Chapter 4 An accomplice

Zane's pov

I look down at the blonde girl's face, where she has pressed her lips into a tight, stubborn line.

I lean forward until my face is merely inches from hers, plastering a dark, threatening smile across my features even though I know she can’t see me because of the light.

"What's the password or I'm going to have to take it from you."

I hope she will allow me to take it from her. I love when people force my hand. Gives me the perfect excuse to do what I want.

"And that wouldn't be the only thing we'll be taking from you tonight, baby," Derek adds, reaching down to unbutton the top of her pants. 

Her eyes widen in panic as she twists her hips wildly beneath me. "Okay, okay! It's a retina scan, alright?" 

"Fucking technology," Derek curses. "Whatever happened to the good old days when you could just swipe a phone and it was unlocked?" 

Derek shoves the screen in front of her eyes, and a soft chime indicates the lock screen has cleared before he pulls it back to inspect the contents.

"There's a video file here, alright," Derek says, his thumb scrolling through the phone. "It's mostly just dark shadows and background noise, though. Woahhhh.”

"What?" I ask.

"You’re not going to believe this... she's Austin Lowes' daughter."

I turn my gaze back to her. Austin Lowes has a child? She must be what? sixteen or seventeen years old at most. She looks away as if she doesn’t want to acknowledge the fact. I don’t blame her. 

Austin is a sick bastard.

“Whatever," Derek mutters, reaching behind his back and drawing out his gun. "Let's just kill her.”

She narrows her eyes up into the darkness, her breath catching in her throat while my eyes slowly trace the dark smears of blood coating her wrists, her neck, and her chest. She is far too beautiful to kill, far too precious to destroy. Most women will be crying by now but she isn’t. Not even a single tear, even though I know she is trembling with fear. I wonder how far I can push to bring it out from her. 

I want to keep her. 

Yet I know Derek is afraid she will call the cops.

"Put the gun away, Derek." 

“What?" 

"She's not going to turn us in, trust me. His blood is all over her, under her fingernails, smeared in her hair. She's an accomplice now whether she likes it or not."

"You fucker..." she snarls beneath me.

An even better idea takes shape in my mind.

"What did you guys do with Jeff's body, Derek?" I ask, 

"Xavier got a call, and Justin and Garrett left to go drop him off. I told them we would take care of it.”

“Perfect. Call my phone using hers.”

“Zane, we don't have time to —" 

"Call my phone with hers right now, Derek," I snap.

He lets out a huff, but seconds later, my phone vibrates in my pocket. I stand up, reaching down to grab her by hoodie, yanking her up onto her feet before wrapping my fingers around the back of her hair as tightly as I possibly can to control her movement. 

"We're not quite done yet.”

I shove her forward toward the body lying near the edge of the cemetery. 

"Hold her," I shove her roughly toward Derek, who lets out a loud curse as she instantly fights back. 

"Fuck! She just kicked me!" Derek yells.

"Let me go, you fuckers! Let me go!" she screams.

I hear them fumbling in the dark and then falling to the ground. I shine my flashlight down into the open black duffel bag we brought with us, reaching inside to pull out a clean knife. Turning the light back toward them, I see Derek straddling her ass, using his weight to hold her pinned while she writhes in the mud.

I squat down beside her, dragging the fabric of her hoodie up to expose her arm. 

"What are you doing?" she asks in a rush.

“Insurance.”

I slide the knife across her forearm and she lets out a scream of agony that echoes as her skin gives way and blood runs down her arm. I run the flat side of the blade through the blood before striding over to the body and plunging the knife deep into the dead man's chest.

"There," I say, turning back to her. "Your DNA is on the body, alongside the murder weapon, so if the police ever dig his body up, you're going to go straight to prison right alongside us." 

Derek lets out a laugh as he realizes what I did. I move back over to where she lies and see tears finally streaming down her face. It’s a breathtaking sight, though I can tell these are tears of anger, which only makes me hunger for so much more.

"You're sick," she gasps out through her sobs. "The police will never believe it... you're the ones who killed him, not me!" 

"Are we?" I cock my head to the side. “Prove it. I fucking dare you."