Ho Ho Homicidal Maniac (Murder and Mistletoe #2)

Chapter 20

Nico

Blake is the best partner and lover I could dream of. It’s only fitting that I met him in December, because he’s the most amazing Christmas gift. I wish to wrap him with a big red ribbon just so I can unpack him all over again. A metaphor of course, but I’m pretty sure he’d like bondage, so why not do it in style?

I’ve been working on preparing something special for him too. A present only he will understand and love.

Excitement warms me on the inside as I park outside the cabin. For the first time in years, there’s a fire waiting for me on the hearth, and the smoke coming from the chimney gives me an immense sense of calm. I have a good life, yes, but I did know it lacked something—a companion who truly knows me—and the chance to invite Blake deeper into my world feels like the fulfillment of dreams I once considered out of my reach .

But now he’s here, he knows my secrets, and he’s not running for the hills.

I stomp on the porch to shake off the excess snow from my boots and walk in to see Blake stretched in the armchair with a book in his lap. He looks up and waves at me with a smile so bright my heart shines like a lantern.

“How was it in town?” Blake asks and slots a bookmark between the pages.

“I had to take a detour because of all the snow and I found something interesting. But you have to come with me to see it, so get dressed.”

He places the book on a little table next to him and moves up, only to freeze. “Will it be safe for me to be seen?”

“It’s in the forest, no one will see you.” I walk up to him for a quick kiss because any opportunity is good for that, and I’ve been away for hours.

I love the way his hands immediately frame my face when he leans into me. His hair smells of smoke, and I find myself burying my nose in it as we hug. “Now I’m curious. What kind of surprise is it?” he asks before meeting my gaze.

I put my hands up and step away because if I stay this close any longer, we’ll be going to the bedroom, not outside.

“I’m not saying anything more.”

Blake smirks and starts dressing while he excitedly tells me about the book he’s been reading, a non-fiction on a serial killer from the start of the twentieth century.

I love that he’s as passionate about his interests as I am about mine, and the fact that they overlap makes it even better. I dream of being allowed to see how his podcasts come to life, and I want him to see my process too, until we can share both of those things. Perfect partners in crime.

I grin at the double meaning in my thoughts, but he’s ready, and I lead the way into the sunny yet cold air.

“I miss the shop, you know,” I say, grabbing Blake’s hand and leading him onto a narrow path that starts behind our little love cabin. “But I’ve been in touch with Owen and I have to admit I’m not worried. He’s really got things under control despite the Christmas rush.”

“Am I not keeping you busy enough?” Blake asks and leans against me in that almost-accidental way he tries to flirt with me sometimes.

“That’s the thing. For the first time, I actually don’t feel like I’m missing out, because I get to spend time with you instead.”

The sun is shining through the dense woods, snow crunches under our boots, and soon enough, I’ll be showing off my big surprise. Could this day get any better? I guess a blowjob is always a welcome addition, but maybe not here. I don’t want him to get his jeans all wet.

We talk about plans for the next few days, and he seems set on making me drag him behind me in a sled. He wants to bake another cake, and read a new book on psychopathy, and so many other things we can share now that we’re locked in a world of our own, with no dangers or distractions. He doesn’t even complain that I’m dragging my feet about going to Aspen. I’m pretty sure we’re in a silent agreement about being able to wait, since we’re safe here.

“Okay, now we’ll be going down,” I warn him so he doesn’t slip.

At the bottom of the hill, I stop him and push away a few branches obscuring the entrance into a cave. It’s such a beautiful day, I’m almost sorry that we have to get out of the sun, but I know he will love my surprise, and I browse my phone, choosing the right app. A moment later, the battery-powered LEDs I installed earlier turn on, and the cave resonates with the soft tones of ‘No Time Like Christmas’.

Blake stalls, holding my hand more tightly. “Oh, so you didn’t find this place, did you?” he asks after a moment and laughs, staring ahead, where the cave bends toward its main chamber. The whole thing is the size of a large studio apartment, but it provides more than enough space for our plans.

I lead him inside to the joyful tune with a spring in my step. The colorful Christmas lights twinkle around us, revealing more of the decorations, including the glitter I’ve sprayed on the walls, but the surprise is hidden behind the bend, so he won’t see it until we’re close.

“Guilty as charged,” I say with a smirk and glance at his face just before the grand reveal.

His hand slides up my arm as we walk over the uneven floor. “Oh, should I get undressed now or—” His voice dies as we face a large rock resting in the very middle of the cave interior. I’ve arranged many more lights on the walls around it, but their soft light still leaves the altar-like structure dusky as an old oil painting. I’m very proud of the atmosphere I’ve managed to achieve here.

“What the hell?” Blake asks.

I move behind the gagged man tied securely to the rock. His eyes widen at us both, and he writhes like a bug under someone’s thumb. He’s not going anywhere, so I spare him little attention and spread my arms with a smile.

“Tah-da!”

Blake covers the lower part of his face and shakes his head. “What is he doing here? ”

I’m a little deflated by this reaction, but I guess he’s taken aback with no context. “You love the Christmas Killer, and you have an interest in the nitty gritty of crime, so I thought you’d like to see me at work.” I pick up one of the knives I left here earlier as my victim whines and wiggles.

He looks like the perfectly average suburban dad, but I know he’s not, so I have no qualms about his suffering.

Blake’s hands drop at his sides, and he shakes his head. Is it just me, or is his breathing a little ragged? “I am interested in it in theory! It’s not like I watch murder scene pictures for fun! I’m not that kind of person!”

And yet, he’s staying put.

I shift my weight from one foot to the other. Have I misjudged this?

“You don’t? I…I’m sorry, but I got the impression you were really curious. Like… to an unusual level. You paid someone to hack the FBI just so you could get more crime scene imagery.”

