CHAPTER FIFTEENHer nightmares started that night.She washed off as best as she could, but could feel Emmanuel’s blood seeping into the cracks of her hands. It was as if her skin was no longer waterproof, and the blood soaked through into her body.His ham hands hit her hard in the eye socket, and she screamed.“Shh, baby. I’m here.” Lu had his arms wrapped around her, but it still wasn’t close enough.“I’m cold,” she said, and he warmed the air around them. Warmed the little built-in bed. Warmed her heart when he pressed his lips against her neck.“Go back to sleep.”She dreamed of Emmanuel’s freakishly large hands clutching at his throat while his blood spurted. The cut wasn’t clean. The cut wasn’t sure. She felt the larynx grind under the blade of the First Kill knife. Sickly. Gristle. The high-pitched shrieking, squealing, screaming that was Emmanuel. He had been human before that, but after her botched murder, he had become a stuck farm animal. A screeching pig. So much me
CHAPTER SIXTEENThey drove until it was time to fuel the truck.“I’ll gas. How about you run in and grab some snacks?”“Sure thing, Lu.”She kissed him and hopped out. Touched the ground with the flat of her hands stretched.“I feel like I’m turning to stone, baby,” she said.Lu rolled his shoulders, popped his neck. “I know the feeling. Maybe we can get into town early, go on a walk or something tonight.”“Or a hunt?”Her reflection showed her eyes glittering with a new kind of light.It was beautiful.“That, too,” he answered, and his heart felt that now familiar piercing sensation. He knew it was love.She ran into the gas station. Cast a longing glimpse at the sodas and candy bars, but headed straight for the ladies room instead.Montessa finished up, washed her hands, and splashed cold water on her face. She studied herself in the mirror. No makeup. No stripper Ruby body glitter. No bruises or burns or bandages. Her face was a different sort of lovely. Eyes too large,
CHAPTER SEVENTEENShe opened her eyes and moaned. Her body hurt. Felt broken. She turned and looked behind her. The gas station was in flames, the hottest of fireballs. Lu’s truck was burning as merrily as everything else.“Oh, Lu. What did I do?”She crawled to him, lying bloody and unmoving on the pavement. His shoulder was soaked with blood, and he had cuts on his beautiful face, but she ran her hands over his arms and legs.He seemed whole. He seemed unbroken.“Baby? Baby, wake up.” His eyelids fluttered, and then he was on his knees, trying to stand up. Montessa put a hand on his arm. “Stay still, baby.”“We need to get out of here.”“I’ll get us a car. Sit tight.” She stood up and ran to the road nearby. “Help!” Montessa screamed, waving her hands above her head. “Help me, please!”A small, white Honda stopped. A man leaned over, rolled the window down.“There’s a fire!” Montessa said, and pointed at the blazing gas station. “I just made it out, and my friend is hurt. Ca
CHAPTER EIGHTEENThey ditched the car and the body, cleaned themselves up as best they could, and rented a cheap room at a motel that looked the other way concerning most things. Drugs. Gunshot wounds. Blood.Montessa used tweezers to pull the shot out of Lu’s shoulder. Sweat beaded on his forehead and upper lip like dew on a rose. She had never seen anything so lovely.“I’m sorry, baby,” she said and kissed him. Bit his lip. Cleaned and bandaged his shoulder with gauze and cheap bandages purchased from a gas station she didn’t burn to the ground.“No worries. Thanks for cleaning it.”“Of course.”“Think we should take off tomorrow? Or lay low?”Lu wrapped his good arm around her. “I think we should go to the sea. Once more. Then we can do whatever we want.”“Lulu, I feel like . . . ”“What? Time is short?”“Yes.”“It is. That’s why the sea is important. Will you go with me?”“Gladly.”She knew what he was asking, and it wasn’t just to go to the sea. It was Something Impor
CHAPTER NINETEENLu had a present to give his new bride. Something special and wonderful and deeply, deeply horrifying.“Wake up, darling.”She murmured and snuggled closer into his side. She had branches and weeds tangled into her hair like wedding flowers.“Montessa. Wake up. Today is a new day.”She yawned and stretched and sat up. Looked around with eyes still bleary from sleep. “Lu? Where . . . ah, I remember. We slept outside last night.”They had. Several yards back from the beach, across a small freeway, up in the tree line with a few scattered rental houses here and there.“Did you sleep sweet?” he asked.She popped her back, winced. “I slept sweet. How’s your shoulder?”“Stiff, but not bad. The salt water hurt like a dickens last night, but I think it helped.” He grinned, kissed the makeshift wedding band on her finger. “It really does heal everything.”Montessa stood up, and helped Lu to his feet. Brushed her hair out with her fingers and made a face.“I’m a mess,
