Ready Or Not (The Hunter’s Club #2)

Chapter 21

21

Look Down on Me - Kode

After Riley lit the man’s house on fire, she forced me back on the bike with her, and we took off. I cling to her back again, barely processing what just happened. I just listen to the sound of my breathing in the helmet and feel her soft body against mine. Pretending she didn’t just kill someone in front of me. Pretending she didn’t light his body and then his house on fire while I stood there and watched.

Because if I don’t pretend it isn’t real, I might actually completely check out. I feel it already, the desire to just sign off. Retreat into the corners of my mind to keep from screaming and picking my skin until it’s gone. What’s more dangerous? Pretending this isn’t real or shutting down in the control of a murderer?

We stop at a small hotel. It’s an old Motel 6, one story, and breaking down. Riley pats my leg. “Get off. And if you talk to anyone, I’ll kill them.”

I step off the bike. Riley helps me take the helmet off, then grabs my hand and heads for the front office.

“Wait.” I yank back slightly. She’s covered in blood. I am too, but less so. We’re like a walking crime scene. Scratch that, we are a walking crime scene.

“It’s Halloween, babe.” Riley gives me a cheeky smile.

Oh fuck. Is it Halloween already? My heart clenches, and the reality of the shit I’m in falls over me. It’s Halloween, and I didn’t find Cali to bring her to the corn maze with me. Instead, I don’t think I’ll ever survive the corn maze.

Riley pays at the front desk. The employee barely even gives us a double take. “Quiet hours are at ten.” Then we have our key, and we’re off. The motel is so old that our room opens to the parking lot.

I barely make a fuss when Riley motions me into the room. I’m exhausted and starving, and the reality of this situation feels like it’s pressing in from every angle.

I stare at Riley when she rides the bike into the room and shuts it down.

I just shake my head, sitting on the bed. Riley shuts the door, then backs the bike against it, tucking the key into her bra. She disappears into the bathroom, and I hear the bath turn on. I stare at the ceiling. I just want to close my eyes. Close my eyes and keep them closed until this nightmare goes away.

“Come here.” Riley pokes her head out of the bathroom.

I don’t know if I have the energy to. But Riley marches to my bed and makes me get up. “I drew you a bath.”

I blink. She herds me into the bathroom. Sure enough, the bathtub is full.

“Get in,” she coaxes. “But keep your leg out of the water. I want to check it.”

Staying in these bloody clothes sounds horrible, so I strip out of them and sink into the water, keeping my injured leg out. Riley checks it and makes a hum of approval. “It’s healing nicely. Just keep it out of the water until it’s fully scabbed over.”

She steps out of the room, and I sink into the tub as far as I can with my leg out. Immediately, I’m surrounded by a warm, comforting feeling. I sink as deep as I can into the shallow tub, soaking in the warmth. I let my brain shut off, bit by bit, and just focus on the feeling of the water on my skin. There’s an odd lack of feeling when submerged. It’s like feeling everything at once but nothing at all. I want to feel nothing.

I hear Riley messing around in the room. There’s the beeping of the microwave, and then she comes back into the bathroom.

“Dinner.” She holds out some chicken nuggets microwaved on toilet paper.

Suddenly, they look like the best things I’ve ever seen. I didn’t realize how hungry I was. I sit up, snatching the food from her. My wet hands disintegrate the toilet paper, but I don’t even care. I down the chicken nuggets in mere bites, almost groaning at how good it tastes. But I need more.

Riley chuckles. “Let those settle. I’ll get you more in a second.” She hops on the bathroom counter and sits there, watching me. She’s still covered in blood, and the tips of her braids look like they’ve been dipped in it. I trace the blood over her perfectly proportioned body to her hands. She has long, slender fingers, and as soon as I think that, I frown. Why does everything about her have to be hot? She’s a walking red flag.

In that moment, I realize I’m completely naked. My face heats, and I try to cover myself. “Don’t look.”

Riley arches an eyebrow. “Why?”

I swallow. I’m not sure why. She’s seen it all before, but still, I feel vulnerable.

“You killed someone.”

“Yep.” She pops the p.

“Are you going to let me go?”

There's silence, and I just look at the water pooling around my belly.

“Do you want to go?”

“Yes,” I whisper.

“Why?”

“Because!” I trail off. I miss my home. My routine. Nothing here feels right or safe.

“Because why?”

“Because it’s my home!”

Riley humphs. “You lived a boring life before me.”

Defensiveness fills me. “So?” I pick at the skin around my nails again. It’s much softer now, having been in the bath.

“So you don’t crave something better? Friends? A boyfriend? A girlfriend?”

My thoughts immediately go to Cali. “Do you know what happened to Cali?”

Riley’s voice darkens. “Who’s Cali?”

“My friend,” I say. “She disappeared a few weeks ago. I thought maybe Manson…did something to her.”

Riley snorts. “Doubtful. Manson isn’t interested in other girls.”

“But he knows her name.”

Riley is silent for a while. “Why do you care?”

Defeat fills me. “Because she’s my friend.”

“Friends, hmmm?” Riley’s voice is dark.

“Yeah,” I whisper. She was my best friend. She had everything: the looks, the attitude, the spunk. I wanted to be her.

