Leo swiftly raises his hands in surrender.

“Why would you want the police to find him in bed with my mom—” I stop talking when I realize.

He’s setting it up to make it look like a double homicide and a suicide.

By making it look like Leo’s screwing my mom behind her husband’s back.

Jesus. I have to hand it to him…that is…brilliant.

There’s only one problem. Actually, make that two problems.

“That means my mom has to die.”

Knox’s jaw bunches. “It’s the only way it works. I can’t take the chance that she’ll talk.”

While I don’t think my mom deserves to die for being a heartless bitch who was more concerned with money and appearances than she was with her own child, Knox has a point.

It’s the only way this goes off without a hitch.

“What about Leo?”

His brows pinch. “Leo will be dead, too, Stray. That’s the fucking point.”

It’s all I can do not to roll my eyes. “I know.” A renewed spark of anger heats my blood. “But I want to be the one to shoot him.”

A sardonic smirk curves Knox’s lips as he looks at Leo. “Anything for my girl.” Briefly, he flicks his gaze to me. “Do you know how to use a gun?”

I nod. My dad kept one in the house and wanted me to learn how to use it for safety reasons.

“Good.” He takes a step in my direction. “Now switch places with me so I can restrain him.”

After we do, I point the gun at Leo’s head. Adrenaline courses through my limbs as Knox ties him up and it takes every ounce of willpower not to shoot him right this second.

Knox stands behind a bound and gagged Leo and kicks him. “Let’s go, asshole.”

“Wait,” I say as we haul him out of his office. “What about his car?”

It’s going to need to be in our driveway.

Knox holds up a pair of keys. “We’re driving it there. But I’m parking it down the block from our house so it looks like he was trying to cover his ass.”

“Okay, but where’s your jeep?”

“In the parking lot of a fast food place up the road.”

That’s good, but I have a better idea for it.

“Give me your keys.”

He quirks an eyebrow. “Why?”

“I rented a motel room.” Knox opens his mouth to yell at me, but I continue, “I told the guy at the front desk that my boyfriend was in the car, so we might as well park your car there and then take Leo back to the house.”

He mulls this over. “How will we get back to the motel to pick up my car?”

He’s right. One cab ride tonight is dodgy enough, but two?

I could call Brie, but there’s no doubt in my mind that she’ll have lots of questions about why she’s dropping Knox and I off at a motel in the middle of the night.

And while I can trust her, she’s too sweet and honest. She might crack once the news of the murder-suicide breaks, and God forbid they bring her in for questioning.

Violet, on the other hand…she’d be the person to ask for a ride.

She’s quiet, keeps to herself, and won’t say shit to the police no matter how hard they press her.

“I can ask Violet.”

Knox makes a face. “Stray—”

“Violet’s been my alibi every time I had a shift at the Bashful Beaver. She’ll cover for me.”

Leo’s eyes enlarge at that, but I flip him the bird.

“No. We’ll go back to the motel on foot.” Reaching a gloved hand into the pocket of his black jeans, he pulls out his keys and tosses them to me, along with a pair of black gloves. “Put those on.”

He pushes Leo, who’s squirming to get free. “Start walking, dipshit.”

Knox’s steps slow when we reach the living room and he looks at his aunt.

For a moment, I’m afraid he’s going to take her hostage too because of everything she’s witnessed, but he ambles over and kisses her forehead. “Don’t mind me, Aunt Lenora.” A sly grin pulls at the corner of his mouth. “I’m just taking out the trash.”

Chapter 48

Knox

She was supposed to be on a goddamned bus heading to New York, not an accessory to the murders I’m about to commit.

Correction—murders we’re about to commit.

Aspen’s green eyes go big as she takes in the scene I’ve set up in our parents’ bedroom.

For a moment, I think she’s going to bail, but then she looks at me and utters, “What do we do now?”

I shove Leo until he falls on the bed.

“We need to undress them before we position them.” I jerk my chin, gesturing to her mother who is still secured to the headboard via a pair of soft handcuffs. “You take her. I’ll take him.”

Aspen’s mom starts sobbing—her muffled screams growing louder against the duct tape placed over her mouth—as her daughter unlocks one of her cuffs and removes her nightgown.

Despite her dramatics, Aspen continues, but I can tell she hasn’t quite compartmentalized it the way I have, because she can’t bear to look at her mom while she does it.

Perhaps I should feel bad she’s a casualty in all this. But the woman only brought this shit on herself.

Not only did she not give a fuck about her own child, her lack of care and greed enabled my father to use her daughter as a pawn to punish me.

Gritting my teeth, I get to work removing Leo’s clothes. Like Aspen’s mother, his arms are secured behind him with a pair of soft handcuffs so as not to leave marks, but I had to fasten his legs, too, making the task that much more difficult because I have to do it one step at a time.

After it’s done, I place the articles of clothing haphazardly around the floor.

Leo squirms as I spread my stepmother’s thighs and position him on top of her. Whatever he’s saying is inaudible thanks to the gag I placed in his mouth.

Grabbing my father’s gun, I step back. I’m one-inch taller than he is, so I have to adjust the position of the gun ever-so-slightly. “We’ll have to shoot them close together.” I glare at my father, who’s still bound to the chair. “We’ll have a little more leeway with him, but not much.”