Page 196 of I Will Mend You

“I can explain.” He lifts a shaking palm.

“You have ten seconds.”

“Delta blackmailed me to drop out of medical school so I could take care of Dolly.” Lips trembling, he darts his gaze to her corpse, cooling on the bed. “I had to keep her medicated, heal her wounds, and keep her alert for the patrons.”

Nausea churns in my gut. I clench my teeth, resisting the urge to strike. He’s describing the worst kind of pimp.

Locke licks his lips. I’ve never seen him look so nervous. “We grew close. She told me about her past. Then someone on the membership forum saw your posts and asked if she’d set up some social media.”

“Hurry up,” I snap, my grip tightening on the knife.

“It was all her idea. She knew Xero had stolen from Delta and knew he was desperate to get back everything he’d lost. So, she convinced Delta to use you as bait.”

“What’s your point?” I sneer.

He breathes hard through the pain, his golden features turning gray. “It was all her idea. If you want to blame someone, look at her. Or Delta.”

Disgust coils through my insides like a constrictor, poised to strike. “You’ll say anything to save your hide.”

“No—”

I rush forward, plunging the knife into his gut, eliciting a satisfying gasp. “What was it you told me about having four holes? I’m about to give you five.” I twist the knife for good measure, savoring his choked scream.

“Please—”

“I wish I could draw out your death after everything you did to me at the asylum, but I need to save the man I love.”

Locke falls on his face. Dropping to my knees beside him, I roll his carcass to his front and plunge my knife into his midsection once more, making him groan.

“That’s for injecting me with all kinds of drugs.” I deliver another stab to his chest.

“Fuck,” he says, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

“That’s for the mockery.” I slash across his pretty face, turning his mouth into a giant grin.

“And that’s for violating me with the pessary.” My blade digs into his groin, eliciting a gurgling scream.

He stares up at me, his face frozen in a mask of agony.

Rising to my feet, I roll him under the bed. Blood soaks the front of my robe, but I’m too far gone to care. I rush to the dresser and close my fingers around the gun.

Cold washes over my senses, slowing my heartbeat and bringing a newfound sense of power. After this baptism of blood, I’m ready for anything.

I walk through the bedroom, trailing bloody footprints out into the hallway. A door up ahead opens, and Delta steps in with a man I recognize as one of the spectators.

He’s a middle-aged blond with round glasses, who raises his arm and points.

“I thought Dolly was dead.”

“Obviously, she survived.” Features hardening, Delta strides toward me, his eyes flashing.

I raise the gun and shoot him in the leg.

When the man behind him turns around, I shoot him in the back. He falls flat on his face with a groan.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Delta snarls.

“Take me to Xero, or the next thing I shoot won’t be a leg.”