“Thank you, River.” I extend my arm right as he walks over to me.
“Enjoy the wine. Then we’ll get some sleep.”
Breathing in the fruity tannins, I close my eyes to savor the moment, then take a sip. It tastes amazing and is exactly what I need right now.
Chapter 34
River
Standing outside a coffee shop in downtown Seattle, I’m waiting for Lux to grab an iced latte. Even though Ben could have made her any type of coffee beverage she wanted, she insisted on coming here.
I lean against the wall, letting my eyes continuously scan the surroundings watching for a suspicious person, while also attempting to maintain a low profile. My gaze eventually lands on a man standing under a tree in a dark corner of a high school lot, watching over what seems to be a girls’ soccer team practicing on the grass.
I quickly dismiss my paranoia, thinking he’s a parent, until I find a group of adults scattered on the metal bleachers across the field.
I look over at the man again, and this time more of his face comes into view, and I’m surprised at how familiar he looks.
An unsettling inkling settles inside my chest, so I step over to my car to pull out a pair of the TI smart glasses prototype to get a better look at him.
I slide them on and return to the same spot against the wall. With a light tap to the frame, the glasses allows me to zoom in to get a clearer view.
Struggling to place him, I slide my phone out and quickly swipe to the list Sebastian and I keep for future subjects of our nightly projects. With a quick search, I find a copy of his mugshot.
“Fester Harrow,”I mumble.
Authorities charged him with raping his girlfriend’s teenage daughter, but he got off two years ago on atechnicality. Assuming he left the state since we had lost track of him for some time, we moved on to other targets still in the area.
But in my experience, it’s not common for them to change their behaviors.Which would explain why he is lurking under a tree close to a high school campus.
“Feeling a little bold, Fester?” I mutter.
Glancing down the street, I make a note of how close we are to the police station. Over the last month, I’ve mainly focused on Lux and bringing down Andrew and his crew, which means I’ve neglected any other personal projects.
My focus on Lux and her kills has caused me to neglect the monster inside me. Since I haven’t had any kills of my own, it stirs violently inside its cage and will not allow me to push it aside much longer.
Before I can act on it, Lux is at my side with two coffees in hand and a smile on her face. “Okay, I’m ready.”
I’ll get him next time.
Pushing any thoughts of Fester aside, I bend down to kiss her forehead.
“Perfect, I’ll be right behind you.”
Lux flips her head up to slide her sunglasses down with no hands. “I know you will.”
God, she is so fucking adorable.
For a moment I forget about the predator across the street, and it is not until Lux is safely in her car and we’re driving past the high school, that my desire to kill intensifies again. It’s pricking at my back and getting harder to ignore.
Lux turns onto a side road leading to the back of the building, where the back entrance to most of the offices are located. I asked her to park in the lot’s corner to not draw too much attention to it for anyone around. And that is what she does, pulling int a secluded area. With a coffee in each hand, she cocks a hip to close the car door, then turns back to glance at me one more time before ascending the steps into the rear entrance of the building.
Flicking off the engine, I am determined to push killing Fester from my head. I need a distraction, but my usual distractionis currentlyunavailable.
I twist my neck, cracking it a few times to get comfortable in my seat, and for what feels like hours—but has only been thirty minutes—my eyes bore into the old brick building.
Between the intrusive thoughts of darkness and my skin crawling with an anxiousness, I am on the verge of losing the fight.
He shouldn’t be anywhere near a school.
