Natural Born Killer

[Velveteen]

Frigid air tugged at the hem of the floor length, leather coat that she pulled tightly around herself. It seemed the normal thing to do when one was freezing their *** off. While the cold didn’t bother her as it once did she did her best to look like it did. Pale hands were gloved and the leather hood shrouded her face in shadows. That was one thing she did appreciate about the colder months. It was easier for her to blend but jesus **** did she hate this time of year. Too many people out doing christmassy things till all hours. Every storefront and home decorated with gaudy tinsel and seizure inducing colourful lights. Christmas carols, and christmas tv and advertising just about everywhere you looked offering the perfect gift idea for anyone you ever knew.

Velveteen stopped in front of one particularly festive window and snorted softly as she searched her pockets for the pack of cigarettes she had purchased earlier. Once located she withdrew one and cupped her hand about the lighter to protect it from the wind. A long drag was taken and inhaled deeply before being released and carried away on the icy air. She frowned a little and noticed that the reflection in the window showed nothing but the red embers. She took a step back before anyone else might noticed, and instead leaned up the light post while watching the power operated nativity in the window.

It had never ceased to amaze her that so many people would even bother celebrating something they didn’t believe in. For those devout christians….sure she could see that but everything else was a just a huge marketing gig designed to target the greed in people, especially those tiny sociopaths known as children. And even if you didn’t want one was always made to feel obligated to celebrate the miracle of christmas.

The vampire shook her head and laughed to herself. Her thoughts tended to take her to some strange places at times. Truth be told she was still planning on getting something for her husband, despite all that she thought and felt about the holiday season it was exactly what brought her out this particular evening. It was, however, getting late. The shops were starting to prep for closing and she wasn’t even close to finding what she sought. Perhaps she needed to ask around in house,

The bell on the door rang as it opened and drew her attention. A young mother scrambled out dragging a snot nosed little brat behind her. Kids. They had no conscience. The boy stared at Velveteen while burying his finger in his nose up the knuckle. Velveteen stared right back resisting the urge to slap his hand from his face. Disgusting. His mother was too preoccupied with finding her car keys to even notice the exchange.

“There is no Santa, kid.” The thought cast directly into the young boy’s mind as she crushed out the cigarette beneath her boot and started down the street.

The following wail of disappointment and the frustrated anger in the young mother's voice as she chastised him for the outburst brought a twisted smile to the vampire’s face. “Shattering one dream at a time.” She murmured softly as she strode down the street, giving up on her mission for this evening she decided it was time to head back home and annoy Micah for the rest of night. Her favourite thing to do. Just the very thought brought a soft smile to her face and she rounded the corner in search of a secluded place where she could tome home safely.

[Micah]

The newspaper article was a pleasant surprise. And it fit in perfectly with his plans.

Harper Rock Host Medical Convention For Advances In Cancer Research

There it was, in big bold letters on the front page. And underneath a couple of paragraphs outlining the details of the convention was a list of doctors who had been invited to speak. Micah wasn’t sure what made him decide to read the article but he hadn’t bothered to finish it once he saw that name listed with several others. Dr. Curtis Truman, Oncologist - Dallas, Texas. For as long as he lived, the killer would never forget that name. If he closed his eyes he could see it on Savannah’s chart, could see it in elegant calligraphy on the office door, he could even see it on the death certificate. Rage swelled within him. Dr Curtis was going to finally get what was coming to him.

The killers fingers traced random patterns over the cover of Savannah’s journal. Until Bunny had presented him with the folder Micah hadn’t known that such a journal had even existed. The idea had barely been born when he opened that journal but once he read the words contained within the yellowed pages his path was set and he would not stray from it. Dr. Curtis was going to pay, but first, Micah had decided that it was only fair that he return the good doctor’s gifts. Within the same box that contained the journal lay every single gift that was sent to his mother. He hadn’t just been Savannah’s doctor, but he’d also been her lover. From what Micah could gather it had lasted a year then she had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. Good ol Dr Curt had dumped her the same day, but continued to treat her for the disease. “Not very ethical of you, Dr. ****.” He barely recognized the sound of his own voice.

