Free Luna Tick: A Sunshine Novel by Angie Merriam

here at night it's not for a jog. Just tell me that I'm safe from you. That our daughter is safe from you." There was an underlying plea in her confident voice. Her words felt like a sucker punch to the gut. It felt like someone had stuck their hand down my throat, into my lungs, and literally ripped the air away from me. I should deny her accusations. I should pull her close to me. Calm her fears. Tell her she's wrong. As much as I wanted to do that, I can’t. She knew. She fucking knew, yet she didn’t seem to care. Then I realized she said my name. My real name.
    "Look, Nick. I know all about you. After the first night you came home smelling like burned flesh and another woman's pussy I knew, but I denied it. I tried to pretend it wasn't happening. Then you started to talk in your sleep. You spoke to him, Joe, your teacher right? The infamous Bleach Killer? I did my own research and found out about you, Nick. I know about Shannon. I know about your attack on Sunshine Everly. I know you served time with Joe before you were released and disappeared from Lincoln. I know it all. So, I will ask you one more time, are we safe around you now that it's a possibility that you might get caught?" She had tears falling from her soft blue eyes. I needed to sit before my legs betrayed me, and I landed in a pile of pathetic nerves on the floor.
    I left her standing in our entryway and sat on the couch. She followed me, sitting across from me on the opposite couch. "You know it all, yet you're still here? Aren't you afraid of me? Disgusted by me?"
    "We've been married for seven years, and you've never so much as raised a finger to me or Nici so no, I'm not afraid of you. I just can't keep living in your lie with you, yet live it alone. We're married, for better or worse, sickness and health. But while I'm not afraid I still need to hear you say we're safe, and not just from you but from all of it." She finished, and I felt tears pool in my eyes before dripping down my cheek. It's been so many years since I felt real emotions. The kind of emotions you get from feeling. From loving. From caring.
    "You're safe. Nici is safe. I will always protect you. I tried to protect you from me, from my secrets. From my darkness." I openly bawled, like the bitch that I was. Sitting there, across from my wife, I didn’t feel like the big bad killer. I felt broken. All the pain I stuffed away all these years resurfacing.
    "You're safe, but I can't stop, Michelle. I can't. The darkness is too strong. The only way for me to stop is to get caught and that's going to be hell for you and Nici. I can't protect you from that. Maybe you should go, move far away from here. Take Nici, start over. When you're somewhere safe I will turn myself in."
    "No, no way. I'm staying with you. If they catch you, we will deal with it. I told you, for better or worse. If I leave, you're leaving with us." Her voice was resolute. She meant to stay with me. Was this really fucking happening?
    "I can't run. They'll catch up to me eventually. Plus, I'm not done here," I carefully said to her.
    "Sunshine Everly?"
    "Yes. I can’t let Matt go on living a normal, happy life while I continued to suffer. I've always known it would come to this. I just hoped I had more time. More time to plan. I was supposed to kill her a long time ago, a promise I made to Joe, but I thought we could all co-exist if I stayed away. I knew in the back of my mind it would come to this but not so soon." I sat on the couch, rubbing my temples with vigor. I had to get Sunshine. She had to die. I should have dealt with her a long time ago.
    "Tell me more about this Matt and Sunshine. Why are you so hell bent on hurting him? Her? Why can't we just move on? Joe is gone, just move on and forget about them." She came around the table and sat beside me, not leery of me in the least bit. I still wasn't sure what to think of her acceptance of me and my hobby. Was she playing into it? Did they already get to her? Was