Page 138 of Beneath Her Skin

I could hear his footsteps and labored breathing as he approached the door. Reaching to my back for his gun, I placed it in my lap, the anticipation building. The only light in this unit was from the moonlight through the windows, casting dark, omnipresent shadows on the walls and floor. The nurses’ station had a chest-high top, so being slouched down like I was left me completely out of sight.

The door opened, and he stepped into the pediatric wing.

Now for the fun part.

During my research into Dom’s life, I found he had a fear of porcelain dolls. So, of course, I had fun and went completely over the top with that knowledge.

Waiting for him to hit my mark on the floor, my thumb hovered over a button on my phone. Once in position, I pressedit, and a group of eight porcelain dolls, all hanging from a miniature version of a noose and drenched in faux blood, fell around him from the ceiling. The gravity of them falling splattered the fake blood onto him, covering his face and chest. It took every ounce of self control to contain my laughter.

Dom’s eyes went wide in terror, falling to his ass, scooting himself backwards in a panic.

Seeing this hulk of a man scared to death of dolls was too much.

Stupid little bitch.I chuckled in my mind.

Pressing another button, the pre-recorded sound of a haunting child’s voice sounded at the opposite end of the hallway.

“I love you!”

Dom shot up, darting towards the door to the stairwell again; that yes, I had locked.

His breathing quickened, and out of habit, my nurse brain counted his breaths, mentally checking his respiratory rate. I chuckled out loud once I counted twenty-nine.

“You know, Dom, you should calm down; you’re tachypneic,” I said out loud, my voice echoing off the walls.

Dom panicked, jumped up and ran towards one of the windows, thinking he could escape that way.

“I wouldn’t do that if I–”

I was interrupted by the sound of Dom getting electrocuted by the rigged windowsill, falling to the floor.

Grabbing Dom’s gun, I stood and circled around the nurses’ station, purposefully walking through the bloody, hanging dolls, allowing the false blood to drip onto me.

I stepped out of the shadows slowly towards Dom, still on the floor. His eyes went wide when he saw me, blood dripping from my headscarf, down my face, and my arms.

“I have to admit, the dolls seemed awful silly to prepare for you. Most men have deeper phobias: heights, snakes, injections… those kinds,” I taunted, stepping towards him slowly. His eyes narrowed as he scanned my body, noticing his gun.

“Seeing the big, bad hunter scared of dolls has to be the highlight of my day,” I mocked.

Squinting in a mixture of embarrassment and anger, he turned to face me, scalpel still gripped firmly in his hand.

“Welcome back to Hope Center! It’s been what, two years?!” I exclaimed, clapping my hands together in a feigned excitement while he looked at me, confused. “Oh, don’t tell me you don’t remember! You and your stupid fucking brothers raped and killed my fiancée.”

Recognition shone in his eyes as the realization hit him. His face distorted into a disgusting smirk.

Aiming his gun at him, I shot a round into the wall above his shoulder, making him jump.

“I suggest you run,” I purred, shooting another round into the wall above his opposite shoulder.

Pulling out my phone, I tapped a button to unlock all doors to the stairwells, except on the ground floor.

“I’ll even give you a head start. Let the hunt begin.” In an instant, Dom ran through the door to the stairwell, and I smiled; the thrill of the hunt…

8

ALEXIS

Taking advantage of the security cameras, I leaned casually against the wall and watched Dom make his way to the stairwell of the ground floor, trying with all his might to open the door. These doors were reinforced steel, and there was no way he could burst through, but it was sure fun to watch him try.

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