“I can’t believe it was Stephan,” she sobs. Sensing Jack’s presence at my back, I pull him into our hug, needing them both.
“There’s a woman alive upstairs. And we found a container. You’re going to want to see this, sir,” an officer tells Detective Barnett, who I hadn’t noticed was even here until now. I search the scene with a trembling lip. Storm clouds move overhead, a war drum still pounding in my chest. A wisp of air escapes my lips when Stephan is wheeled out on a stretcher, his shirt gone, a white cloth patch on his chest with a crimson stain, one arm cuffed to the bed, an officer by his side. Blue eyes flutter open. “Lizzy?” he croaks, crushing me. How could I have not seen the evil inside him? Deep down, I know we’re different people. His mother would have influenced his mentality. Psychopaths aren’t just born; they’re made. And when he learned about me, I became his cold obsession. Stepping toward him, we watch each other with haunted eyes. Jack’s hand rests on my shoulder. The officer turns toward me with a shake of his head, a hand sitting on his weapon in the unclipped holster on his hip. “We should get you looked at, Liz,” Jack murmurs. I nod, dropping my gaze to my feet, taking in a deep breath.
“Oh my god, Lizzy,” Charlotte screams, her hands reaching out for me. Officers move in slow motion around me. A piercing bang shatters the air. Jack shoves me to the grass as shouts and screams pierce the sky. I hit the ground, my eyes wide, taking in Stephan’s raised arm, the officer’s lifeless body on the ground, his own weapon used against him and now clutched tight in Stephan’s fist, pointed at me. He’s on his feet so fast, the stretcher overturns, his other arm still cuffed to it. I scurry away as guns are drawn and shouts of “Drop it!” ring out. Jack, strong, powerful, and fearless, kicks out his foot, colliding with Stephan’s stomach. Hitching forward at the waist, Jack smacks the arm with the gun aside and grips Stephan around the neck. Everything happens so fast, no one can keep up or stop him as he twists, snapping Stephan’s neck, the crack audible from the short distance between us.
Jack’s tackled out of the way, and officers surround the limp body of the brother I didn’t know I had—the killer I had once called a friend. Now, it’s over.
Epilogue
Four months later
Packing up my bag, I walk over to Professor Ashraf’s desk and drop my paper in front of him. His eyes flick up, looking over his glasses at me, before picking it up and running his gaze over it. “The Evolution of a Serial Killer: Nature versus Nurture,” he reads the title out loud.
“Sorry it’s late. I appreciate all the extensions you’ve allowed me.”
Taking off his glasses, he tilts his chin. “I’m just happy to have you back, Ms. West. I look forward to reading your findings.”
A smile tilts my lips as I nod and slide my backpack up my shoulder. The halls are buzzing, the stares and whispers finally subsiding. Pushing the door open and stepping outside, my heart pulses—the pull of the moon calling to the sea. The enigmatic force that is my lost boy summons my eyes to a lamppost where he’s standing, arms crossed, hair mussed, those penetrating green orbs rendering me almost catatonic. Such a beautiful specimen, he gains longing stares from both girls and boys on campus. But he’s all mine. Detective Hernandez worked tirelessly to get any charges recorded as self-defense after Jack ended Stephan’s reign. The witnesses were all police force and paramedics, so he had that on his side. The Willis death was never brought up. It’s been too long, and frankly, I don’t think they cared how he died, just grateful he had. The child’s remains turned out to be a victim of Willis’s, a thirteen-year-old girl with a small stature. Her family now has closure despite it being the worst possible outcome imaginable. I’ve been seeing a counselor to help with the guilt and trauma, and it’s helping, much to my aunt’s delight. Jack’s seeing one too. He’d never really dealt with everything either. Finding out Willis wasn’t even his father didn’t change things for him. I asked if he ever looked into his own background to try and find relatives, but he said he didn’t remember anything before Willis, and fear of what he could uncover if he did go searching was too strong. He’d wanted to leave Willis in the past—in the shallow grave he put him in.
Jogging over to where Jack pushes off the lamppost, he takes my cheeks in his palms and delivers a soul-detonating kiss that leaves me breathless.
“Hi,” I exhale.
“I missed you,” he groans. Mmm, I missed him too, even if it was only hours ago he had me naked and sated.
“Charlotte has a late shift,” I croon, walking my fingers down his stomach.
Smirking, he takes my backpack from me, hitches it on his own shoulder, and entwines his fingers with mine. “Sounds like you may want something from me, Liz Wiz.”
“Oh, I do.” I waggle my eyebrows, making us both giggle.
I wind my leg over his. Our sweat hasn’t even dried and I already want him inside me again. “Are you ever going to think about moving out of this dump?” he asks, looking up at my ceiling.
Playfully slapping his chest with mock offense, I sigh, “I’ll think about it, but it will be tough to find neighbors who are as helpful as mine.”
His chest rumbles with amusement. “I hate that your bed
