I barely have enough time to lie down and lift my arms over my head when I hear the outer door open and close. He’s silent. I angle my hands with the ropes hoping it lines up good enough to conceal my weapon. It helps the corner I’m in has very little light. I try to relax my body as well. The last thing I needed was for him to suspect anything and I know he’s watching me right now.
Seconds feel like years and my mind races, playing out every scenario I can think of, preparing for each one. Minutes feel like decades when I hear the lock release on the door. I tried not to tense, keeping loose and calm as he pushes the door open, stepping inside. His green eyes meet mine and I see the evil lurking behind them. Something’s changed.
“Miss me?” he smirks walking over to the table next to the knives. He fiddles with something before crossing the room to me. I grip the knife tightly, as he stalks up on me. Something silver flashing in his hand, a blade of some sort I assume. Nothing like the one I have. He comes closer, his eyes focused on the cut he made earlier. It was superficial, now dried over with blood.
“Out of all my girls, I think I’m going to miss you the most,” his words suck the out of my lungs and I search his face for some kind of explanation. His smirk fades as his features grows more serious. “You didn’t really think you were my one and only, did you?”
I believed it once up a time, now I knew better. I never thought there were any others like me though. The house I lived in wasn’t very big, so it would have been difficult for him to hide another from me. He must have had other places set up like mine.
“I can see your mind working behind those dark eyes of yours,” he chuckles. “There were three of them to be clear, you were the fourth.”
“What happened to them?” I ask, my voice is a whisper.
“They’re dead,” he smiles darkly, showing me his blade. I feel the blood drain from my face and my stomach lurches. “Unlike you, they couldn’t handle the lifestyle. They were weak. So really, it’s a shame you ran. I mean, you were pulling enough money in I didn’t need anyone else. When they died, I didn’t bother looking for a replacement.”
“Did you kill them?”
“I wish I could take credit for their deaths, but alas, I cannot. Their deaths were accidental, well, as far as the john’s were concerned they were accidents. Can’t tell the client they killed a girl, not if I want repeat business.”
“What are you going to do with me?”
“I’m going to have some fun of my own with you,” a sickening twinkle lights his eyes. “See, while you could handle most everything I threw your way, there were a few things I held back with, mostly because I didn’t want to damage the product. Leaving those kinds of marks wouldn’t have been good for business.”
“You’re sick,” I let loose my revulsion of him, plastering it to my face.
“Apples and oranges, I prefer adventurous,” he laughs loudly, his ego filling the room.
“What happens after me?”
“Veronica happens,” he thumbs the blade in his hand, concentrating on it. “She isn’t as spirited as you and I doubt I’ll have much fun breaking her. But I’ve got to start somewhere, right?”
“You won’t get away with this,” I say, trying to bait him. It wasn’t my life on the line anymore and there was no way I was going to walk out of this room alive if I didn’t do this right. I wasn’t going to let him destroy another life.
“I already have,” he chuckles, stepping toward me. “The only one who can do anything about it, well, he’s nowhere near and I’ll be long gone by the time he arrives.”
“He won’t stop until he finds you,” I know I’m right about Hudson. He’ll never stop looking for Erik, whether I live tonight or die by his hand. Erik will never be safe while Hudson is alive.
“Enough talk, I’m bored,” he’s close enough now to lean over me, and he does, the blade pointed at me. “This won’t be quick and it’s going to be painful, so please feel free to scream.”
I see my opening as he tilts his neck, his eyes wide with excitement as he presses the blade into my skin. It’s now or never. I move quickly. Gripping the hilt of the knife in both hands I plunge it downward, towards him, hitting my target. He tenses and drops his blade against my skin. The smell of copper fills the air and I twist my knife. His hot blood spills out from the edges of his wound and down my arms. I let got as he straightens and lifts his arms trying to grasp the hilt. He falls to the ground his eyes on me, wide and disbelieving. I swing my legs off the bed and skirt past him, making a beeline for the door. He lunges for my legs but he misses slumping over instead. I turn and watch the darkened light weaken in his eyes as the blood drains from his body.