Page 20 of King of Hollywood
When I turned around, Winnie was grinning at me, her hands on her sturdy hips. She looked far too pleased with herself. But I was in too good of a mood to do anything other than roll my eyes at her and knock our shoulders together as we headed back across the street.
“Seeeeee?” Winnie said as we reentered my modest home. It wasn’t nearly as tall or as foreboding as Felix’s was. White paneling, a picket fence, a perfectly manicured lawn. We could not have been more opposite if we tried. “And this is why you should always listen to me.”
“Whatever,” I rolled my eyes. Leaning down, I carefully untied my loafers one by one, before kicking them off. Winnie’s flip-flops hit the wall by my head, and I twisted to glare at her. Only, my glare was lost as she wandered back toward the kitchen, a spring in her step.
“I demand details,” she called around the wall as I rolled my eyes. “A play by play.”
“I’m not telling you shit.”
“Marsha,” Winnie gasped, head popping around the wall. She was closer than I’d realized. Her meaty fingers gripped the frame. “You can’t deprive me of my fun.”
“You’ll find I can, Winston.”
“But you wouldn’t.”
“I would.”
Winnie frowned, seeming to process this. After deciding I wasn’t bluffing at all, her smile softened, and her eyes grew warm. We often fought, our claws out like kittens in a roost. But she truly was my favorite person. She was the only person I was comfortable enough with to drop my guard.
“I’m happy for you, MarMar.” The use of my favorite childhood nickname made me flush, and I shook my head, embarrassed but pleased.
“Nothing’s even happened,” I countered.
“Yeah, Marshall.” Winnie’s eyes were soft, gentle. “But it could.”
It could.
I hadn’t…well…
I hadn’t thought of that.
It’s true, I lived life with the reins twisted so tightly there was no room for error. But that also meant I never strayed from the path I set. There were no new sights, no new wonders. My world had become a bleak, unexciting place. This was…a new trail, a new terrain, new beginnings.
I might see something wonderful, if I stepped off the path.
Felix could be something wonderful.
His name did mean luck, after all.
Chapter five
Ihad never been an impatient person. Ever. With my kills, I often planned them out months, sometimes even years, in advance. I picked people by a code—a code which I followed to a tee. If they didn’t meet the code, I left them alone. Which meant a lot of stalking, investigating, and hard work.
Murder was a full-time job, if you let it be.
However…I found myself impatient for my date Friday with Felix. I didn’t understand why he’d wanted the date to be so far away. Winnie had teased me for the rest of the time she’d spent at my house, before heading off with explicit instructions that I was required to keep her updated at all times.
That was not happening.
The longer I had to wait, the more frantic my thoughts became.
Would Felix be as fun without murder involved? Would I enjoy talking to him? Would he enjoy talking to me? What if he didn’t smell like I remembered? What if it was awkward? What if he cried again? What if it ended badly—and then we still had to live next to each other for the foreseeable future.
No, no.
I’d move.
Yes.