There was one gift left, and it would be his final gift for the good doctor. Carefully, Micah reached into the battered box and lifted Savannah’s nametag out. It was old, the catch was rusted and the once white surface was now turning yellow. As he studied it his gaze wandered over to the newspaper clippings that Bunny had cut out for him.

Local Doctor Accepts Prestigious Award.

Dr. Curtis Truman Elected Head Of New Oncology Wing.

Dr Curtis Truman Instrumental In Breakthrough Cancer Research.

Dr Curtis Truman Victim of Stalking

Micah chuckled darkly at the last one, which was his favorite. “How do you like your presents, Dr. ****?” The killer had been slowly returning the items he had sent Savannah timing them to arrive once a week. It had been a bit tricky, getting them to be postmarked from Dallas but that was where Bunny had come in. Once a week she would take the private jet to Dallas where she would make sure the boxes were dropped off at the good doctor’s office. She was a tricky one and had never been caught. The killer had asked no questions and Bunny had offered no information. The only thing she had ever said was if she was caught she wanted him to kill her so there were no ties back to him. The last thing she wanted was for Micah to be implicated and because of that he had agreed. But Bunny’s part was finished. “Time’s up Dr ****.”

The killer pulled on a pair of black latex gloves and wiped every last print from the nametag before packaging it up. It was time for the last gift to be sent and even though it wasn’t something that had been sent to Savannah it would still play a role in the mind games he was currently engaged in with Dr. Truman. To be a fly on the wall…..Micah’s laughter echoed throughout the room long after he left.

[Velveteen]

As soon as her rubber soles were solid against the floorboards beneath she knew that her husband was no longer in the place they called home but she also instinctively knew that he hadn’t been gone long, his aura was still quite strong on the still air. At a guess she had probably only just missed him and due to the fact that it was snowing outside, figured he hadn’t gone far or for long. Velveteen shrugged off her coat and tossed it carelessly onto the crafting bench nearby before disarming herself and laying her weapons neatly nearby. Once stripped of the hardware, long, willowy fingers were exposed, as the gloves followed, to be then raked through her hair to shake loose the snow that nestled among her raven coloured the strands.

The manilla folder and other various items that were scattered about the table were noticed upon arrival but she dismissed them as the same documents that she had acquired for him regarding her sister. Velveteen suspected her husband was still playing his games with Satine. The newspaper articles, however, were new and roused her curiousity. What had that woman been up to now? The dark haired vampire was surprised to find on closer inspection that the papers were not related to her sibling at all but someone she had never heard of before. Her head tilted like that of a confused yet curious animal as she sifted through the articles, only skimming the headlines. Her brow furrowed as she wondered who this Dr Truman was and why he had become a point of interest to her husband.

Velveteen continued to inspect the contents of the folder and held up a picture of the man in question. It was the same man whose face smiled back at her from the computer screen. She reached out to scroll to the top of the page. Whoever this guy was he was had certainly attracted Micah’s attention. Her hand searched the paper articles further for more clues and a headline she had already read suddenly seemed to jump off the page at her. “Hmmmm.” The thoughtful sound shared with the empty room.

Texas - Dr Curtis Truman Victim of Stalking - Dr Curtis Truman, a well known specialist in the field of Oncology, and a beacon of hope to many has become the victim of what can only be called the sick prank of an unknown source. While details of the actual events are being kept under wraps it is known that a police detail has been assigned to protect the Doctor and his family.

Surveillance is also underway as police hope to gain some insight into where the packages are coming from as CCTV images at Dr Truman’s place of work have failed to provide local law enforcement with any clues…….

