, it's not him who's standing there when I turn.

Rev's smirk deepens as he gets closer, his eyes flicking to the blade. "Such a fucking cliche." He chides, shaking his head.

My fingers tighten on the blade, but I wouldn't dream of using it against him. "What are you doing here?" I demand.

"I had to drop something off with Tripp," he shrugs. "I'd ask what you're doing here, but I can figure that out myself."

I turn my focus back to the three of them in the house. Marley's parents are out this evening; my watching them is as good as a safety measure.

"So... what?" He chuckles. "If you can't have her, no one can?"

I turn to level him with a gaze. “If I kill her and me, then at least I’d have her to myself for once.

” It's probably the only way it would ever happen.

And as much as I want her to myself, I'm not so cruel that I could take her away from everyone else who loves her.

.. her parents, sister, Tripp, Rev. They're all people I love, too, in my own way.

While it may pale in comparison to whatever devastatingly effective thing I feel for Marley, I can still recognize it for what it is.

I wouldn't hurt any of them for my own satisfaction.

"Or you could kill Jake." Rev shrugs, slipping the hood off his head and shaking droplets of water from his dark hair. "Murder her boyfriend and swoop in once he's out of the picture. But I forgot, you said you're not a killer."

"And you said I'm just not a killer yet." I return his cool demeanor with a slow smirk. "Make no mistake. I'm not a killer, but I'd kill anyone who even thinks about hurting her."

"Yeah..." he sighs, his tongue darting out to lick at his lips before his eyes flick back to the window, where Marley's disappeared from view. Jake and Audrey are still there, laughing at some private joke. "Me too."

Light flickers on in the kitchen, just a few feet away from where we're standing, and my limbs flood with the need to move— either turn back the other way and run before she can glance through the window over the sink and see me, or get closer, hoping she doesn't look up and notice me as I get a chance to see her closer.

"Come on," Rev says. "Let's go get coffee or something."

I don't need coffee. I need her.

I take the first few steps before I've even realized what I'm doing, moving slowly up the steps that lead to her from porch.

The steps are lined with pumpkins they haven't yet carved, maple leaves scattered among them.

The top step creaks with my weight, but the sound is easily eclipsed by the storm around me.

My hand moves to the doorknob. I know where they keep the spare key, and I know that they probably don't even have it locked. The Lavigne's usually don't lock up until bed time. After all, who would be dumb enough to break into the police chief's home?

"Colt..." Rev's voice is full of warning as I smooth my palm against the door, debating on wrapping my fingers around the handle and letting myself in.

If I go fast, I can get in and have a moment with her to myself.

Would she be scared if I just let myself in?

Or would she be happy to see me, an unexpected but pleasant surprise?

I decide not to find out, resting my head against the wood a second before moving to the window.

Her back is to me, her head buried in the refrigerator as she reaches for something there.

Whatever she's looking for, I hope she never finds it.

The position has her bent over just enough that her shorts have rode up to expose a fair amount of her creamy skin, delicate and unmarred.

I wonder if Jake has touched her there, kissed her there. I wonder how far they've gone.

"Colt!" Rev hisses again.

Marley straightens, and even from here, I can see the goose bumps that have sprung up on her skin. She fucking heard him.

I step out of view just as she turns to glance out the window.

From my spot pressed against the wall, I see Rev dart under the magnolia tree, his body blending in with the trunk of the tree.

A peal of thunder rocks through the sky, and I hear her yelp as the glass window rattles inside it's panes.

A second later, the lightning illuminates enough of the yard to see Rev's shoes poking out from beneath the tree.

But by that point, I can already hear her laughter receding as she gaslights herself into believing she's just on edge.

The truth, I think, is that a subconscious part of her knows I'm here, waiting in the shadows for her.

I think her soul senses mine, that my blood calls to hers even if she refuses to admit it.

I don't put much stock in soul mates, but every cell in my body believes that I was designed for Marley Lavigne.

Rev steps out from under the tree, shaking his head as I rush down the steps, careful not to make too much noise just in case she hasn't already set back up the steps.

As I pass the pumpkins, I notice the names written on the tops in permanent marker. Marley, Jake, Audrey.

Irritation flares through my fingertips, which grip the knife harder as I bring it down through the one with Jake's name on it.

The resistance only lasts for an inch or so before it sinks the rest of the way easily. I wonder if this is what it would feel like if it was Jake I stabbed instead of his fucking pumpkin. I bet that would feel a thousand times better, and this is already so glorious.

I slide the knife back out easily and join Rev in the middle of the lawn, where he's shaking his head at me. "You're playing with fire."

I smirk, brushing past him to get to his car, which is still parked in Tripp's driveway. "I am the fire, Rev."