Her Destiny (Reverie #2)(48)
“After we were done Krista got dressed and did her hair. Redid her makeup. Said she wanted to look pretty just for you. Only for you. I just had sex with her and she was going to you.” David lifts his head, his eyes as black as night, his skin pale. He looks terrible. Scary. “I lost it. Just f**king…lost it. Like a baby I crawled out of bed and begged her not to go. Told her I loved her, said I would do anything for her but she wouldn’t listen. She just wanted to get to you.”
“I never saw Krista that night, David,” I say as a reminder, though I’m pretty damn certain I know what he’s going to say next.
The horror that threatens to consume me is strong. Overwhelming. I need to get Reverie away from him before he does something to her too.
“I know. I never let her leave this room.” He smiles, as if lost in a fond memory. “I tried to block the door so she couldn’t leave to go see you but she shoved me out of the way and I fell to the floor. Didn’t know little Krista was so strong.”
Nausea threatens and I think I’m going to be sick.
“Before she could open the door I lunged for her and tackled her to the ground. She was so soft beneath me, her skirt riding up her thighs as she kicked at me with those sexy high heels she loves to wear. I pinned her down, wrapped my hands around her wrists and pressed them to the floor. She struggled so much, calling me all sorts of names, demanding that I let her go. But I didn’t. I kissed her instead and that’s when things got ugly.” David pauses, imploring me with a look. “She slapped me. Can you believe it? The bitch actually slapped my face as hard as she could. I got so mad I backhanded her, marking her face too. And she just laughed at me.”
Jesus. I don’t want to hear anymore but I don’t want to stop him either. I’m a witness to his confession and so is Reverie. David killed Krista. He killed her right here in her own bedroom and then went on to become Hal’s biggest support while they looked in vain for information to find Krista’s killer. When he was the guilty one all along.
What sort of sick f**k does this?
“She made me so mad I told her to stop laughing but she wouldn’t. She just kept doing it. Calling me a pu**y. Calling me all sorts of names. I couldn’t take it. She always treated me that way and I couldn’t take it anymore so I told her to shut up. And when she wouldn’t shut up I put my hands around her skinny little neck and squeezed. Her eyes bulged out of her head and she slapped at my hands, trying to make me stop but I wouldn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. I had to shut her up once and for all and once I realized she wasn’t moving anymore, I started to cry.”
I edge closer to the bed, closer to Reverie so I can grab her and keep her safe with me. This entire story is freaking me out. If David could do that to Krista, someone he supposedly loved, then what could he do to me or Reverie?
“So it was an accident,” I say softly, not wanting to startle him, but my words seem to snap him out of the trance telling the story put him in.
“What are you doing over there? Get away from her!” David waves his hand around, the knife slicing the air. “And of course, it was an accident. I never meant to kill Krista. And you’re the one who pushed me to do it. If she didn’t love you so damn much, everything would’ve been fine between us. Just fine. You ruined everything.”
I don’t say anything because I’m not about to argue with crazy. He can go ahead and put the blame on me. “What happened next?”
“I cried and cried and slapped at her face, trying to wake her up but she was gone. Gone, gone, laying right there, in front of her door.” He points at the ground not far from where he’s standing. “I picked her up and brought her to the bed and stroked her hair. Made love to her one last time.”
Details I did not want to know.
“And then I wrapped her in an old blanket I found in her closet and took her with me. I was going to take her away but I got scared. Heard people walking around so I dumped her close to her door outside and just…left. No one saw me.” He tilts his head back and starts to weep. “I hate what happened. I hate that we lost her. It’s so unfair, what she did to me. All I ever wanted to do was love her.”
“I’m sure she did love you.” I come closer to the bed and reach out, resting my hand on Reverie’s knee. I can feel her trembling beneath my palm and all I want is to console her.
“Fuck you. She did not. Not the way she loved you.” He strides toward the bed, the knife pointed straight at me. I drop my hand from Reverie’s knee and he notices, thrusting the knife toward where she sits. “I should take her away from you. See how that makes you feel.”
“Leave her out of this.” Fear clouds my head and I shake it, jerking my thumb at my chest. “This is about me and you know it.”
David’s face crumples, his eyes squeezing out a few tears. They seem false but maybe that’s because he just confessed he murdered Krista. “You stole everything from me, man. From the time we were little, you were always better than me at everything. I adored you and hated you all at once. I always loved Krista but when you two started going out, I was devastated. I had to win her back—and I did. But then I lost her. I lost her forever.”
“You son of a bitch.” The low snarl of Hal’s voice fills the room, sending a chill down my spine and we both turn to find him filling the doorway, his expression incredulous. Wounded, like an injured animal.