There was little need to read further. That feeling of knowing came over her and settled comfortably in her gut. Her husband was the stalker. She was also certain that it was no coincidence that Dr Curtis Truman was Texan. The next set of papers to find their way into her hand answered most of any of her remaining queries. Savannah’s hospital records. The doctor in charge was of course...Dr Truman. It was beginning to make sense but only a little. Did Micah really hold him accountable? And why now of all times would he choose to exact his...revenge? Her husband had changed quite a lot in the last three years but she had noticed something during his exchanges with Satine that seemed both subtle yet extreme. It was a contradiction at the very least and she knew that but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. The sense of satisfaction and glee he seemed to display through his acts of cruelty was….different. Darker. More macabre. As much as this appealed to her own inner darkness for a moment Velveteen couldn’t help but wonder if she should be concerned or not.

A pale finger stretched out and hooked over the top of the box that was dragged closer. The first thing the Necromancer noticed was the book with a delicately patterned cover. She eased it upwards and out with a reverence that the aged pages seemed to deserve and she opened it carefully. It took several pages before Velveteen realised what it was she was looking at. A journal of sorts. One that held the private thoughts and feelings of a woman that she never knew but had come to know though her son. Perhaps the secrets to the current events were held within these pages.

Silver orbs panned upwards to look towards the elevator. Even though she knew that her husband would not have left these out if he didn’t want her looking she still felt as if she was about to enter a private part part of him that he had kept locked away for a long time. As much as he loved his mother, talking or even thinking about her was the kind of pain he preferred to not deal with. She understood it but at the same time felt that acceptance could only come through dealing with things. Velveteen could only hope that this is what was happening despite knowing full well it was something far more sinister.

Her fingers had stopped turning the pages that she had not even been looking at when her focus shifted once more and she began to read the words upon the random page.

November 26

He asked about his father again today. It’s getting incredibly difficult to brush his questions off. He has a right to know, I know this, but I hope he never finds out. I hope he never meets him. Levi would tarnish his innocent soul and I refuse to allow that to happen to my son. I admit that I was out of line this time and was more than a little harsh in my responses to Micah about Levi. But it worked, and as he walked away from me I knew that it would be the last time he ever spoke of his father in my presence.

Levi was my one. No matter where I go, no matter who I...date, they will never have my heart completely. No, Levi took that with him when he walked out the door and out of my life. It was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do but in the end, the gambling, the women and the booze were more important than I was.

Life will go on. I will make sure of that.

The quiet swish of the elevator caused her to jump and snap the journal shut, pushing it away as if she hadn’t just been reading let alone completely drawn into the dead woman’s private world.

[Micah]

For once, the frigid air that hit him in the face when he stepped outside didn’t have him grumbling under his breath. He was feeling a sense of accomplishment and a great deal of anticipation. It was so close Micah felt like he could reach out and wrap his fist around the moment of truth. The moment when Dr. Curtis Truman met his end in the most horrible, painful way at the hands of yours truly. Once the gift in his black latex covered hands was delivered it would only be a matter of days before the killer could act. There had to be time between delivery of the last gift and the pivotal moment of capture. It was a game to Micah now. A sick, twisted game that stirred something inside of him. After the good doctor met his end, he wouldn’t be the last to suffer that particular fate. Others would follow and he would enjoy every single second of it. He craved it now.

The Micah that entered the small shop that proclaimed delivery in under an hour wasn’t the Micah that anyone who knew him would recognize. Before leaving the Eyrie he had stopped in the bathroom and inserted a pair of contacts lenses. Vibrant purple eyes were now a dark, almost navy blue. The mirrored aviators were left behind on the sink and his hair was a bit longer. He’d lost a few inches in height and his muscles weren’t nearly as pronounced. No one would recognize him which would only work in his favor.

“Can I help you sir?”

The perky female behind the counter made Micah want to reach out and wrap his hands around her delicate throat. It should be illegal to be that ******* chipper. “Yeah. I need this delivered to Dr. Curtis Truman, over at the center where the medical convention is being held.” The non descript box was placed on the counter and the perky female nodded and swept it away without a single question being asked. She busied herself behind the counter for a few minutes, and when she was done with the package a buzzer was pressed bringing a courier to the front of the shop. The box was handed off and the courier was gone without giving Micah a second glance. She named an amount, he paid and went out the door.

