Page 133 of Lady Killer

“What did he do?” I said, looking up at his pale blue eyes.

“He killed them,” Everest said proudly. “He stabbed their eyes with his pencil until they couldn’t see anymore, and then he stabbed their throats until they couldn’t breathe anymore.”

“You’re a good friend, Ever,” I said sleepily into his chest.

“After that, Lucian said that Everest was his best friend, and he would always protect him, no matter what.”

“What about his mommy and daddy? I thought they protected the little boy.”

Everest sighed. “They did, love, they did. For a long time, as long as they could. But one day, when the boy was not much older, they died.”

My poor, sweet Ever. He had mentioned his parents’ death before, but I didn’t realize it was when he was young.

“It was an accident. A car accident. They lost control during a flash flood and crashed. After that, Lucian was the only person the boy had left.”

He looked thoughtful.

“Lucian didn’t just protect him, he took him in, let him live with him and his family. And so, while the boy missed his mom and dad, he was happy, with Lucian.”

“And with time, they grew to love each other?” I asked, snuggling deeper into him.

He laughed. “Something like that. It’s a bit of a filthy story. We’ll have to save it for another night.”

“I’m sorry about your parents. I would give anything to have Mami back.”

“They were amazing parents,” he said as he played with my hair.

We lapsed into a comfortable silence, and before long, I drifted off to sleep . . .

My phone startled me awake.

BUZZ

I was still on top of Everest. With his eyes closed, and his lips relaxed, he looked angelic, almost innocent.

Once, I had been disturbed by the idea that we might be alike. But more and more, I was coming to appreciate just how very similar we were.

BUZZ.

Disentangling myself from him, I rolled over to grab my phone off the nightstand.

It was Simone.

Simone: The police are announcing that they believe the Virgin Sacrifice Killer has Autumn.

Her words felt like a bucket of ice water being dumped on me. A stark reminder of everything that was at stake.

I had to make my move tonight.

Autumn couldn’t wait any longer.

Ever took off early that morning on a job, giving me the opportunity to seek out Lucian.

Trusting my instincts, I padded through the halls of the manor, making my way down to the lower west wing, where his office was located.

Sure enough, he was there.

The door was cracked open, giving me the rare opportunity to study the man unnoticed.

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