Page 54 of Stutter

Something heavy drops.

Screams are heard everywhere

I cover Raven as quickly as I can, pulling her to my chest.

Then that something heavy sways, back and forth.

A rope.

Long and sturdy as it swings from George’s neck.

Desecrated.

A second wave of screams.

Because in the next breath, the rope breaks and a body falls into the pile of hardened snow. She whimpers when she sees what I see. The hood had been thrown back during the second fall. Crimson pours, and she takes tiny little steps away as it reaches her fur-lined boots, and I pick her up and tug her away.

But Riordan’s dilated, pale blue eyes follow us.

An image that will forever haunt both of our nightmares.

Chapter Fourteen

Maverick.

I drive home with the feel of Damon’s lips still on mine. I knew he was going to kiss me, but I didn’t think he was going to kiss me likethat. I’ve never thought of a man in that way before, never kissed one. Shared a woman with one, obviously but it never… went farther.

I wake up in my house, yearning for the weekend to hurry and arrive so Damon can bring Siren here. While I’m with them, my routine is disrupted, and for once, I don’t mind it at all. But while I’m here, it goes the same as always. The clouds outside my windows look heavy and promising this morning but I push the thought aside and go down to my basement for my morning run. My thoughts bounce between Raven to my lecture today as I continue pushing myself to hit the three-mile mark on my treadmill. On an incline. My thighs are burning but it feels fucking good.

After my run, I shower then carefully peel off the saniderm from my tattoo, rubbing the Aquaphor on it then do my morning routine in the deafening uncomfortable silence of my house, my thoughts on the probable chaos ensuing over at Damon’s that happens each morning and I have this anxious feeling to get back over there. Leave this house behind and just… begin the new chapters of my life. I don’t let my mind wander to… the closing chapter ofhers.

I know she’s not done… doing what it is she needs to do, and it’s not about incriminating myself, but… I suppose I wish she didn’t have to do this.

And there’s another part of me that wants to see her exact her pound of flesh.

I simply live in her world now.

________

The wind is bitter, and it feels as though it chills even your bones.

Simply saying that it’s cold is an overused understatement. It’s days like this I miss Texas. But I won’t go back. Even the few cases I worked out there were brief, and I usually cut them as short as I could. While I missed certain aspects of the state, I did not miss the blistering heat.

The drive to Rayne-Moore was dreadfully slow, everyone crossing the bridge at speeds of twenty to thirty miles an hour, me included, as the sun inches its way up over the horizon and my playlist bounces from cello covers of old rock songs to newer popular songs. My usual twenty-minute commute is almost an hour which is why I left thirty minutes earlier.

I park in the already full faculty lot and tug on my winter gear, mentally preparing myself to walk into the bitter breeze. The quad is filling with students ready for the weekend, the Koffee Kart already has a line, and I can hear the marching band practicing on the soccer fields ready for tonight’s home game. The air feels light and almost cheery the closer we get to the end of the semester. Next week is the Athletic Holiday Banquet, Raven said yes to being Jonas’ date, and although I was a bit jealous that I simply can’t have her onmyarm as a date, Damon and I can at least go as faculty and protect her from afar.

I spot my little fallen angel sans wings and Jonas walking through, holding hands, lost in their little bubble, heading to the Koffee Kart. Which I’m sure she’s already had her morning cupDamon provided for her, but Jonas has a very tough time telling Raven no.

I sigh, my breath creating little puffs of fog.

We’ll have to work on that.

I decide instead of interrupting them, I’ll go to the lecture hall and set up for the Nurture vs. Nature debates. I’m honestly pleasantly surprised she’s on campus today given she doesn’t need to be. But I’m guessing this is just another way for her to be near us and safe.

Once I stroll into the psych department, I’m almost surprised to see Damon standing outside of my locked classroom door with a thermos in his hand, but I suppose it’s not as weird seeing as his office is on the third floor. He waits for me patiently to open the door and then steps inside, looking around as if it’s the first time he’s truly taking in my space.

The ancient, tiered seats and wooden desks, the one large window on the side, my podium, the screen behind it, the projector screwed into the ceiling, the old hardwood flooring, and finally, the door that leads to my medium-sized office where more than once, I had Raven on my desk, legs spread and feeding me her delicious ambrosia for lunch or dinner. The mere memory has my dick thickening in my slacks.

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