Once he cleared the security cameras, he turned around. “Hey, miss?” She looked up, a bright smile on her face that faded when she caught sight of the gun in his hand. “No hard feelings. I’m sure you understand.” He pulled the trigger and she crumpled to the ground, a bullet lodged directly between her eyes. The killer eyed the body impassively and walked out the door. One less loose end to tie up.

There was just one more thing he needed to do before returning home. Ducking into a deserted alley, he called the shadows to him, allowing them to encase his body effectively hiding him from view. The center wasn’t far ahead - he should be able to at least see the good doctor’s reaction to the gift he’d so painstakingly arranged to be delivered. Micah felt almost giddy. He couldn’t wait to see the human’s face when he opened the box.

Slipping in behind a group of people had him managing to avoid the door opening by itself. That would have raised some eyebrows after all. His feet knew exactly where to go and in a few minutes he was standing in a corner that gave him a perfect view of Dr. Curtis. The box had already been delivered, and a member of his protective detail was unwrapping the brown paper. Micah found himself leaning forward, eagerly anticipating the moment when he saw that tag, and the note with on single word etched onto the paper in bold, black letters. SOON. Such an innocent word but heavy with the promise of more to come. The bodyguard peeled back the tissue paper and all the color drained from Dr. Curtis’ face. Micah would have laughed if it wouldn't have given him away. Pulling out his tome he read the words and disappeared, reveling in the panic and the chaos he had caused. Mission accomplished.

His feet hit the floor and he started up the small set of stairs into the living space he occupied with his wife. He wasn’t quite ready for her to discover his secret and realized he had left everything on the table. It needed to be put away before….****. She was sitting at the table and by the look on her face he just knew she had looked through his things. The killer peeled the gloves off of his hands and stalked towards her his face twisted in a sneer. “What the **** are you doing?”

[Velveteen]

The chair Velveteen had been sitting on toppled and crashed against the floor as she stood abruptly. Her first reaction was a sudden twinge of guilt though for the most part it was an irrational response. He had never shut out before so there was no reason that she could think of that he would do so now. The guilt however was fleeting as he approached and it took a moment for her brain to register that he looked...different. It was in that moment that all the pieces suddenly fell together like dominoes in her mind falling one after the other. She had suspected but now she knew without a doubt what was happening yet she did not have the time to discern exactly how she felt about it.

The way he sneered and his choice of words brought about a purely defensive reaction that she would likely regret when given the chance to think about it. The other thing she might have also realised was an unfamiliar sense of fear that loitered about the outskirts of her consciousness due to the sudden uncertainty she had encountered. It was a feeling she was unaccustomed to and in the moment was rendered completely ill equipped to deal with. “Learning to Tango. What the **** are you doing? And why do you look like that?” Her tone was sharp and defensive and even though they were questions that Velveteen was certain she already knew and were likely about to get her into trouble but she had to buy herself some time to process what the hell was going on.

While it was Satine it was one thing but this….Her silver orbs fell to the scattered articles and various other papers and folders that littered the table top, this was a whole other level and it was a dangerous game at best. She busied herself with picking up the chair and placing it in its rightful position. She couldn’t even look at him right now even though it was her own sense guilt that prevented her meeting his gaze she played it off as his appearance being the reason. Her voice adjusted in a bid to somehow smooth out the damage she had already done. “You look kinda creepy. Fix yaself...Please?” She waved a hand at him as she spoke before starting to tidy up the things he had left on full display.

Pack it up. Put away and then pretend it never happened. Sometimes it worked...most times it didn’t. But for Velveteen it was an instant reaction in those times when she didn’t know how to react or deal with something. It was an instinctual behaviour that had always been a part of her and one that, more often than not, pissed her husband off to the enth degree. “Is he dead yet?” Her voice flat as she looked up, assuming that was what the gloves for.

