Dead Pretty - Samantha Towle Page 0,79

Jack reaches me.

“Did something happen?” he asks me.

He’s worried for her. I’m sure Audrey would find it sweet.

I just find it irritating.

I shake my head.

He’s staring at me. “You sure? You seem”—his brow furrows in concentration—“different.”

“Different.”

I have to suppress a smile.

If only he knew just how different I was.

I don’t say anything. If I do speak, Jack will know that I’m not Audrey straightaway. Our voices differ. I can mimic Audrey’s, but to someone close to her, they would know the difference.

As much as I might dislike it, Jack is close to my sister.

And he’s also smart.

What I need to do right now is get that gun off him.

And there’s only one way to do it. Distraction.

Lifting a hand, I press it to his chest.

His breathing stutters.

So fucking easy.

I press my lips to his and kiss him.

Not exactly what I want to do right now—or anytime ever, to be perfectly honest—but needs must.

And I will do whatever is necessary.

Jack kisses me back. I can feel him losing himself in the kiss.

Good. I need him distracted for just long enough.

Reaching a hand back, I locate my knife with my fingers. Curling them around it, I pick it up, holding it in my right hand, while I move my left hand, slipping it down the skin of his back.

When I locate his gun, I wrap my fingers around the handle, and then in one swift movement, I pull it from his waistband and bring my arm holding the knife from behind my back. I turn it upward and plunge the blade into his neck.

The look of shock and confusion and anguish on his face is one that I will remember for a little while at least.

I do almost feel sorry for the bastard.

Almost.

But he was only fucking Audrey to get close to her, so he could free his stupid brother from prison.

He hurt Audrey. So, I don’t feel too bad about killing him.

And it’s not like I had any other choice.

Neither he nor Audrey left me another option.

Audrey will be upset though when she finds out that he’s dead.

But I’ll deal with that when the time comes.

Jack staggers back from me. His hands clutching his throat. His back hits the wall, and he slides down it until he’s sitting, slumped on the floor.

And I watch him.

The way the blood seeps out from between his fingers. Running down his chest.

Jack won’t die just yet. He’s got a few minutes. Maybe more. I didn’t hit a major vein when I stuck the knife in him. Because I didn’t want to.

He’ll bleed out slowly. Which is just how I like it.

This is my favorite part.

“Au-dr-ey … wh-wh-why?” The words are quiet and garbled. He can’t shout or yell for help because of the blood flooding his throat and his lungs.

“Audrey isn’t here at the moment.”

He hears it. The difference in our voices. I see it in his confused and fearful eyes.

And I am enjoying every single second of this.

It’s what I live for.

Of course, I live for Audrey too.

But this … the killing … this is for me.

“How about I tell you a little story?”

I take a few steps backward and rest my ass on the arm of the sofa. Jack’s gun in one hand, my knife in my other.

“Once upon a time, there was a little girl called Audrey, and she had a brother called Cole. Their father was a mean, cruel bastard who used to beat on his wife and kids. Cole would protect Audrey as best he could because that’s what older brothers do—they protect their younger sibling.

“One day, when Audrey was four and Cole was eight, their dad was in a particularly bad mood. A terrible mood in fact. Their mother was in the kitchen, cooking dinner. Cole and Audrey were in the back closet that led into the kitchen. When they had to be in the house, they would play in there to stay out of the way of their father.

“They heard arguing begin in the kitchen and then the sounds of their father hitting their mother. Cole told Audrey to cover her ears. That it would all be fine. But it wasn’t fine. Not that day. The sound that came from their mother … was unnatural. Cole knew something bad was happening. He looked through the slats in the door, and he could see blood. Blood running across the floor. He told Audrey to stay there, and he walked into the kitchen. Cole saw his mother’s body on the