Page 24 of Remnants
“I am not the one that needs saving, Mac,” I state calmly as Sam whines at my feet. I pet his head before looking back at my brother.
“I love you, shithead.” I give him a weary smile and he looks away. Mac always was the more sensitive one.
“I’ll do it,” he whispers and I shake my head.
“No, this isn’t your girl, or your fight. You take care of Junebug and Sam, okay? Regardless of what happens, you keep them safe. Now, go on, go pick up my girl for me.”
“And what do I tell her when she asks where in the fuck you are.”
I huff out a breath and wince as I walk down the step. I look back at him and take off my dog tags before tossing them toward him. “She won’t.” I turn and head toward the house without looking back at my brother. Faintly I can hear him telling Sam to stay. It’s funny, I figured I would be nervous, but I’ve never felt more calm in my life.
As I walk around the back of the house, I try the sliding door and roll my eyes when it slides open.Figures.I walk inside, closing and locking it before looking around the destroyed home. Broken furniture, holes in the walls, dishes overflowing. You would think Katie had been gone months, not a week.
I hear a door shut and I hide behind a wall as James’ voice comes into earshot.
“She’s there?” he asks whoever he’s on the phone with. Instantly, I know someone at the hospital has told him Katie is there for a check-up, despite being told her visit needed to stay private. I text Mac quickly.
Me: I am starving. HURRY UP with the food! Like, NOW!
I slide the phone back into my pocket. I know Mac will get her to safety. James will never get out of this house, I’ll make sure of that.
Peering around the wall, I see him in the kitchen, still talking on the phone. I notice something on his counter: a giant container of tracking powder—powdered rat poison that he’s working into wet dog food. My body runs cold as I know exactly who it’s for. My sweet gentle giant, Sam. I was already going to destroy him, but now, it’s going to be worse. I am going to annihilate him.
James removes the gloves I didn’t realize he is wearing as he ends the call, telling whoever is on the other line that he will see Kaitlin tonight. I slip on my own gloves and once I know the phone is hung up and James is washing his hands, I sneak up behind him, grabbing a knife off the counter.
He turns and spots me just as I drive the knife into his right hand, before twisting it and yanking it out.
James lets out a horrific scream that is really almost too satisfying—it’s soul-cleansing. I watch as he falls to his knees, holding his trembling, bleeding hand and sobbing. He looks up at me, tears and saliva running down his face.
“You fucking cunt! You’ve ruined me!” he roars and I can’t help but chuckle.
“Oh, Jimbo. You and me, we’re just getting started, sweetheart.” I give him a grin before gripping the back of his head and slamming it into my knee. Fuck, it hurts. But that crunch is so addicting I have to do it again.
“Woo!” I yell out while smirking in his bloody face. “Man, are you feeling it, too? Like, I really feel an energy between us right now.” I watch as he slowly gets up, his eyes already starting to swell.
“I will make fucking sure you pay for this.” He spits his blood on my face, I don’t move to wipe it off. He gives me a red-stained smile as he leans his good hand on the counter for balance. “Go ahead, cunt, do your worst. Because when your crippled ass is done, I’m going to have you thrown in prison, and then I’m goingto kill your stupid mutt, all while fucking that bitch’s pussy until it bleeds.”
I snarl at him for a second before breaking out in a smile that throws him off balance. In an instant, I grab the knife again and stab it through his hand until I feel the countertop stopping me from going further.
“What’s funny is,” I say over his scream as I remove the knife, “you actually think I’m going to let you leave here alive.”
“You wouldn’t kill me!” he screams as he backs away.
“I’ve killed way better people for a whole lot less, Jimbo.” Every step I take toward him is another step he takes backward as he tries to put distance between us. His back ends up against the wall and I know I have him. I reach in my pocket, pulling out the paracord I had shoved in there before coming over here. I didn’t bring my gun. It’s fast and effective, sure. But it’s also loud, and I don’t need nosey neighbors calling the cops.
I get ready to jump him and wrap the cord around his neck when a sharp pain shoots through my leg. James’ kick lands at my knee where my prosthetic is, sending me down to the ground. He is on me before I can blink; his large, bleeding hands squeezing my throat with everything he has. I go to break out, having trained for and lived through this exact scenario countless times, but he grabs my hair and punches me in the face, screaming as his injured hands make contact with my cheek.
He grabs my head again and slams it on the tile causing me to see stars. I try to smack him away while I get my bearings but he laughs and does it again.
“I oughta fuck you right now, maybe then you’d learn your place.” He spits on me again before standing up and kicking me in the side. I grunt and try to move away but he puts his foot on my prosthetic.
“Did you really thinkyoucould come in here and kill me?” he sneers as he kicks me again. This time I cry out and I swear it’s like he’s getting hard from it. Is this what Katie saw? Did she lay here in fear as he beat the shit out of her while getting turned on? The thought is enough to light another fire in me. As he goes to kick me again, I grab his foot, and in a twisting motion, I flip him on the ground as I straddle his waist. He goes to grab me and toss me off but I haul off and throw a cross-punch to his face. I look up and see the bucket of powdered rat poison and reach up to knock it over, the contents pouring over his face. I leap back and rip my tank top off, wrapping it around my face as the powder dust begins floating in the air.
I blindly crawl through the kitchen and to the sliding door. I reach up to unlock it and crack it open before removing my shirt and breathing the fresh air. I glance back. James is motionless on the floor, head completely covered in a mountain of rat poison. I don’t think it can kill him that fast, but fuck if I know. I lean my head against the doorframe as I take a shaky breath.
I have to make the call soon. If I don’t, Katie will be the suspect.
Kaitlin
