Page 38 of Ho Ho Homicidal Mania
I nod, though I don’t know how much money I’m supposed to receive exactly, since Carl has dealt with all our finances since I can remember. “But I’m his little brother. How could he… he’s still gonna have his portion, and that’smillions. He’ll still be free to pursue whatever he wants.”
Nico takes a deep breath, processing all of that. “I’m sorry, Blake. For some people there is no ‘enough’. And… from what you were saying, he wasn’t exactly brother of the year. Now it makes sense that he got you the ID. He encouraged you to go to the place where you were abducted.”
I hide.
My hands rise, covering my face as tears fill my eyes and drizzle down my cheeks. Not only did he not care for me, but he’s actively tried to get me killed.
I can’t believe it.
“It was all a trap. I thought he wanted to help me get out of my shell…”
Nico pulls me close again and strokes the back of my head. What does it say about my life that I’m getting more affection from a serial killer than I ever did from my brother?
“Sweetie… He’ll get what’s coming. I promise. And I’ll keep you safe through it.Andwe’ll make the cake together.” Nico kisses the side of my head, and it makes me a bawling mess, because he’s here, protecting and helping me, even though I’ve betrayed his trust and caused him so many other problems. Any other killer would have disposed of a witness immediately, but not him. He choseto not only spare me but treat me as someone special. I don’t deserve it. And he called me 'sweetie'again. I’m so relieved I could cry over that too.
“Thank you… I want to make the cake nice,” I sob, utterly pathetic. It’s almost too much to take.
But for once, I don’t feel alone with my feelings.
“It will be. Come on, let’s choose one,” Nico says with a smile and encourages me to browse the shelves, but then his phone beeps, and he pulls it out of my pocket. His expression turns serious, and he shows me the screen. “It’s the hacker. Your password.”
My heart rattles, but at least my attention is diverted. As soon as I put in the agreed-upon code, the next message appears.
[He’s in Aspen.]
Nico reads over my shoulder. “So I guess there’s no point in meeting the hacker in person after all?”
I shake my head as anger rises in my throat. “But if he’s in Aspen… he’ll probably only visit me after Christmas,” I mumble and meet his gaze, greedy for a solution. Because I don’t know what to do.
Nico kisses the side of my head. “Okay. More time to make cake then. We’ll prepare, and I know exactly where to go so you’re safe in the meanwhile.”
A flash of panic goes through me, and I grab his forearm. “Don’t leave me!”
Nico stares at me. “Together, sweetie. We’ll go together.”
My worries disperse like snowflakes in a puddle. I squeeze his arm, then look to either side of the aisle, and when I see we’re still alone, I lean into another hug.
Maybe things will be all right after all.
Chapter 16
Nico
I have many fondmemories from my grandpa's cabin. Learning to hunt, knit, make simple meals over the fire. Even hard days of training when he put me through my paces ended up feeling rewarding when he praised me for my endurance. He knew that if I were to succeed at becoming the next Christmas Killer and remain anonymous, I needed to be disciplined, strong, smart, and decisive. And then, if all else failed, the survival skills he taught me were supposed to save me if I needed to go off-grid.
The cabin is where we brought the decapitated body of my first kill. It’s hard to imagine only seven years have passed since that cold evening. Some days it feels as if it were yesterday, while at other times, I don’t know where the years have gone. I was so excited that night I almost left behind a glove, but Grandpa was there to pick it up.
I miss him.
My grandpa’s old cabin isn’t all that far from my hometown, but we’d originally headed in a different direction, so between the snow and the narrow roads, it took another few hours to reach it. But once the atmosphere between Blake and me cleared, the drive passed with silly games, trying to find a Christmas song Blake likes (yet to be determined) and easy conversation. I’m still upset over his betrayal, but I’ve found it in my heart to forgive him. Now that we’ve learned about his brother’s intentions, he seems more inclined to put his trust in me, the one man ready to be there for him.
He opened up about how he was raised, and how his brother resented him even before their parents died. Carl is fifteen years older than Blake, and in hindsight, Blake can see that his brother’s jealousy has never extinguished. He just learned to hide it better, and since kind words and gifts kept coming, Blake attached himself to his only remaining family member and was unable to view their relationship critically.
That’s now over, and as he reminisced about his life, I could see his facade crack whenever we returned to his brother in one way or another. He even recalled a conversation from a few months ago which now seems so ominous.
His brother took him out to the movies, and treated him to dinner after, which was unusual in itself, but Blake was just happy to hear about Carl’s escapades in the Maldives. At the restaurant, Carl nonchalantly mentioned Blake’s inheritance, and suggested that maybe nothing would need to change once Blake came of age. In that scenario, Carl would remain in control of both their money and continue managing all of Blake’s finances. When Blake pushed back against that idea, they had what felt like a minor disagreement at the time, and the topic nevercame up again. But in light of the facts we’ve discovered, Blake’s wondering if that evening wasn’t the trigger for Carl’s plan.
If Blake had died before his eighteenth birthday, his inheritance would have gone to charity. But now that he’s stepped into adulthood, the money will be Carl’s in the event of his brother’s death. How awfully convenient.