[Micah]

A single eyebrow raised at the sarcastic response he got out of her. “Takes two to tango wife, and unless you got yourself an invisible dance partner I doubt you were learning how to tango.” The latex gloves were dropped onto the chair she had been occupying when he came in and his gaze swept over the documents and clippings he’d carelessly left lying on the table. They were obviously disturbed further confirming his suspicion that she had seen more than he had wanted her to. It had never been his intention to hide any of it from her, but he hadn’t been ready to confide in her. Not yet. It had been his plan to get the good doctor to a secluded location where no one would hear him scream before informing his wife. Micah doubted that she would approve of what he was doing. It was risky but events had already been put into motion and he would see them through regardless.

Her second question he ignored in favor of the information lying there on the table. There was a lot of it, from clippings about the doctor’s work and charity contributions, to all the different prestigious committees his pretty young wife was a member of. Dr. Curtis was in his late 50s and his young wife was half his age. Disgust coiled in the pit of his stomach. The pair had no children. No one to carry on the good ol Truman name. Pity. “Isn’t it interesting that they only focus on the good, but they can’t be bothered to peel away the top layer and peer in at the inside?” His voice was quiet, contemplative. “Too bad for them Bunny is very thorough.” His fingers lovingly caressed a folder at the bottom of the pile that he had extracted for examination. “The good doctor has many skeletons in his closet, should anyone ever care to look.” Oh yes, Micah knew all about those dirty little secrets.

Finally a glance was spared for her and he sighed somewhat irritated like. “I suppose, if you think I look strange.” His head rolled and he stretched various parts of his body, eventually returning to his normal height and muscle mass. The contacts were removed, revealing the very noticeable and identifiable purple that he kept hidden from view. The killer wasn’t sure how he was able to manipulate his body in such a way and the discovery had been a pleasant surprise. It had certainly come in handy, especially in this situation. Even if the differences were small at best no one would ever be able to connect his altered form with his true form. “Better?”

His head tilted to the side at her last question. Dead? “I’m sure that I don’t pretend to understand why you would think he was dead.” Had she learned nothing with the twisted mind **** he was playing with Satine? The killer found that he enjoyed the hunt. The thrill he got as his plans slowly came together, and the anticipation of the inevitable end result. Satine was just a warm up and he wasn’t even finished with her yet. However, Micah had found that he was enjoying the game far more than he had originally anticipated. So when the good doctor’s past mistakes in regards to his mother had been revealed, he saw it as an opportunity to satisfy that darker side of him that was normally kept locked up tight. So what if he had chosen to indulge it for once? “Don’t tell me that you’re concerned about this….or, are you?” The answer to that question just might be a game changer.

[Velveteen]

She watched him quietly. His actions. The way he moved. The way he spoke. All were so unlike the man she had come to know. It was bordering on creepy and she shifted uncomfortably, remaining silent as he spoke. The way her removed the gloves down to the way his fingers moved over the folder was just odd. Meticulous and particular. She had also refused to look at his face until she felt the subtle shift and a simple nod of her head was the response given to his question. At least now he looked like himself. She stood behind the chair where she had been sitting and her fingers curled over the wooden back as if the idle piece of furniture acted as a shield, protecting her from this weird behaviour.

Sure she had seen the inklings of madness when he played his games Satine and at first she had to admit that darkness was exciting and it intrigued her but when it consumed it she was afraid. Not that would be something she would ever admit to him, at least not yet. Her fear wasn’t of him though, it was that...he seemed to forget other vital things in his pursuit of exacting his...revenge? No that wasn’t the right word but she was certain there had to be a point. A final showdown. A culmination or climax after all the build up. For Satine she had no idea what that meant with her ability to be able to return from the dead. Maybe the whole point was to send her crazy too? In Velveteen’s mind, however, for a human it could only mean one thing. According to the papers in front of her he had been playing this game with Dr Truman for months already. Every since their trip to Texas. How much longer was it to continue?

