Page 171 of Under the Bed

Kaleb bursts out of our stall, and the door bangs against the wall. Two people shriek at the sound. At his ominous presence.

I peek my head around him in time to see it’s Eddy and the girl.

There’s a third man out there, one of the two I saw earlier today.

A silent man. Blond hair. Blue eyes. Blue slacks and a black peacoat.

Myblack peacoat that I left in the clinic.

Kaleb would recognize the coat in a heartbeat.

He’ll kill the man with a death wish for it. Soon, I bet.

The thieving fucker watches the scene unfold, unbothered. Doesn’t make an escape attempt.

He smiles while my masked stepbrother approaches the woman, his hand curled before he gets to her.

And he does. Kaleb grabs her by the throat, holding her up in the air as if she weighs nothing.

Eddy is frozen in place. His eyes are gaping, jaw dropped.

He can’t move, though I bet he wishes he could.

The other man’s gaze turns curious, registering the woman’s shrieks of misery. “Put me down. Put me down.”

He’s staying out of sheer, morbid curiosity.

Huge, fatal mistake. One he’ll pay for.

I slip out of the stall as Kaleb enters the adjacent stool. I don’t want him there alone with her. He’s mine.

“What are you doing?” she rasps, struggling to suck in a breath.

Kaleb shakes her in response.

Apparently, the sudden movement is the wake-up call Eddy’s been desperate for.

Poor loser tries so hard to go unnoticed. His steps are small as he backs up toward the door, his trembling hand reaching for the handle.

Delusional.

I won’t let him out. Won’t give him a chance to change his mind and rat Kaleb out.

They’ll. Take. Him. From. Me.

This is the end of the road for Eddy.

Choking sounds of the woman come from my left as I launch at him. Power surges through my veins. I don’t feel like a person anymore. I feel like a human weapon. A deadly one.

In my periphery, while I launch myself at Eddy, I notice the woman whom Kaleb’s choking is flailing her feet in the air.

The blond guy’s eyes flick between Kaleb and me, and he huffs a laugh.

He shows no sign of remorse for stealing my coat. For enjoying thisshow.

“Please, please, please.” Her demands have shifted into pleading. “I’ll pay you. Anything you want.”

Kaleb thrusts her against the stall. I hear it rather than see it, the loudthumpthat rattles the room. Her pathetic cries.

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