Page 71 of Psycho
“I’m just saying, men want a woman who’s modest.”
“What makes you think I’m looking for a man?” Cricket countered.
She never got to hear the man’s answer. A shooting pain racked her body, and then she was collapsing, the man on the other side of the counter coming around to help another man holding a taser. Kohn. He reached down and snatched the ring from Cricket’s nose, tossing it on the counter. “Get her into the van. I’ll meet you back at the yard.”
Lucas yanked his hand away, heart hammering in his chest. They took Cricket. He pulled his phone free from his pocket. He was about to tap his name when a familiar voice said, “Hey there, stranger. Miss me?”
A heavy dread settled over Lucas like a lead weight. He turned slowly, unsurprised to see the gun trained on him or that Kohn held the weapon. “Where is she?”
“Your little pink-haired friend? Or was it blue? Or green?” Kohn asked around a laugh. “She’s safe. For now. The clients have a pretty specific type, but I think, just this once, they’ll make an exception. They love watching me break the tough ones.”
Lucas’s nostrils flared. “I’m going to fucking kill you.”
Kohn seemed decidedly unbothered. “I was hoping you and I could…reconnect. How did you like my gifts?”
Lucas had known, at some point, he’d be this close to Kohn again, but he’d never imagined it would be by surprise. Not since he’d met August. He’d made Lucas feel a little too safe. “I found them unoriginal,” Lucas taunted.
Kohn barked out a surprised laugh. “Nice to see you can still keep your sense of humor. I’ll try to do better in the future.”
Lucas darted his glance to his phone and back. Had he hit send? Was August outside? “How much longer are we going to play this game? What is it you get out of this? Did you think I wouldn’t find out about your little Nazi friends and their red rooms?”
Kohn arched his brow. “I wanted you to know. I gave you all the clues. I just wasn’t sure if you were capable of putting it all together on your own without the power of the FBI behind you.”
A strange lightness overwhelmed him. Kohn had no idea who Lucas had behind him. He had an army of psychopaths and the Mulvaney name. Lucas wasn’t a victim anymore. Lucas tapped his temple. “I have something the FBI doesn’t.”
Kohn’s lips curled up in something resembling a smile. “It doesn’t matter, though, does it? Nobody will ever believe you. But you still have time to just walk away. This has been fun, but it’s growing tedious. Still, I don’t want to kill you. You’re such a marvel. A freak of nature.”
“What about those women? Their lives were worth living.”
Kohn rolled his eyes. “They were junkies. Whores. Sub-humans. Burdens of society. Nobody misses them. Most people didn’t even notice I’d culled them from the herd.”
“So, they’re all dead?” Lucas asked, a sadness he’d never experienced before settling over him.
“All but your colorful little friend. Our clients are getting picky. They’re tired of the broken ones. They want to watch me carve up ones who look like them, who look like the girl who rejected them at prom, the one who thought she was too good for the nerdy guy, too cool for the loser who playedDungeons and Dragons. They want their revenge, and I’m the one who lets them live out their fantasies.”
Lucas forced himself to breathe. Kohn wanted him to lose his shit, wanted him to do something stupid. So, he just stayed silent, hoping the look on his face conveyed the level of hatred he had for the man.
“If you walk away now, nobody needs to know about your past. I’d hate for your nerdy professor boyfriend to learn what a headcase you are. Does he know about your little breakdown? About your time in the nuthouse? I bet his rich family would shut down your romance quick if they knew who you really were. Then you’d be all alone again. Totally helpless. I like helpless. It looks good on you.”
At that moment, August rounded the corner, coming through the back just as Kohn had. He pressed a wand to Kohn’s neck and his whole body jerked comically before he collapsed, the gun slipping from his fingers as he fell. Lucas picked up the fallen weapon, kneeling over Kohn’s still twitching body, noticing the stain at his crotch. He’d wet his pants.
He leaned down to make sure Kohn could hear him. “You look so helpless. It looks good on you.” The man made a low groan, but Lucas stood. “What the hell did you hit him with?”
“A cattle prod.”
“He’s got Cricket.”
“I know. I heard. Looks like the plan’s changed. Time to improvise.”
August handed Lucas his keys. “Go get the truck and pull it into the alley. Open the back. You’ll see a keypad. The code is 1-8-4-2. Inside, you’ll find zip ties. Bring them to me.”
“What are we going to do with him?”
“Exactly what we’d planned on doing to him tomorrow. Torturing him for information.”
Kohn gave a long moan at that, trying and failing to sit up.
August slapped his face. “Hey, can you hear me? Settle down or I’m going to shove this so far up your ass that when I press the button it will bake your organs.”
