Page 136 of Whispers and Wildfire

Font Size:

Page 136 of Whispers and Wildfire

I was front-page news. My sneer melted into a smile. That was also an unintended consequence. When I’d taken Melanie the first time, if it had made the news, I hadn’t seen it. I’d been too scared, fleeing like a child to my mother’s place in Tennessee. Like a scared little boy.

The sneer was back. I hated who I’d been back then. Truthfully, a part of me hated who I was now even more. But I shoved that part down into the depths of my consciousness where I couldn’t hear its protests. Couldn’t hear its pleas for someone to stop me before it was too late.

It was already too late. I’d come too far to back out now.

Especially after the last one.

Killing her had been a necessity. She’d woken up before I was ready, and she’d seen my face. My rehearsals had been enough of a risk. I couldn’t let one go who could identify me. My plans would fall apart, and I’d never have the opportunity to take the one I really wanted.

The one I’d been waiting for.

I wouldn’t take another. It was Melanie’s turn. I was ready.

All that was left was deciding when and where. That wouldn’t be easy because the idiot she was with never left her alone. It meant I wouldn’t be able to plan the exact moment I took her. I’d have to be flexible. Stay close, and wait for a window of opportunity to arise, however small.

My practice runs had helped. I’d gotten faster. In less than a minute, she’d be mine.

And I was a patient man. Despite the way I ached for her, I could wait.

She was going to be worth it.

My eyes strayed from the door to the headline on thenewspaper again. The Whisper. I both loved and hated that they were calling me that. I loved that I’d made them afraid—that they’d taken notice of me. But whisper? I knew what I was, knew that no one saw me. That in the eyes of the world, I was nothing.

But she’d see. Soon, I’d no longer be a whisper. I was going to be a shout.

CHAPTER 32

Melanie

Staring at nothing,I absently fiddled with the SPS whistle while Luke got our drinks from Rocco at the bar. Something about the nineties grunge playing in the background was oddly soothing. Maybe it was the familiarity of old songs and good memories.

Mostly good, at least.

Luke set our drinks on the table, then pulled his chair around next to me and sat. We’d chosen a spot against the wall. Neither of us seemed to want to have our backs to the room lately.

Living in a constant state of tension was getting exhausting. And we weren’t the only ones who were tense. The whole town was on edge. A nervous hush had settled over Tilikum, making people side-eye each other and cast worried glances over their shoulders.

I took a sip of my beer. In any other context, I wasn’t a beer drinker. But for some reason, at the Timberbeast, I was.

Luke put his hand on my thigh and leaned over to kiss my temple. I loved it when he did that. I really did. Although the fact that our town was being terrorized by a killer was starting to get to me, because I flinched.

“Is this worse?” he asked. “Maybe we should have stayed in.”

“No,” I said emphatically. “This is fine. I needed to get out.”

I’d been going a little stir-crazy. Ever since the most recent victim had been found, Luke had been stuck to me like a magnet. We mostly went to work, then his place, with the occasional stop at a restaurant or store. He’d even been finding excuses to pop into the lobby at the garage more often than usual, as if the perpetrator might come in and grab me from behind the desk.

The Luke-magnet wasn’t bothering me, but feeling like I was trapped was making my skin crawl.

“I’m just so tired of feeling like a prisoner,” I said. “I can’t walk up the street to grab a coffee or stop at the store by myself.”

He squeezed my thigh. “I don’t mean to stifle you.”

“No, it isn’t you. I was too paranoid to take the trash outside yesterday. I keep looking around and thinking he could be anywhere.”

“Do you want me to call Garrett again?”

“It’s tempting, but he'd have called if he had news he could share.”


Articles you may like