“For research!”

I take a deep breath and lean against the rock, fighting my frustration. I didn’t want to pull out the big guns, but he’s in denial, and I need to make him see reason. “And you stabbed the last guy in the throat for research ?”

It’s dark, but while I don’t see his skin paling, I feel the temperature drop by several degrees as Blake focuses on me with a tight set to his mouth. “I was protecting us from an assassin. And besides, he was practically dead after you cut his nose off !”

My next victim lets out a whimper, sobs, and thrashes against the rope I used to restrain him. His gaze seeks Blake’s help, and my stomach drops when I realize my boyfriend might just want to aid this worm in order to teach me a lesson .

“You don’t die from a cut nose,” I complain. “And he was already tied down. All you were protecting was your own skin, because don’t think I didn’t notice you only acted when he started telling on you. And I’m past that, I’ve come to terms with your little double-crossing, but don’t twist it around on me.”

Blake stills, and his Adam’s apple rolls up and down his neck as he’s forced to swallow that truth. “Well, he was there to kill us both, which is pretty unforgivable. What did this bastard do?” he asks, gesturing at the writhing man.

He’s either being obnoxious or getting on board with the plan. Only time will tell. “Oh, you will like this!” I clear my throat. “Not the crime, his crime is terrible, but that… you know, that he’s caught. This little worm,” I poke his forehead hard without looking away from Blake, since it makes no difference if I poke the bastard’s eye out at this point. He’s dying anyway. “Killed his elderly neighbor and suffered no consequences because of a technicality.”

Blake’s expression softens, warming my heart.

Kurt, because that’s our victim’s name, thrashes like a dying fish. He keeps trying to scream into the gag I’ve stuffed in his mouth, no doubt attempting to give me reasons why his actions were justified, but this won’t make a difference. I can see Blake believes me, and that’s all I care about.

His pretty face sobers. “When you said you were looking for information on my brother and how we can take him down, were you actually watching this guy ?”

I still, because that’s not an angle I was expecting, and my mouth goes dry, because I’m suddenly a kid with his hand in the cookie jar. “I mean… this just fell into my lap. I was also checking the security on your brother’s villa and all that. ”

Blake shakes his head, starting to pace. He’s no longer bothered by the fact that I led him to a man I was about to kill, but his shock seems to have been replaced by anger. “ Fell into your lap ? Really? How does a staged murder fall into one’s lap, huh? I believed you when you said we need to lie low, but this is hardly that, isn’t it? Every night, I worry that I might wake up with a knife to my throat, and here you are, hunting people down for funsies?”

His shouting echoes in the cave, getting so loud I have shivers by the time he’s done.

My shoulders sag. “You worry I will hurt you?”

Blake cocks his head, takes a deep breath, and speaks, full of exasperation. “I worry Carl will somehow track us down and send more people after us. More than you can handle. And even if it was just one guy, you are not superhuman!”

“I take offense at that. I said I’ll protect you. And this?” I point to Kurt with the knife. “This isn’t ‘for fun’. This is justice .” Fuck. Even I don’t believe that. The truth is that I had an itch to scratch, and the holiday season always gets me like this.

“Why don’t you bring justice to me ?” Blake asks bluntly.

I roll my eyes. “I just… I like our time in the cabin. Are you not having fun?”

Blake dashes forward and stabs my chest with his index finger. “So you are stalling! When you know I’m stuck and worried he’ll send someone after me. My own brother is trying to kill me, and you’re willing to let this go for now, because you like being with me in the woods and pretending it’s Christmas every day? How long did you think this was going to last?”

I spread my arms and don’t back down, because my mind is boiling. This was supposed to be a treat for both of us, the loveliest of afternoons .

“I don’t know! Until you fall in love with me?” There, I said it, my true intention out in the open.

Kurt howls into the gag, arching off the rock as if he were dying of lockjaw, but Blake ignores him. A storm is raging in his beautiful green eyes, and I know its wrath is aimed at me. “You think I can really trust anyone that much after everything that happened? After my own brother deserted me, then tried to murder me for money?” He steps back with an exasperated sigh. “I don’t think I’m capable of feelings like that.”

I put down the knife, in case he’s skittish, and step closer to him with my heart pounding. “But… I love you,” I say helplessly. Those three words can never encompass the depth of my feelings, or what it’s like to hold him in my arms at night, but it’s all I’ve got.

He purses his lips, as if he were trying to say something, only to give up. “What the hell? You don’t love me. You can’t love me because you barely know me,” he shouts, throwing his arms to the sides.

He might as well have grabbed the knife at our feet and stabbed me in the heart. I opened up my ribcage for him to see my raw insides, and all he has for me is acid. I stare at him, dead serious. I will not back down from what I said.

“I know you better than you know yourself, and that’s why I love you. I know you secretly want to watch me take this guy apart,” I gesture to Kurt without looking away from Blake for a second. “I know you don’t care to go to the police about your brother or me. You want to take matters into your own hands. I also know you claim to avoid sugar, but always put two spoonfuls in your coffee. You say your favorite color is black, but when we do crafts, you always go for shades of blue. You love to say ‘no, please, stop’ to me when you mean ‘give it to me harder’.”

Blake stumbles back, as if I’ve taken a swing at him, his shoulders so stiff I want to press him against the wall and work on them until they relax. But he shakes his head again, regaining his composure. “If you loved me, you’d make sure I felt safe and gone after Carl instead of wasting your time on some random criminal.”

I snarl at him like what I am—a cornered animal. “Fine. Have it your way!” I turn around, grab the knife, and stab it straight into Kurt’s heart, because I don’t even feel like playing with him anymore.