CHAPTER TWENTYBaby,” Lu said, and knelt beside her. Montessa’s father’s blood ran over his sneakers, but he didn’t care. “We have to go, baby. We can’t stay here.”“I thought he was such an animal.” She pulled her knees up to her chest. Wrapped her arms around them and put her head down, the gun still in her hand.“He was a monster. You did the right thing.”“He hurt me, Lu,” she cried, and rocked herself. Lu wrapped his arms around her, careful of the gun, careful of her wounded heart, careful of the pain and venom spilling from her eyes.“It’s over. You did it. You won. We won.”Years and years of misery. Of being tough. Of broken bones and dancing on swollen feet in front of men who looked at her like her father had always looked at her. And it was over. Over, with the tiniest of movements. Two short pulls on the trigger. A spasm in her pointer finger. That was it.“Come on, baby.” Lu pulled her to her feet. Ran his fingers through her hair and told her she was beautiful, th
THE END?Not if you dive into Mercedes’ other books:Nameless: The Darkness Comes—Luna Masterson sees demons. She has been dealing with the demonic all her life, so when her brother gets tangled up with a demon named Sparkles, ‘Luna the Lunatic’ rolls in on her motorcycle to save the day. Armed with the ability to harm demons, her scathing sarcasm, and a hefty chip on her shoulder, Luna gathers the most unusual of allies, teaming up with a green-eyed heroin addict and a snarky demon ‘of some import.’ After all, outcasts of a feather should stick together . . . even until the end.Little Dead Red—The Wolf is roaming the city, and he must be stopped. In this modern day retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, the wolf takes to the city streets to capture his prey, but the hunter is close behind him. With Grim Marie on the prowl, the hunter becomes the hunted.Pretty Little Dead Girls: A Novel of Murder and Whimsy—Bryony Adams is destined to be murdered, but fortunately Fate has terrible
BIOGRAPHYMercedes M. Yardley is a dark fantasist who wears stilettos, red lipstick, and poisonous flowers in her hair. She is the author of the short story collection Beautiful Sorrows, the novellas Apocalyptic Montessa and Nuclear Lulu: A Tale of Atomic Love and Little Dead Red, and the novels Nameless: The Darkness Comes and Pretty Little Dead Girls: A Novel of Murder and Whimsy. She often speaks at conferences and teaches workshops on several subjects, including personal branding and how to write a novel in stolen moments. Mercedes lives and works in Sin City with her family and menagerie of Strange and Unusual Pets. You can reach her at www.abrokenlaptop.com.
CONNECT WITH CRYSTAL LAKE PUBLISHINGWebsite(be sure to sign up for our newsletter)FacebookTwitterWith unmatched success since 2012, Crystal Lake Publishing has quickly become one of the world’s leading indie publishers of Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense books with a Dark Fiction edge.Crystal Lake Publishing puts integrity, honor, and respect at the forefront of our operations.We strive for each book and outreach program that’s launched to not only entertain and touch or comment on issues that affect our readers, but also to strengthen and support the Dark Fiction field and its authors.Not only do we publish authors who are destined to be legends in the field (and as hardworking as us), but we also look for men and women who care about their readers and fellow human beings. We only publish the very best Dark Fiction and look forward to launching many new careers.We strive to know each and every one of our readers, while building personal relationships with our authors,
CONNECT WITH THE AUTHORWebsiteFacebookTwitter
BIOGRAPHYMercedes M. Yardley is a dark fantasist who wears stilettos, red lipstick, and poisonous flowers in her hair. She is the author of the short story collection Beautiful Sorrows, the novellas Apocalyptic Montessa and Nuclear Lulu: A Tale of Atomic Love and Little Dead Red, and the novels Nameless: The Darkness Comes and Pretty Little Dead Girls: A Novel of Murder and Whimsy. She often speaks at conferences and teaches workshops on several subjects, including personal branding and how to write a novel in stolen moments. Mercedes lives and works in Sin City with her family and menagerie of Strange and Unusual Pets. You can reach her at www.abrokenlaptop.com.
