Bryan Smith - The Killing Kind

And maybe, just maybe, it really was time to let it all go. His grief. His bitterness at Emily Sinclair’s survival after playing dead. The deeper bitterness he felt every time he thought about Julie and Missy still being free. His regret and his self-loathing over his failure to save anybody.

Just…let it go.

He was pretty sure it was what Zoe would want.

And it would be the last thing Missy Wallace would ever expect.

For the first time in months, a genuine smile brightened Chuck’s face. He put the car in gear and drove away from Big Sam’s forever.

October 31

Early evening on Halloween, and the neighborhood was alive with a spooky vibe appropriate to the event. The leaves had turned and a strong wind was scattering brown piles of them across the streets and sidewalks. Adults and children wandered about in costume. One girl in a sexy nurse outfit staggered out of a house party and puked into the bushes as Lindsey drove by in her Pontiac Sunfire. An athletic-looking guy in a devil costume held her hair back as she heaved her guts out.

Lindsey had to chuckle.

Chivalry ain’t dead yet.

She turned down another street, went down a block, and turned in at the parking lot outside the apartment complex where she lived. There were more drunken revelers milling about here. More parties and more people in wild costumes. She lived in the shadow of Vanderbilt University, in the Hillsboro Village neighborhood, and here Halloween was mostly a really good excuse to get stinking drunk. Lindsey was thinking she might crash one of the many parties happening later in the evening. She was in a mood to celebrate.

The prosecution had finally offered its plea deal and Rob’s attorney had accepted on his behalf. And it was just like they’d been told. His sentence would be ten years, but he’d almost certainly be out earlier than that. When he got out, he’d still be a relatively young man in his late twenties. He would still have a shot at a productive life as a solid citizen.

More importantly, as far as Lindsey was concerned, he would be forever in her debt. She smiled as she got out of the car and threw the door shut, barely resisting the urge to skip along as she walked down the sidewalk in front of her building and climbed the steps to her third-floor apartment. The apartment she was still essentially sharing with Rob. His uncle was covering Rob’s portion of the rent for now, though lately he’d been making noises about helping her get a house. Lindsey was resisting, because she liked being in a place where she’d spent so much time with Rob. She liked to sleep in his bed and feel his presence. She could still smell him in the bedsheets and in the clothes that hung in his closet, especially in the collection of rock and roll and horror T-shirts he’d worn so often. That scent was there no matter how many times she washed them, and that comforted her. She slept in a different one every night, lying there in the dark as she stared up at the ceiling and thought about the future.

She entered the apartment and closed and locked the door behind her. After setting her purse on the dining-room table, she went into the kitchen and grabbed a cold beer from the refrigerator. She pried the cap off and took a deep swig. It was beyond refreshing. She carried the bottle out to the living room, curled up on the sofa, and turned on the TV. The local news was all over the story about Rob’s plea deal, but on CNN and Fox, at least at the moment, it only rated a two-sentence ticker alert. Which figured. The cable outlets were way more interested in the girls. Good. Her hope was that Rob’s story would continue to fade into the background over time. Then, when he got out, they could spend a relatively normal life together.

And again, it would be a life in which he could never forget or fully repay his debt to her. She would wait for him. She would see to his affairs. And she’d be loyal to him, with the small possible exception of the occasional one-night stand. Five years or whatever was a long time to go without getting laid, after all. Still, she wouldn’t give her heart to anyone else during that time and would be there for him when he got out.

Her eyes grew wet.

She’d waited so long for this chance. He belonged to her now. She saw it in the desperate longing evident in his eyes every time she visited him. Heard it in his voice every time he told her how much he loved her. It filled her with an intoxicating sense of power. She had a strong hold on him now and she would never, ever relinquish it. In fact, she meant to exploit it to the fullest. Among other things, he’d never be allowed to forget what a mistake he’d made in ignoring her all those years.

She finished off the beer, stretched, and yawned. Maybe she should take a short nap before heading out to one of the parties. She returned to the kitchen and dumped the empty bottle in the trash can. The beer had made her feel a little tingly. Pleasantly so. Maybe she’d hook up with some guy later. It’d been more than a month since the last time.

She was smiling as she entered Rob’s room.

That changed when she sensed the movement behind her and felt the hand at the small of her back.

She let out a yelp as she was shoved forward. The bedroom door slammed shut as she stumbled a few steps and dropped to her knees. Panic gripped her, made her heart race and her breath come fast. Someone had broken in while she was gone. She hoped she wasn’t about to be raped.

She bounced back to her feet and turned around.

It was her.

“You.”

Missy Wallace smiled. “Yes.”

Lindsey moved backward, retreating until her back met the wall. She looked different from the last pictures that had circulated. The computer-enhanced ones that showed her with blonde, spiky hair. Her hair was longer now and black again. But there was no mistaking that face. Lindsey glanced at the bed and noticed a discarded ball cap and oversized black sunglasses. A very minimalist disguise, but apparently it worked.

“Please don’t hurt me.”

Missy laughed. “So you’re Lindsey. Rob talked a lot about you.”

Despite a terror level escalating by the second, Lindsey was interested. “He…did?”

Missy nodded. “He did. He said you guys were bestest pals and had been since you were kids. I thought he had to be fucking you, but he denied it. And I guess I believed him. Rob’s a sincere motherfucker.”

“He was telling the truth.”

Missy smiled again as she moved a slow step closer. Her hands were clasped behind her back and Lindsey had to wonder what she was hiding. “But here’s the sticky point. I knew you had to have some interest in him. And I guess I was right, huh? You see, I’ve been watching you a while. I know you visit him. I even found your blog online. So he says he’s in love with you?”

She moved another step closer.

Lindsey scrunched up harder against the wall. There was nowhere to go. Nowhere to run without having to get around Missy. The room’s lone window was on the opposite side of the room. Even if she could get to it and take a leap through it, she was three stories up. Her fingernails clawed at the wall as she took a step sideways. Her skin crawled as Missy’s eyes roved over her body, frankly appraising her the way a man would. Scoping out the competition.

She whimpered. “Please don’t hurt me.”

“You already said that, you stupid bitch. Now answer my question. Is Rob in love with you?”

Hot tears streamed down Lindsey’s cheeks. “He is.”

Missy nodded and came another step closer. “Well, that’s too bad. I have this thing. Personal quirk, I guess you could call it. I don’t like to share. But it’s okay. We’ll get past it. I know he’ll come back around in time. I guess I won’t see him for a while, but that’s okay, too. I’ve forgiven him for letting me down. I’m gonna give him a pass on that. But you, Lindsey?”