Body Tox (The Bodies duet #1)

Chapter 16

S kipping down the towline with my stuffed animal in hand, naked as the day I was born, as opposed to the leather jacket draped over my shoulders, I laughed.

I wasn’t sure exactly what the fuck I was going to do next, but I knew one thing for certain.

My target would follow me.

He had to have seen my little love note by now, and by the receding sounds of the sirens and the lingering white smoke lifting to the sky behind me, I knew he wouldn’t be far off from finding me.

I hummed a tune and continued down the sidewalk, ignoring the people passing by.

They can stare. I paid enough for them.

Mr. Asher Ballard certainly enjoyed them…I shook my head, those memories heating my ass more than the fire I left behind. The last time I let a man touch me was…

Nope. Not going there either. None of those fucking memories would help me right now.

The sooner I got to my destination, the sooner I could be rid of this damn man and the nightmares and desires he stirred within me.

There were many ways to kill a man. Camping out at a fellow local’s place was an option, but that might get messy. No telling how many people would be there or if animals or kids were in the house. I could vacate a store or something, but that usually got the cops called by some brave asshole, and I needed discretion. A hospital had too many people, and the local hospital was a ways away.

I sighed and looked forward, trying to let the idea pop into my head like a sign from the very God.

The top of the cathedral’s cross fixture came into view from behind the fog, smoke-filled sky, and I smiled. Guess the big man was giving his blessing to snuff this guy. The cathedral was the hulking giant in the tiny ass town. The wealth thrown into those walls and glass alone rivaled monarchs and their castles.

The door was open, of course, with a sign that read: ‘God will always welcome his children home…will you welcome him in yours?’

Creepy Santa-looking fucker in my house? Nah, I was good. I kicked the sign off the metal post and went inside. Usually, there was a priest here, but today he must not have wanted to do his ‘Sky Daddy’s bitch work’ because he was missing in action.

There wasn’t anyone sniffling about their pathetic lives in the booths either.

I clucked my tongue, walking around the front of the altar. The big ass slab looked uncomfortable and menacing. There was a basin of water near the back, with another dumb ass scripture note scrawled above it.

‘Wash away thy sins with the water of your lord.’ I snorted and lifted the bowl off the table.

“Don’t mind if I do. I am so not a redhead.”

The blood and soot washed free of my body with the cold water, leaving a river of muddy red beneath my bare feet.

Freezing cold, I walked over to the candles lining the stained glass windows. They were huge, spilling over and running rivers of white and red wax down to the ground below their towering heights.

There was a sound behind the back curtain, and I ducked behind the candles, hoping I wouldn’t catch my hair on fire like a dumbass.

Would the mighty God smite me?

“Do not fear my child. I do not wish you any harm. You can reveal yourself to me.”

The words felt off…sickly sweet, like a poisonous snake rendered them. Nope, I’m perfectly fine being smited? Smote? Aww, who cared, smite me bitch.

“Sorry, I don’t remember you being my Daddy. I’m gonna head out.”

He chuckled, the loud sound startling me, causing me to knock over one of those long-ass candles. It fell to the carpet and extinguished the flame with a puff.

“Destruction is what has built new leadership.”

I shrieked, the creepy robed fuck appearing out of nowhere from the distraction, coming up right in front of me. He didn’t seem to understand personal space at all.

“Excuse you,” I said, swatting the weirdo out of my way.

“The fruits of God’s labors have created vast empires, of course,” he continued like I hadn’t spoken at all. “Do you know what his secret to creating such glory is, child?”

I swallowed, feeling very exposed and trying to cover my nakedness with my hands and arms. He didn’t look at my body. He just stood there, his hands disappearing into the folds of his robe.

His smile reminded me of a cat eating a bird cartoon. They feigned innocence before an attack. A killer could spot another killer because this guy didn’t fucking sit right with me. Yeah…something was way wrong here.

I ignored him, ducking around his body and making a beeline for the exit.

It wasn’t until I was halfway out the door that I heard his slithering voice call after me, and his words chilled me more than the Alaskan weather…

“His secret is patience.”

Once outside, away from Wackadoodle, I followed the shrubbery to the side of the building’s massive structure.

I was walking around the cathedral, so Pretty Boy would have to wait. There was something off with this fucking place, and I was going to find out what. The exterior of the massive castle was insane. Pure and untouched.

Clearly hired staff cleaned any small amount of weeds that dared to sprout on the holy land. There was no coverage here and no shadows to hide within. All the trees were cut, and the Alaskan ‘sunlight’ was a blinding reminder that I was not being discreet.

I was leading Asher here. I realized…I was worried about the brown-haired man walking into that snake’s den.

Would the snake spout bullshit to him, too, about the empires and war?

What did that creep even mean anyway?

There was a cellar. It was tucked away so far from the church that I wondered if the same place even owned it, but another sign was posted. This one wasn’t fluffy about acceptance or welcoming in the slightest. I frowned, reading the scrawled writing, and that chill from before became even more potent.

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous will soar within the eternal life.” Brushing off the debris from the door, I listened for anything odd.

Did these weirdos keep animals locked away in here to sacrifice to their god?

I didn’t hear anything weird, so I tested the door, shoving it with my foot. After the loud clank, I saw the padlock with a fucking fingerprint?

What in the hell was stored down there?

I knocked on the wooden decrepit door.

“Hello?” I whispered loudly.

Trying to hear over the rush of the wind and annoying ass birds tweeting around the wooded area near us was discomforting. A buzz sounded from the pocket of the jacket, and I frowned, sticking my hand in the fabric and bringing out a phone.

Asher left his phone in his jacket. What kind of secrets did my target keep? Gasping, I dropped the cell and tried to catch my breath.

A familiar number flashed across the screen with an ominous message blinking on the display.

Unknown: GPS coordinates indicate the package was delivered. Please hold.

I stared at the phone, watching it light up and more automated letters morphing into different messages.

Unknown: Package accepted. Delivery successful.

The address typed under the text was for the very land I was standing on—the church.

What the fuck was delivered? And why was Asher the one delivering it?

“Fisherman by day and a delivery boy at night, Pretty Boy?” My curiosity peaked. I sat on the grass, not knowing the passcode. I couldn’t do shit but stare at the same screen.

After a while, no other messages came through. Welp, doing things the old-fashioned way it is, then.

Feeling some little pebbles under my ass on the grass by the cellar, I grinned. I would make a delicious little trail for my monster to follow, and when he fell into my trap, I’d get the answers I fucking wanted. I sliced the stone into my arm, walking around the area and leaving small red dots on the ground.

“Come on, lover boy. I’ll be waiting.”