Page 75 of Pretty Little Fears

“Who’snext,Em?”Grimmbreaks the silence.

“AlbertWagner,”Irespond. “Hewas the announcer at the bidding.”Grimmdoesn't need anything more.Hegives me a slight head nod and we gather our things.

Closingthe freezer door behind us and leavingVictorinside, we head back upstairs.Nextup on the chopping block is the announcer, the asshole who bid her off like a piece of cattle.Icheck my messages fromEliand retrieveWagner’saddress, then head out of the house.

Hoppingback on our bikes, we pull our helmets on and rev up our engines.Thesun is starting to rise now, signifying another day my little obsession is anywhere besides where she belongs.Thepang of guilt that wraps around and squeezes my heart grows stronger with every minute.

Mythoughts drift back toBlairas we make our way through the city and backroads.Ispend the ride thinking of her, thinking of what she must be going through.Grimm’svoice fills my helmet, pulling me once again from my destructive thoughts. “Basedon the addressEligave us, we should be pulling up in just a minute.”Hesays.

Wetake a turn, driving onto a dirt road.Thereare trees lining the sides that seem to go on for ages.AlbertWagnerwants to be hidden.

Sadly, he’s lost this round of hide and seek.

IfIfindyou,Ikillyou.

Fortunatelyfor me, with my team, you’ll always be found.

Rollingto a stop at the address thatEligave us,Iflip up my visor and peer at the building.Thecabin-like structure is more high-end than it is cabin.

Ipull out my phone from my pocket and look at the time.It’sstill early morning by the time we arrive and according to his schedule, he’s been gone all night and shouldn’t return for another hour, giving us plenty of time to prepare.Thefunny thing about cabins is that they are made of wood, a very flammable material.

Pullingour bikes to the side to conceal ourselves within the trees,Itug off my helmet at the same time asGrimmand we make our way to the house.Lookingaround at my surroundings, my brows pull low in confusion.Strangehow his house is also in a secluded area, much like the oneIwas held captive in previously.I'mabout to try the doorknob, ready to pick the lock, when shattering glass has my head whipping to the side.

Grimmis smiling at the now broken window, ready to crawl through. “You’llhave to board that shit up for whatIhave planned,”Igrunt.

Herolls his eyes at me as he goes to climb inside, “Yeah,I'maware.”Pullingmy body through the broken window,Imake my way straight to whereIassume the living room would be.

Nothaving the time to waste on this piece of shit,Ipull the few cansof gasoline from the bag and start to douse the floors and furniture.Pouringthe diesel fuel, the pungent smell fills my nostrils, making me slightly light-headed.

Thesound of pouring liquid is the only noise betweenGrimmand me as we make our way around the living room.Iwatch asGrimmpours a trail from the living room to the kitchen where the stove sits.Ensuringthat every inch is covered,Igrab the bag that contains the tools and bring it with me to the front door.

Openingthe door,Idig through the sack untilIfind the screwdriver and begin to take off the front door handle from the inside.Oncethe handle is removed,Ileave the door open and head around to the back door to repeat the process.

Removingthe handles so he will be trapped inside as flames engulf his house was an idea that came to me on the way here.Seeingthe kind of house he lives in,Ifind it fitting.

Oncethe inside handles are removed from any exit doors,Imeet back up withGrimmwho's rifling through the fridge.He’sstanding behind the fridge door and when he closes it,Ican't help but let out a genuine laugh.Grimmis standing there with his cheeks puffed out and a handful of food.

“What?”Hemumbles through the food in his mouth, crumbs falling out. “Murdermakes me hungry.Andhorny.ButIcan’t satisfy myself in that way so let me snack and then we can leave.Thanks.”Ibegin to laugh and it instantly feels wrong to have any semblance of joy, so my laughter quickly dies.

Heclears his throat before he speaks, seemingly catching on to my shift in mood.

“Icovered the windows while you were removing the door handles.Everythingis bolted shut.Oncehe’s home and this bitch is lit up, he won't be leaving.Thegas line for the stove has been cut, too.”

Igive him a slight nod and pull my phone out to check the time.Thenumbers reflected back at me let me know that he should be arriving soon.Istart gathering up our tools and shove them back into my bag.

Withthe front door still open, we exit and pull it shut. “Alright,I'mgoing to the side of the house, make yourself scarce in the trees.Textme when he's going inside.”Isay.Hegives me a nod and heads over to his hiding spot.

FromwhereI'mstanding,Ican't seeAlbertarrive, butIcan hear him.Ican hear the sound of tires crunching over rocks and dirt as they make their way closer up the driveway.

Myphone vibrates, it’sGrimmalerting me thatAlbertis about to walk through the door.Thisis a special event that requires my undivided attention.Whenhe opens the door, there is no doubt he will immediately be hit with the scent of gasoline and become suspicious.Ijust need to get him past the door and shut it before he can flee.

Creepingmy way around from the side of the house,Iwatch as he starts to open the door.I'mon the side where the door blocks me from view soIhave the advantage of surprise.Hefreezes as he steps through the threshold butI'mtoo quick for him to react.I'mrushing over to him, shoving him through the frame before he can run.BecauseIcaught him off guard, he falls to his knees with a resounding shout.

Atthe precise moment of my shove,Grimmis behind me throwing in a lit match.Quickly,I'mshutting the door and running to take cover, as the property explodes.Theimpact of the explosion sends us both barreling towards the trees landing on our fronts.

Coveringmy head, the loud boom echoes in the open land, the sound deafening.Ican feel the heat of the explosion flicker on my back as the ringing in my ears fades out.Ilift my head and wince whenIfeel the soreness in my bones.Iwas already pushing my body to the limit, but fuck that hurt.Ilook over atGrimmwho tries to hold back his laugh.Fuckingpsychopath.

Hecracks up, his whole body shaking with the force of his laughter. “Thatwas fucking amazing.IthinkIhave a new kink.Blowingshit up is awesome.”Hesmiles, his grin so wide,Ican see all of his teeth.Ishake my head and push myself up to standing.

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