“You know what, I think this is the first time you’re not trying to lie to me, but you still are.” Riley shakes her head and sounds pissed. “You had a crush on her.”

I glance up at Riley, appalled.

Riley shakes her head. “Yep. Fucking hell. Now imma have to kill Cali, too.”

Panic flares through me. “No!”

Riley gives me a deadpan look. “Absolutely.”

I swallow, then force myself to lean back in the tub. “It doesn’t matter. She’s probably dead anyway.”

“That would save me some time.”

“Riley!” I snap my head at her. “You can’t just kill anyone you want.”

Riley rolls her eyes. “And why not, bambi?”

“Because!” I sputter. “It’s…wrong! You’ll get caught. They’ll throw you in prison for the rest of your life.”

Riley scoffs. “In case you haven’t picked up on this, they won’t. As for the first part, I don’t care about what’s right and wrong.”

“Clearly.” I cross my arms over my chest. “‘Cause you kidnapped me.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Riley examining her nails. “Let’s save ourselves this tiring conversation again, and I’ll tell you right now that I’m a sociopath, Rachel. I don’t care about what’s ‘wrong.’ Save me your morality speech; it’s not gonna work.”

I stare at her. Oh fuck. That makes so much sense. I rack my brain for anything I can remember on the term. All I know about it is the stereotypical association with serial killers. I stare at her, wanting to ask all kinds of questions, but I’m not sure what I can ask. Instead, I say, “Manson, too?”

Riley barks a laugh. “He’s a psychopath.”

“Isn’t that what I asked?”

“Sociopath and psychopath. One is made. The other is born.”

I pick at my thumb nail again, turning away from her. I have a big piece of loose skin. I know if I pull it away, it’ll bleed. I do it anyway. “And which one are you?”

I don’t know which one sounds worse. If you’re born with it, then you must not ever know what it’s like to live life like everyone else. There’d be some comfort in that. But the horrors you’d have to go through to be made one…

Riley is silent for so long that I don’t think she’ll answer. Then, her rich voice says, “Made.”

I wince. I’m not sure what to say. What does one say to that? Sorry?

I glance at Riley. Her face twists into a scowl. “I see that look. Don’t try to ‘fix me,’ Rachel. You wouldn’t be the first bitch to try, and you won’t be the last.”

With that, she storms out of the bathroom and slams the door.

Shit. I fucked up somehow.

I stay in the tub, soaking in the water until it’s cold. I think about what this means for me, for my survival, and how I even fit into this puzzle in the first place.

I don’t want to get out of the tub, but when I start to shiver, I do. I wrap myself in a scratchy towel and come out.

Riley’s on the floor, looking at the ceiling.

“I have no clothes,” I say.

“Nothing I haven’t seen before, bambi.” Riley’s voice is monotone.

I stare at her, wondering what made her the way she is. What could have possibly happened to her?

She looks at me, and it’s like all previous anger is gone from her face. She’s friendly and upbeat and smiles at me.

I wrap the towel tighter. “Can you stop doing that thing with your face?”

“What?”

“That thing.” I wave at her. “Where you switch your mood.”

There’s a small smirk on Riley’s face. “And why would I do that?”

“Because.” I sit on the edge of the bed. “It's confusing.”

“It’s meant to be confusing.” Riley stares at me. For a second, she looks questioning.

I shift uncomfortably.

“Cali wasn’t my girlfriend.”

She waves me off. “We have a lot to do tomorrow, so we’re gonna get some rest.” She opens the drawer beside the bed and grabs a pair of handcuffs.

Immediately, I stiffen and back away.

“Now now. You can’t possibly think I’ll just let you roam while I sleep.”

I jump off the bed, still clutching my towel. “I don’t want those on.”

“Sorry, bambi. I don’t trust you not to run.”

“I won’t,” I plead. “Please.”

Riley gets off the bed, a gleam in her eye. “One swing to make you feel better.”

“What?” Confusion fills me.

“I’m giving you a pass.”

“For what?” I back away as she gets closer.

“To fight me.”

“What?” My mouth drops open. “I’m not going to fight you.” I back up to the bathroom.

Riley cocks her head. “Wouldn’t it make you feel better? Least you fought back instead of taking it like a little bitch.”

Rage rushes through me. Who the hell does she think she is? I make it to the bathroom and try to slam the door on her. Riley just jumps in with me. My heart races and the backs of my knees hit the toilet.

Riley gives me a pitying look. “It’s okay. Just roll over and take it. I’ll be gentle.”

A flash of blinding rage washes over me, and I don’t think; I just act. I swing my fist at her face, picturing it going all the way through her skull into the back wall. Instead, it makes contact right below her right eye, and she staggers back.

Shock radiates through my fist, and I suck in a breath.

Riley staggers back. For a moment, she’s silent, and pure fear washes through me. She’s going to fucking kill me.

Then, Riley starts laughing. She holds a hand up to her face and checks the mirror. “One hell of a swing there, girl!” She laughs again. “But for the love of god, keep your thumb outside of your fist; you’ll break it.”

I stare at her in horror. Why is she laughing?

“That’ll do.” She stops looking at herself in the mirror. “Come on. Let’s go to bed.”