The Necromancer bristled with annoyance. How could she have not known after all this time? And why had he kept it from her? It was out of character for him to have done that. Perhaps therein lies the root of her fear and annoyance. He was changing, had changed, right before her eyes and yet had somehow managed to keep her locked out and ignorant as to just how much, that was beginning to become clearer with every passing second.

Another question was asked and she shifted her weight from foot to the other again. It was a question she didn’t feel quite equipped to answer with any certainty just yet. Was she concerned? In all honesty the answer was yes but probably not for the reasons that he would think. She knew her husband well enough to know that he wouldn’t do anything that would put himself, her or any of them at risk, not in his right mind. She knew that for a fact. But that night with Satine he hadn’t been in his right mind and that was where her concern stemmed from. She was also concerned that he felt the need to keep this from her. Secrets were things they didn’t keep. They had agreed that early on. Her eyes drifted to the diary as her thoughts turned to Levi. Now she was just being a hypocrite and she knew it.

She hadn’t seen this side of him nearly enough to even begin to predict his reactions nor did she know how open he was to actually….discussing it. Finally she shook her head. “Concerned about it? Not really. Confused maybe. Unsure of what it all means and where it is going. You are….different when you….” She waved her hand over the items on the table expecting that to fill in the blank space as she failed to find an otherwise appropriate word to do so. Though somehow he had managed to hide this much from her...or perhaps he didn’t at all and she just assumed that it was her sister that brought it on each and every time. That was a whole other source of annoyance. The amount of his attention given to her sister even if it was only to torture her was more than Velveteen was comfortable with. “I guess I just don’t...rightly understand it. Well I do...but I don’t.” The woman realised she wasn’t making a whole lot of sense now as she set her silver gaze on those familiar pools of violet and searched for familiar territory within them.

[Micah]

Concern.

Such a silly, simple little word. She was concerned for him, even if she said that wasn’t exactly it. He could read her like a book and even though she tried to hide it he could see it. Just like her fear. She, for the first time she they had tied their souls together, was afraid of him. He could see it, and he could smell it. It made him chuckle a little to think that this woman who had an unwavering amount of **** it all attitude could be afraid of him over something like this. This person that he had turned into shouldn’t be such a surprise. After all, he was a killer and he was only doing what killers did best. Granted, the good doctor was still living and walking around relatively unscathed but his death was the finale. This darkness that Micah was slowly starting to surrender to was a part of who he was. It had started out slowly, creeping up on him, whispering to him in the dead of night, speaking of all the delicious things he could accomplish. He was tired of trying to fight it.

“I am different. It’s very...freeing, to surrender oneself to their basic urges, I guess you could say.” Her grip was the back of the chair was turning her knuckles white telling him that she didn’t know how to handle this side of him. Micah had warned her. He’d tried to tell her about the things he’d done to others since being turned and how much of a sadistic asshole he could be. It wasn’t something he’d ever allowed her to see. Until now. “You’ve been asking me to show you for ages now.” His voice had dropped to a whisper but even so, it seemed to echo around the pair in the silence of the room. The files were forgotten as he turned his attention directly on his wife. The information he had to share with her contained within the folders could wait now that she knew what he had been up to for the past few months.

His fingers danced over her hand and slid up her arm as he moved to stand behind her, his chest directly in line with her back leaving no space between them. “Shall I tell you what I’ve been doing beloved?” His head dropped down so his mouth was hovering beside her ear making it so nothing he said would be missed. Not that he thought for a second she wasn’t paying attention to him in fact, he knew she was listening, almost hanging on every word he said simply because her thirst for knowledge was unparalleled. Especially when it came to his dubious activities. “Shall I tell you about the games I have been engaged in with Dr. Curtis? Tell you how delicious I find his fear?”

