Page 262 of The Night Shift

“Are you sure, love?”

“Mmhm.”

He steps back.

I grab the scalpel, still buried in Sam’s other arm, and wrench it free.

The scream that rips out of him is almost beautiful. But the blood that sprays out is even more beautiful.

I cut into Stan’s inner thigh. Just below the groin. Right where the femoral artery hides, pulsing just beneath the skin.

Hehowls.

The blade peels him open. Blood wells up in thick, arterial gushes.

I don’t sever it. Not yet. I expose it. Let it throb in the open. Let him see what’s coming.

“You honestly should have just begged better,” I say calmly, slicing again. Blood streaks my lips. “Because now, it’s gonna hurt like a bitch. But that’s all right. I’m not afraid to make it hurt. Some people deserve it.” My blade digs deeper. “A friend said that to me once. And this is for her.”

More blood splatters across my face.

Like clockwork, Theo comes to crouch behind me, his breath ghosting against my temple, his fingers stroking through my hair.

“God, I love you like this,” he rasps as he brushes my curls back, lips grazing my ear. “Angry and feral and covered in blood all over. You’re a piece of art.”

The compliment makes me blush. So, I cut again.

A shallow slice. Then another. Just enough to keep the blood coming. Just enough to make him scream again.

Theo groans into my neck. “Mm, that’s my girl. Don’t stop. Make him scream until he chokes on it.”

I laugh. “You’re so weird sometimes.”

Theo’s tongue traces the curve of my ear. “And you love it, don’t you?”

I dig the blade deeper. Steve convulses. Blood sprays up my chest, across my cheek. Theo licks it from my skin like he’s starving. It only makes me wetter.

“You taste like a goddess.”

I drag the blade higher, carving symbols, nonsense, chaos, art. Blood pours like it’s endless. The heat of it soaks into my skin. It stains everything.

Theo’s hand slides down the front of my shirt, cupping my breast through the fabric, thumb grazing the hard peak through lace.

“You wanna ride me like this?” he pants into my ear. “While he bleeds out under us? Want me to fuck you while you watch the life leave his eyes?”

I’m almost eight-nine percent sure that Stefan is already dead, but that’s just semantics. We’ve fucked multiple times like this. Covered in the blood of the men I kill. And right now, all I can think is how much I want it again now. God, I want it so bad. But the second I’m about to look away — that’s when I see it.

A flicker in the dark. A glint of something familiar and shiny. A glittery blue purse, half-tucked under a chair.Audrey.

A warmth unfurls inside me, strange and soothing. A peace, of sorts. A quiet satisfaction in knowing I’ve delivered the kind of justice only someone like me can understand. It’s right. It’s clean.

It’s done.

I open my mouth to say something, blood still staining my teeth. She shakes her head, a small smile curling on her lips, and presses a finger to her own, silencing me.

I smile sadly.

She waves softly, almost teasingly, and then slips back into the shadows. Gone.