Page 58 of Ho Ho Homicidal Mania
“He’s staring,” Carl says, making me stiffen. “Is he into me, or something?”
Bile rises in my throat, but Nico laughs off Carl’s question. “Nah, he’s just shy.”
The dancer pulls on Carl’s arm. “Come on, live a little, it’s gonna be fun.” With the way she eyes Nico, I’m pretty sure she’s got the hots forhim, but if she’s that keen on fucking my brother over, I’m her biggest fan.
Carl rolls his eyes but smiles and lets her lead him to a door on the other side of the room buzzing with erotic energy. “Ah, what the hell. Let’s go.”
Just like that? Really?
I give Nico a wide-eyed glance from behind my mask, and when he winks at me, charming and suave like a heartthrob from the golden age of Hollywood, I find myself following his lead like a dog obeying its master.
A guard standing in front of a door on one side of the room nods at Carl, then unlocks the passage and steps aside, letting the four of us through.
The wooden staircase ahead leads to a corridor right next to the master bedroom, where my parents used to sleep whenever we spent time in Aspen. Despite having vague memories of happy childhood moments in this house, my head pulsates with the reality that my own brother, whom I loved, and who I depended on doesn’t even recognize me when the upper half of my face is hidden.
How could I have missed how little he cared for me?
“Nothing like a night of debauchery!” The dancer squeals and throws her hands in the air. She twirls and lands in Nico’s arms.
I hate it. I hate the way he smiles at her, I hate his hand on her back, I hate that he’s not putting a bullet betweenmy brother’s eyes yet, and I hate that I’m so jealous, but at this point, just fucking killmealready.
How the fuck will I cope with parting from Nico? Knowing that he might be dating someone else? I have not thought this through at all.
“Night of your life,” Nico promises and picks her up. When she wraps her legs around him, I’m reeling, not sure who I want to kill first: her orhim.
“Just behind this door,” Carl says, leading us farther. The music is only a low thumping behind walls, and I don’t even know where all this is headed, because this woman is a witness in the making. We can’t have her here.
An ugly thought rises in my blackened heart. What if this is some elaborate revenge by Nico? What if he brought me here, pulled me into this fucked-up situation, so that I suffer? What do I really know about his cruel, twisted mind?
If he wants to go through with this threesome, could I sit in a corner and watch? Not only would I be watching my brother have sex, which,barf, but also Nico with someone else? What kind of fucked up punishment would that be? Watching the man I lo—
“No, this won’t do!” The dancer giggles in Nico’s arms and before I know what’s happening, she pushes up my mask. “If you’re watching, I want to see your face. Aw, you’re a cutie!”
But my heart turns into ice as I turn my gaze to my brother and our eyes meet.
Chapter 23
Nico
Fuck.
Double fuck.
It happened so fast I couldn’t stop her, and now here we fucking are. My heart is a boulder in my chest as I let the dancer down to the floor.
“That’s my brother,” Carl says. He’s sobering up fast, his gaze drifting between Blake and me. I’ve no doubt that he’s assessing my size.
The poor girl has no idea what’s going on and makes a face at him. “Ew! Carl! What the fuck?” She steps back from us. “That’s far too fucked up for me. What next? Isheyour cousin or something?” She points at me, but all I’m wondering is whether Carl has a weapon on him, so I stand a bit closer to Blake, just in case.
Carl frowns and grabs her by the wrist. “What? I had no idea he’dbe here.”
The dancer twists her hand away and takes a step toward the door, her earlier playfulness gone. “Are you really trying to convince me you didn’t recognize your own brother because of some stupid mask? Give me a break. I’m kinky, but not into some incest shit,” she says and strides out, not bothering to spare any of us another glance.
Carl keeps his eyes on me, aware that I might be a predator. “B-Blake. Where have you been? What is this?Whois this?”
Okay, so he’s playing dumb. Fair enough. It gives me time to count the clicks of the woman’s heels. The farther away she is, the better. Preferably, I want her back in the smoking room before I act.
Blake, who’s been stiff as an aging tree, suddenly comes back to life. He shuts the double door and leans against it, staring at his brother in a silence so intense I swear I can hear his heartbeat. “You… seem worried,” he says flatly. “Distracting yourself with all that music and sex.”
