Page 147 of Stalker

“You’re crazy.”

She backed away from me. “Then I will. I’ll do it. It’s what needs to be done.”

“Wilder!” Xander’s voice called from only a few yards behind.

“Come on,” she encouraged. “Hunt with me.”

As my brothers came into view, their flashlights highlighting her bright eyes and the depth of anger in them, another swell occurred in my soul.

This was wrong, but nothing had felt so right. There was no end unless we did it the way that could possibly free us from the rusted chains. It was time.

“Let’s go hunting,” I growled.

There was nothing as freeing as the rush of wind or the way the crisp air hit my lungs. We ran together, the four of us heading in the same direction. I refused to lose sight of her and what struck me more than anything was the delight I sensed she was experiencing.

A monster had tried to end her life. Now she was ready and willing to take justice into her hands as we’d done in ours.

We weren’t good men, but, in this case, we were doing the right thing.

I felt it in my bones.

The woods were dense, limbs yielding to our will as we weaved our way through them.

When she threw out her arm, stopping short, the three of us ceased moving altogether.

He wasn’t far.

The Scorekeeper wasn’t as young as he used to be. We’d caught up to him.

Or perhaps he was ready to face his maker.

We continued along the path, moving silently through the night.

Until we found him.

“Cain Demarco, you’ve been found guilty for the murder of several innocent women, including the woman who promised to love and honor you for the rest of your miserable life. Your punishment? Death.”

Perhaps in the future I’d remember the night differently or perhaps the tale of ending a monstrous cycle would be told with glory and righteousness taking center stage.

But not tonight.

For weeks, even months in the future, we’d remember the ugly deed and the joy in performing the act of fulfilling justice.

Not just for the women who’d lost their lives to a true butcher or the woman who’d thought love could conquer evil, a sweet angel determined to protect her three innocent babies, but also for the men who’d believed themselves the spirit of true evil.

Only in the end, there was a beacon of light.

A conclusion to the games that had haunted us since the day we were born.

Some would suggest we hadn’t changed, that we couldn’t learn from the horrific mistakes, but for us, we’d finally found salvation.

In the form of three beautiful women who’d awakened our souls.

* * *

Six weeks later…

“You’re really never going to see her again?” Xander asked as he wrapped his arm around Jessica. Her baby bump was just starting to show, the woman glowing.

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