Paint It All Red (Mindf*ck #5)(9)

His lip trembles, and his hands begin to shake in fear. I like that fear.

“I came to do the right thing. To tell them—”

“To tell them a dead girl rose from the grave to exact revenge?” I drawl, a dark, taunting smile curving my lips.

“No!” he says, panicking a little. “No,” he says again, quieter this time as he looks around.

I glance at my phone, using the app to show me the cameras, flicking from screen to screen as Dev recovers. I give him my attention again when I see no one is near me.

“I came to tell the feds what happened,” he goes on. “I heard there was a divide, and that Johnson was getting worked against from the rest of the feds.”

My lips twitch. “Ah, I see. Well, they know what happened.”

“Diana told me she called them.”

My small smile falls. Diana? She’s stayed in contact with him?

Ignoring the bitter sting of betrayal, I continue to focus on Dev.

“So you’ve come to tell them the story they’ve already heard?”

He slowly shakes his head. “No. I’ve come to tell them the rest. The parts they don’t know. The part about Kyle’s mother.”

My breath hitches.

“I also plan to tell them who the real killer was, Victoria. I want them to clear your father’s name, and give your family the rest it deserves. Then your soul can be at peace.”

I laugh humorlessly. “You think I’m really a ghost who has risen from the grave?” I mock.

He shakes his head. “I think you’re selling your soul to the devil for revenge, and I’m trying to help you before it’s completely gone. I want to save you.”

More laughter slips out of me, this time mocking him. “If you wanted to save me, you should have done it ten years ago.”

I hop off the stage, and he tenses as I pull out a knife. “I’m already too far gone now, Dev. You had your chance. Instead, you watched from the sidelines as they tore my soul from my body. It was anger or brokenness. Which path do you think I chose?”

His lips purse. “No soul is above saving, Victoria. No—”

I throw the knife, and he screams while diving away as it slams into the wall beside him, nowhere even close to his body, despite his attempt to flee. I find that a little humorous.

The knife is stuck in the picture of Sheriff Cannon and the plaque that praises him for donating so generously to the church. It’s right between his eyes, and I never had to look to aim it that well.

Once again, the color drains from Dev’s face, because he sees proof I’m no longer the weak little girl they let bleed on the streets.

“I’m stronger. Faster. Smarter. And far more lethal than anyone in this town. If I wanted you dead, you’d already be dead. Kyle had the sheriff’s love and his protection. Yet I flayed him and hung him from the tower for the entire town to witness his demise. Don’t piss me off, Dev. I’m not the girl you turned your back on ten years ago. This girl will carve out your spine if I find your back to me again.”

He gulps as I walk over to pull the knife out of the sheriff’s head, and I look over my shoulder at him.

“And never call me Victoria again, or I’ll cut out your tongue like I almost decided to do already. I’m still not certain you’re in the clear, so don’t remind me about you again. Understood?”

He nods, tears falling from his eyes.

I walk by him, and he shudders in my wake as my icy breeze follows me.

“I’m sorry,” he says as I pass him. “I’m so sorry.”

My footsteps pause, and I clutch the knife tighter, willing myself not to lose control and kill him when it’s unnecessary. It’s hard to forget his part in that night when he’s so close.

“Just remember I can’t be stopped,” I say without turning around. “Don’t make me regret showing you mercy when I’ve withheld it from all others. Jason’s time is coming too. Don’t make me return for you as well. And your father is still on my list.”

“My mother and sister are innocent,” he blurts out immediately.

I stay facing the door. “Your mother’s innocence is debatable, but she’s not on my list. Your sister was always sheltered from the rumors when she went off to college. For her own sake, make her less na?ve, Dev. It’s a cruel world to those who don’t believe such evils exist. I would know.”

I walk out without saying another word, and I tuck the knife back into my boot before anyone sees me.

That was not what I needed.

I don’t want one of them trying to save my soul when they’re the reason it’s so damaged. I don’t want one of them trying to preach to me. The hypocrisy is too laughable to even dwell on.

Feeling a chill on my back, I turn, seeing Dev coming after me, and I stop on the sidewalk, cloaked in darkness in this section with no lights.

“I’m going to the feds, but I wanted you to know it was for the right reasons. Can I ask where you’re going?” he asks softly, timidly, like a lamb protesting a lion’s grip.

“To kill someone,” I say flippantly.

He blanches, then looks down at the ground. “You didn’t ask who the original killer was when I said I knew.”

Turning around again, I start walking quickly into the night before calling over my shoulder, “Because I already know.”