Page 60 of Poisoning Ivy
I see her bristle, hatred for me burning in her bright green eyes. "Fuck you."
"I'm just saying that you can tell me you're not a killer all you want, but you killed a man. Regardless of the circumstance, you killed him. That makes you and me the same, Bambi."
"I'm nothing like you!"
"Sure." I laugh. "That's why you watched me slit Tilly's throat. Why you never told anybody about what you saw?"
"I didn't tell anybody because I was scared you'd do the same to me if I did."
I narrow my gaze on her. "You sure that's the reason? I seem to recall you begging me to fuck you when my hands were still covered in her blood."
Ivy's cheeks flush as red as her hair, a gorgeous contrast to her creamy skin. Realizing she can't argue with that, she triesanother tactic. "You killed Tilly forfun. I killed my uncle in self-defense."
I laugh again, and this time Theo joins in with me. Not sure what's funny, Ivy looks between the two of us, and then to Monty, who's cracking a grin despite trying to school his face for her.
"What's so funny?" She demands.
"How gullible you are. So willing to swallow everything that I give you... my cock, my lies."
Her face contorts with anger when she realizes we're still stringing her along, still fucking with her. She pushes to her feet, stepping just in front of me. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, I lied to you that night... about why I killed her."
"Enlighten me." She demands, her head tipped back so that she can look up at me. "Why did you kill her? Was she an ex? Were you sick of feeding her your dick and lies, too?"
"You're cute." I tell her honestly, liking the way she looks, ready to pounce on me like a little chihuahua... or a pissed-off kitten. "But no. I fucked her once because I couldn't fuck you. You just happened to be there when it happened. As for why I killed her, well, she didn't deserve to orgasm... or to live."
Her lips fall open, and it tells me whatever she expected me to say, it wasn't that.
"She didn't deserve to orgasm?" Ivy laughs, turning to look at Theo for an explanation that he won't give her. "That'swhy you killed her?"
"No." I wave a hand, dismissing that stupid idea. There are plenty of people who don't deserve to orgasm; I'm not out to kill them all as long as I don't have to fuck them. "I killed her because she was a junkie. An addict."
If it's possible, Ivy's eyes widen further in disbelief, and I think she may have a stroke if I don't cut to the chase. "You gave me drugs, too, remember? You made me take them."
"Yeah," Theo agrees, "but they weren't anything that was going to kill you. Tilly sold fentanyl to a couple of high schoolers. Killian's the one who came across their bodies, tried to revive them."
Ivy's chest rattles with a laugh of disbelief, but when I don't deny it, she squints at me. "You came across the dead bodies of a couple overdosed teenagers and decided to take justice into your own hands by murdering the woman who sold it to them?" She laughs again, louder this time. "You don't really expect me to buy this shit?"
"You can afford it." I shrug, unbothered. I couldn't care less if she doesn't believe me. I don't have to justify my sickness to her. I just need to know the depth of her loyalty, whether we can really trust her. It's why I wanted her to kill her husband, to prove that her soul still belongs to us as much as her body. That was already proven in the way she moaned for me, the way her body accepted us like it knew we belonged there.
It's why I'm giving her one more chance to prove herself.
Chapter thirty-two
Monty
She walks ahead of me in bare feet, following closely behind Killian. We slipped our masks back on before coming outside, just in case any of our nosy neighbors are sitting on the porch in the dead of night for some strange reason. Her family's shed is perched on the mountainside above the home, set back into the woods deep enough that no one will see us once we get there. At least, no one ever saw what we put in there the first time.
I'm a little bothered that she doesn't have shoes on, but Killian knows what he's doing. If she tries to run, she won't get far. And that possibility fills me with a nervous energy, afraid that she will try to get away from us, that she'll force Killian's hand. When we had her in the cellar, he made no qualms about the fact that she's either with us or she's against us. No part of me believes he wants her dead, but I do believe he will kill her if that's what we have to do to protect each other. Of course, I hope that if it comes to that, he tries to tie her up and force her to accept us first, rather than going straight to murder.
I watch her wrap her arms around herself in an attempt to ward off the chill... or maybe just the sense of dread that must be mounting inside of her.
"All good, Tiger Lily." Theo tells her, trying to offer a little reassurance. But Killian won't tell her anything yet... with good reason. I think if she knew what was in the shed, she wouldn't be letting us take her there.
Her breaths come faster as we move uphill, and I place a steadying hand on her ass to help push her forward. She doesn't acknowledge me until we get to even ground, when she swats at my hand, and I try not to laugh.
Killian digs through his pocket a minute and then produces the key for the thick master lock that secures the chain to the doors, preventing prying eyes from coming around to see what may still be hanging out in the shed. The caretaker accepted that it was locked for a reason, and he's never asked about it beyond the initial questioning when we met him out here, trying to pry the doors apart on brute strength. That would have been impressive, considering he's got to be in his late sixties, a kind enough man who was happy to know that when he couldn't make it up in the winter, there were neighbors watching what was going on out here, making sure nothing happened to the D’Aquino home.