The back of his free hand brushed down the length of her arm and curled around the fingers still gripping the back of the chair. “He has no idea who I am or what I want,” he murmured. “He thinks it's a big prank, or he thought it was until he received the $25,000 diamond eternity necklace he sent to Savannah a week before she was diagnosed. Bunny was sitting in the hospital cafeteria when it was delivered to him in the middle of his pricey salad he was having for lunch that day.” How he wished that he had been there to see it in person but the discreet video Bunny had taken with her cellphone had been plenty. “He is terrified, beloved. Absolutely terrified.” And they both knew that the good doctor had reason to be. His fingers moved from her hand to slide through her silken ebony colored hair, twisting a few of the strands around his fingers lovingly. “The stage has been set. Please don’t tell me you are going to deny me my finale.”

[Velveteen]

There was something about the way that he looked at her, through her and into the depths of her soul, that made her feel completely naked and vulnerable beneath his gaze. The way he spoke demanded her full attention and caused a stirring of conflict in the pit of her stomach. She was trapped as his focus bore down on her, transfixed in a way that even if she wanted to look away she couldn’t have. It was true. She had been asking from almost day one to be allowed to peer into the darkness that he kept hidden from the rest of the world. A darkness that she knew existed despite her repeated efforts to invoke it. He told her he wanted to protect her from it but at the same time she felt that perhaps he was also trying to protect himself; Knowing that once he gave in and gave over to those dark desires there would be no going back.

The time of second guessing and debate had long since passed. That much was obvious.

Silver orbs remained glued to his face until he moved behind her. Her head turned slightly and dipped forward as she then focused on his fingers as they moved over her hand and then up her arm. That initial touch caused a sudden jolt of pure delight and she tightened her hold on the chair, not out of fear but more for support as her body reacted to his touch immediately. The coolness of his breath ghosted across her flesh as he spoke quietly into her ear and sent a small shiver of pleasure dancing along her spine. His words calling to her own sadistic urges and sense of depravity. They had spoken before about fear. The excitement it brought, to both inspire it and feel it for oneself. It was the truest of all emotions and it was addictive. Horror movie goers, extreme sports junkies, they thrived on it.

For Velveteen fear was stronger than any other emotion and could drive people to do things they never thought of doing for any other reason. Joy, sadness, even love at its strongest couldn’t compare to the driving force that was fear. The way it coiled about your spine and clawed its way slowly along every single vertebrae marking each with its hunger. The ball of dread that would then form the depths of one stomach, growing like a living beast inside them that felt as if it could burst free at any given moment. Those delectable moments as goosebumps sensually, crawled across your flesh and brought every tiny hair to attention in anticipation. Knowing that one way or another the climax was impending and that one possible ending could mean your death. The rhythm of your heart, or theirs, as it raced in one's chest cavity and pounded loudly upon your ears. The elation that came as you begged for it to be over and was finally granted your wish. It could be better than the sweetest of love making, more satisfying than many would care to admit. Fear, it would never be ignored

She was fixed to the spot and simply nodded when he asked if she wanted to know. She couldn’t trust herself to speak lest her voice break and give away the effect he was having on her, though there was little doubt in her mind that he didn’t already have a very good idea. None other could ever make her feel so helpless as he did all too easily.. The idea that one person could have that sort of power as to be able to reach her on such usually inaccessible levels used to scare her but she had long since embraced and even secretly enjoyed those moments of powerlessness just as she did right now.

“Terrified.” She repeated softly not even realising she had spoken it out loud though it was little more than a whisper. Her head tilted towards his fingers that wrapped in her hair and her eyes closed as she languored shamelessly in the sweet sensations that flooded her. If it wasn’t for the chair before her and the fact that he was pressed into her back she might have swayed unsteadily on her feet. Damn his ability to distract her so completely. Of course she wouldn’t deny him. Right now he could have asked anything and she wouldn’t have denied him. Hell, at this point she didn’t even mind not being a part of it, especially if he continued to tell her about it just as he was doing right now. It occurred her to that she hadn’t answered his last question and she shook her head. “Of course not.” The words a barely audible whisper across lips doused by the demons that were waking.

