Free Out of the Shadows by L.K. Below

he didn’t. He stormed off down the street.
    Eventually, Heaven unfroze. Not soon enough to save Sanders, assuming she had learned CPR in the three days since she’d come face-to-face with Byte’s corpse. She let herself into Sanders’s house, just in case, but even from afar she knew he was already dead.
    Could she have done something? Something to save him?
    She would’ve just been killed, too. But the thought didn’t ease her conscience. Maybe the killer would have run from a confrontation instead. Maybe Sanders would have lived to see his wife and kids again.
    She held her breath against the stench. Worse than with Byte, for some reason. Maybe because it was coupled with the gentle potpourri smell of the house. She couldn’t let Sanders’s family come home to see him like this. It was horrible enough.
    Thankfully, she wore gloves, so she wouldn’t leave prints. She rummaged in his pocket, pulling her shirt over her nose in an attempt to lower her chances of vomiting. She didn’t want forensic analysis of her puke to place her at the scene. Not to mention she didn’t want to defile the corpse.
    Finding Sanders’s cellphone, she paused. Recently, he’d sent out a text alerting all of Shark’s circle to Byte’s death. He deserved the same consideration. RIP Sanders , she typed.
    Then she dialed 9-1-1 and got the hell out of Dodge.
     

 
    Chapter 7
     
    More nightmares, coupled with the sound of a ringing phone. Launching into a sitting position, Lori fumbled with the device, flipping it open to see the caller. Her cousin Cedric. She thumbed the button to ignore the call. He would only berate her for missing Thanksgiving.
    She tucked her knees to her chest, but couldn’t shake the greasy feeling the dreams had brought on. She’d dreamt of Jeremiah’s death again. Only this time, she’d held the stake. She’d plunged it into his chest. Just like with Terrence.
    Her stake. Guilt nagged her, building momentum. She glanced at the weapon from across her dorm room, sitting on her dresser. She needed to get rid of it. After the accident, she’d washed the thing thoroughly, but it wasn’t enough. Crime labs might still be able to pull trace amounts of blood off of it.
    The thought rooted in her mind, growing ever more potent. Finally, she threw off her covers and latched onto the stake, bringing it into the bathroom.
    Wash it again. Again . With soap this time. No, with peroxide. That would scour it clean, right?
    The scalding water burned her hands as she scrubbed over the silver stake. Then peroxide, dosing liberally, using half the bottle. There could be no proof after that, right? She’d wipe it clean and wear gloves to dispose of it. No one would know it was hers. She scrubbed harder.
    The door opened. Lori nearly screamed. She paused for only a split second, but being caught washing a stake when Jeremiah’s murder was plastered all over the news was a bad idea. Keri knew too much dirt on her already. She whipped the weapon behind her back. Yeah, that wasn’t conspicuous at all. Hopefully Keri would be distracted.
    Fortunately, the blonde was talking to someone. “I’ll just be a minute,” she said over her shoulder. When she faced forward, she stumbled to a stop. “Lori. I didn’t realize you were in here.”
    Lori backed away, plastering a stiff smile on her face. “I just finished.” She slowly started to back out of the room. Please, just let me leave .
    “I haven’t seen you lately,” Keri said. Still trying to make friends after the way Lori had snapped at her?
    “I’ve been around.” Another step toward the door. Sweat beaded along her spine.
    “How have you been?”
    Lori needed to end the conversation. Double time. The stake in her hand might as well have been a poisonous snake. It endangered her just as surely. “I didn’t come to the bathroom to chit chat.” Her voice was a little squeaky, but she tried to remain firm. Her clammy hand readjusted around the stake.
    Hurt