Page 64 of Upon Blooded Lips (Vengeance #1)

THE UNSEEN

T he heavy cart rattles and shakes, its broken wheel spinning as I push it through the halls with my head bent and shoulders hunched. Moans drift through the corridors, the sounds of the haunted lifting the hairs on the back of my neck.

The place reeks of misery and despair, of lost dreams and hopes.

A rat scuttles past, its tiny furry body pressed against the wall, paying me no heed as I continue on my way to room forty-two. Posters flutter when I pass, their edges yellowed, their inspirational quotes faded with time.

The heavy metal door with a glass pane comes into view, and I glance over my shoulder before parking the cleaning cart beside it.

I grab my mask from the hamper and slide it into place before unlocking the door and slipping inside.

Presley lies on the bed, hands clasped over her chest, her tangled hair spread across the thin pillow.

I move like a ghost, unzipping my jacket and pulling out the knotted sheet from around my waist. It takes seconds to secure it to the waste pipe running along the ceiling, to place my hand over her mouth, to knot it around her neck.

Her eyes fly open, her panic reflected back to her in the mirrored mask. “This is for Tessa,” I tell her, and the panic turns to terror when I haul her into the air.

“No, please,” she gasps, her ruined face twisted into a mask of hatred and fear. Clawed hands tug at her neck, fingers scrambling at the knots. She swings from the ceiling, legs searching for purchase, the whites of her eyes showing.

She deserves more than this. More than a measly three minutes of panic and horror at her impending death. But this is all I can give, my final gift to Tessa.

I lean against the wall like a silent grim reaper, waiting for her legs to stop kicking, for her arms to drop, for the light to vanish from her eyes. And once they do, I shoot Nate a text.

It’s done.

Brilliant stars dot the night sky, the half moon lighting my way as I cross the border from Illinois into Iowa, my Harley purring happily beneath me.

Euphoria slams into me, and I grin behind my helmet.

I did it. My thirteen long years of penance are complete, my mission a success.

Tessa is safe, her abusers justly punished, her future secured. Now it’s time to claim my reward.

As the sun crests behind me, the golden rays light up a billboard at the side of the highway. Visit Arizona! it exclaims over a picture of the Grand Canyon.

My smile widens, and I turn my bike southwest.

I’m coming for you.