Page 14 of Tempt Me
“Fucker!” I yell, stabbing him with my blade. “No one fucking tries to take out Rue Eleanor Di’Castello and lives to tell about it! You fucking dick!”
Stabbing him repeatedly, four, five times, covered in his blood, I let out a savage growl and slash his throat, the blood spraying up to hit me in the face.
“Rue,” Isaac says my name again.
Somehow his voice cuts through the anger, the fear, and thepastto soothe me enough to straighten up, but not before I’ve grabbed the pistol.
Opening the chamber, I spin it deftly and lock it back into place. “Round and round, there she goes. Where will she stop? Nobody knows…”
Pointing it at the already dead body, I’m making sure this fuckernevercomes back to haunt me. Pulling the trigger, there is a soft click, then another, and on the third try…
Bang!
“He’s dead,” Isaac points out unnecessarily, taking the gun from my steady hand to shove into the back of his pants.
“I need to call the cleaner.”
Pushing past him, he calls out as I reach the door, “No signal out there.”
But I don’t stop. I need to get away from this room, away from the blood, away from the memories that are flooding me.
Bursting back into the bedroom, I kick my shoes off and stride to the bathroom. It’s dingy and cold, dim and dirty, but I run the blade under the hot water, rinsing away the blood. Leaving it in the sink with the water running, I slide the side zip down on my dress, which is no longer immaculate and covered in deep red splashes. The downside to wearing white. But it’s my signature. I will always choose white over anything else. It compliments my tanned skin and dark looks. Black just washes me out, and I like to stand out and be noticed.
Letting the dress pool around my bare feet, I lower my hands under the water, which is now running at a cooler temperature, and rinse them off before reaching for the small square bar of hospitality soap that has been left used on the basin. Washing my face clean of the blood, methodically and with precision, I run my soapy hands over my chest to remove the specks of crimson adorning my skin in a macabre artwork.
Once I’m completely clean, I grab the towel and wrap it around me before replacing my blade in the thigh holster. That’s the problem with people who know you. They know your tricks. There are no surprises. I need to shake things up and learn how to use my left hand as deftly as my right. Sinking onto the tiny, reasonably hard bed, I shiver involuntarily. Slumping down to the pillows, I turn my back to the door, conscious that I need to get back up and call the cleaner from the landline at the front desk.
But I’m frozen in place.
Just a minute. I need just a minute to be me and not a badass motherfucker with a rep to maintain.
Just Rue.
Missing Serena suddenly, my best friend, who is like a sister to me, and who knowsmeand not just Solitaire princess Rue, I know she will be worried. But hopefully, she will realize the weather has caused my delay. When I finally get up and shake off my pity party, I’ll call her too from the landline so she knows I’m okay.
Chapter8
Isaac
Entering the room, I see Rue on the bed, her back facing the door, oblivious to the danger that it presents.
Kicking off my muddy boots and shaking out my wet hair, I close the door. “Eleanor?”
She snorts softly. “My grandmother, the Queen of Arachon.”
“Ah, makes sense.”
“You’ve been ages.”
“Digging a shallow grave until the cleaner gets here.”
She turns to me quickly, her eyes going wide. “Shit. You should’ve said. I’d have helped. You’re a mess and freezing cold.”
“How were you going to help? By digging a hole with your bare hands?”
“I can dig,” she says indignantly, which makes me hold back a chuckle.
“It’s taken care of. I’ve called the cleaner, but obviously, we are in the middle of no-fucking-where, so it’ll be a while.”