[Micah]

“Of course you want to know.” His breath ghosted over her ear as his fingers released the silken strands he’d been holding captive. “Your curiosity about my activities pleases me more than I can put into words.” Originally he had planned to handle the good doctor by himself. It was his vendetta after all, he’d put the events into motion and set his path. There was no straying from it now. Giving up was absolutely not an option, nor was failure. However, he knew his wife. She was disappointed that he hadn’t included her. Micah couldn’t find fault with that. They were a team, moving and working together like a well oiled machine, anticipating the other’s movements. They were stronger together than they were separate. An idea starting to take shape in the back of his mind but he didn’t voice it. All in good time.

His lips moved along the column of her neck in the gentlest of caresses. “In order for me to tell you what I’ve been up to, you must know how it started. Why I’ve set myself on this path of destruction. Why I’ve allowed the darkness that I’ve tried so hard to hide from you to take hold and rear it’s ugly head.” There was a reason for everything including this. With great reluctance he pulled away from her and picked up Savannah’s journal. “Everything is in here. All of it. See, Savannah wasn’t just the good doctor’s patient. She was also his lover for well over a year. Flipping it open he found the passage he was looking for. “So many dirty little secrets.”

Micah was sure he was confusing her so he went on with his explanation. “I’ve always said that he killed my mother. Turns out I was right.” The tone of his voice was emotionless and every bit of emotion was gone from his face. He knew that Vel hated when he closed himself off but in this situation it was necessary. “I didn’t know how right I was until Bunny found Savannah’s journal. She’s curious you see, much like you are, and took it upon herself to read. What she found….” His grip on the journal tightened for the briefest of moments. “Being a nurse, Dr. Curtis often relied on her for procedures. Maybe he thought that her loyalty to him would have her overlooking his activities but that wasn’t who Savannah was. She loved her job and she took her oath seriously. So when she caught him making inappropriate advances on patients under anesthetic she confronted him.” In his mind he could see his mother going toe to toe with her lover, threatening him with legal action if she caught him again. “He couldn’t risk Savannah turning him in so when she was diagnosed with cancer he saw his chance.” The journal was placed on the table.

“I don’t pretend to understand the medical jargon that Savannah used in that journal, but what I do understand is enough to tell me that he somehow managed to poison her under the guise of treatment, and by the time Savannah realized what he’d done the damage was already done and there was nothing anyone could do to reverse it.” The anger that had cooled ignited once again. The thought of his mother being subjected to that kind of treatment because she wanted to do the right thing sickened him. “He threatened her, insinuating that if she tried to report him for the things he’d done he’d come for me. I’m the reason she kept her mouth shut.” He laid a hand on the folders on the table. “She stopped all her treatments and when she got too sick she went into hospice care where they did what they could to keep her comfortable.”

Silence followed his words. For awhile it looked like he wasn’t going to say anything else but he wasn’t finished. “In those folders there is enough evidence to put him behind bars for the rest of his life. He might have thought that he was being thorough in getting rid of all the evidence but he never thought that Savannah would have had evidence of her own. It’s all there - unnecessary prescriptions, tampering with organ donor lists, malpractice suits he covered up...all of it. The good doctor has a lot of skeletons.” He turned to look her in the eye. “It’s not enough for me to use this information to give him a cushy cell in Texas. It will never be enough. He killed my mother and I am a firm believer in eye for an eye. This case though, a life for a life. Her death was painful. I had to sit there and watch her waste away before my eyes. I was a kid. She had so much life left in her and he stole that from her. From me. Because of that, I’m going to make him pay tenfold. This is just the beginning.” The killer’s attention returned to his wife. “It’s been awhile since we’ve killed together beloved. I think it's time we do so again, starting with him.”