THE END?Not if you dive into Mercedes’ other books:Nameless: The Darkness Comes—Luna Masterson sees demons. She has been dealing with the demonic all her life, so when her brother gets tangled up with a demon named Sparkles, ‘Luna the Lunatic’ rolls in on her motorcycle to save the day. Armed with the ability to harm demons, her scathing sarcasm, and a hefty chip on her shoulder, Luna gathers the most unusual of allies, teaming up with a green-eyed heroin addict and a snarky demon ‘of some import.’ After all, outcasts of a feather should stick together . . . even until the end.Little Dead Red—The Wolf is roaming the city, and he must be stopped. In this modern day retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, the wolf takes to the city streets to capture his prey, but the hunter is close behind him. With Grim Marie on the prowl, the hunter becomes the hunted.Pretty Little Dead Girls: A Novel of Murder and Whimsy—Bryony Adams is destined to be murdered, but fortunately Fate has terrible
CHAPTER TWENTYBaby,” Lu said, and knelt beside her. Montessa’s father’s blood ran over his sneakers, but he didn’t care. “We have to go, baby. We can’t stay here.”“I thought he was such an animal.” She pulled her knees up to her chest. Wrapped her arms around them and put her head down, the gun still in her hand.“He was a monster. You did the right thing.”“He hurt me, Lu,” she cried, and rocked herself. Lu wrapped his arms around her, careful of the gun, careful of her wounded heart, careful of the pain and venom spilling from her eyes.“It’s over. You did it. You won. We won.”Years and years of misery. Of being tough. Of broken bones and dancing on swollen feet in front of men who looked at her like her father had always looked at her. And it was over. Over, with the tiniest of movements. Two short pulls on the trigger. A spasm in her pointer finger. That was it.“Come on, baby.” Lu pulled her to her feet. Ran his fingers through her hair and told her she was beautiful, th
CHAPTER NINETEENLu had a present to give his new bride. Something special and wonderful and deeply, deeply horrifying.“Wake up, darling.”She murmured and snuggled closer into his side. She had branches and weeds tangled into her hair like wedding flowers.“Montessa. Wake up. Today is a new day.”She yawned and stretched and sat up. Looked around with eyes still bleary from sleep. “Lu? Where . . . ah, I remember. We slept outside last night.”They had. Several yards back from the beach, across a small freeway, up in the tree line with a few scattered rental houses here and there.“Did you sleep sweet?” he asked.She popped her back, winced. “I slept sweet. How’s your shoulder?”“Stiff, but not bad. The salt water hurt like a dickens last night, but I think it helped.” He grinned, kissed the makeshift wedding band on her finger. “It really does heal everything.”Montessa stood up, and helped Lu to his feet. Brushed her hair out with her fingers and made a face.“I’m a mess,
CHAPTER EIGHTEENThey ditched the car and the body, cleaned themselves up as best they could, and rented a cheap room at a motel that looked the other way concerning most things. Drugs. Gunshot wounds. Blood.Montessa used tweezers to pull the shot out of Lu’s shoulder. Sweat beaded on his forehead and upper lip like dew on a rose. She had never seen anything so lovely.“I’m sorry, baby,” she said and kissed him. Bit his lip. Cleaned and bandaged his shoulder with gauze and cheap bandages purchased from a gas station she didn’t burn to the ground.“No worries. Thanks for cleaning it.”“Of course.”“Think we should take off tomorrow? Or lay low?”Lu wrapped his good arm around her. “I think we should go to the sea. Once more. Then we can do whatever we want.”“Lulu, I feel like . . . ”“What? Time is short?”“Yes.”“It is. That’s why the sea is important. Will you go with me?”“Gladly.”She knew what he was asking, and it wasn’t just to go to the sea. It was Something Impor
CHAPTER SEVENTEENShe opened her eyes and moaned. Her body hurt. Felt broken. She turned and looked behind her. The gas station was in flames, the hottest of fireballs. Lu’s truck was burning as merrily as everything else.“Oh, Lu. What did I do?”She crawled to him, lying bloody and unmoving on the pavement. His shoulder was soaked with blood, and he had cuts on his beautiful face, but she ran her hands over his arms and legs.He seemed whole. He seemed unbroken.“Baby? Baby, wake up.” His eyelids fluttered, and then he was on his knees, trying to stand up. Montessa put a hand on his arm. “Stay still, baby.”“We need to get out of here.”“I’ll get us a car. Sit tight.” She stood up and ran to the road nearby. “Help!” Montessa screamed, waving her hands above her head. “Help me, please!”A small, white Honda stopped. A man leaned over, rolled the window down.“There’s a fire!” Montessa said, and pointed at the blazing gas station. “I just made it out, and my friend is hurt. Ca
CHAPTER SIXTEENThey drove until it was time to fuel the truck.“I’ll gas. How about you run in and grab some snacks?”“Sure thing, Lu.”She kissed him and hopped out. Touched the ground with the flat of her hands stretched.“I feel like I’m turning to stone, baby,” she said.Lu rolled his shoulders, popped his neck. “I know the feeling. Maybe we can get into town early, go on a walk or something tonight.”“Or a hunt?”Her reflection showed her eyes glittering with a new kind of light.It was beautiful.“That, too,” he answered, and his heart felt that now familiar piercing sensation. He knew it was love.She ran into the gas station. Cast a longing glimpse at the sodas and candy bars, but headed straight for the ladies room instead.Montessa finished up, washed her hands, and splashed cold water on her face. She studied herself in the mirror. No makeup. No stripper Ruby body glitter. No bruises or burns or bandages. Her face was a different sort of lovely. Eyes too large,