Page 33 of Mutual Prey

“Okay, fine. If you don’t want to do that, how about disabling the bomb next to the gymnasium? It’s in a clump of bushes by the back entrance.”

“A… bomb?”

“Goddammit, Cass. Are all your friends lacking brain cells or what?”

“I don’t have any friends, you piece of shit. Let me go.”

“Tsk, tsk. Is that any way to talk to a guy who’s about ten seconds away from hacking your tits off? It should probably be negative ten seconds by now. Saved by the bell. Or by your friend Piper’s clone.”

“She’s not my friend! Let me go, asshole!”

“Billie.” Finn speaks slowly, as though he’s addressing a toddler. “Why don’t you be a good girl, take out your phone, and dial three digits. Those digits are a 9, a 1, and another 1. Think you can do that? Tell them to send over a bomb squad. Or pass me the phone, and I’ll tell them. Go on, baby.”

Behind me, I hear the rustle of fabric as Billie searches her pockets for her phone. And then her quiet, shaky voice as she follows Finn’s instructions.

“She’s not your baby! I’m your—” The words are out before I can stop them, and I bite down on my lip so hard I taste blood.

“That’s okay, Cass,” says Finn. “I know you’re my baby. I was talking to you. Go on and untie me. Okay? Remember who’s your daddy, now.”

I sniff loudly, trying to find it in me to protest, but I’m feeling pretty damn deflated. Between the knife I stupidly lost and the way it’s currently digging into my breasts, and the bomb that’s about to be found and dismantled… everything’s going wrong.

Fuck!

“I won’t hack your tits off,” soothes Finn, as I let myself give in to my grief. “I was just saying that. Be my good girl and do what I tell you. Otherwise the cops will come and they’ll arrest you. You don’t want that, do you? I won’t let you get arrested, anyway. I don’t want to kill you, baby. Not anymore. Not for a long time, at least. But I don’t want them to take you from me, either. I’d rather kill you than leave you. Okay?”

“Okay,” I sniff at last. “Can I have the knife back? To untie you, I mean.”

“Ooh, sneaky girl,” he purrs in my ear, causing me to shiver. “I don’t think so. Here, Billie!” He snaps his fingers at her.

“She’s not a dog,” I tell him.

“Yeah, well, I don’t snap my fingers at dogs. Only at girls with no brain cells.”

“You’re a real piece of shit, Finn,” I huff, as Billie walks over shyly, and takes the knife from Finn’s hands even more shyly. “She’s already getting bullied so bad, and you’re piling onto her.”

“Well, some girls are just born to be bullied, I guess,” he shrugs—or tries his best to, in his upside-down position.

“Asshole,” I seethe.

I don’t know why I care so much. I didn’t care about Piper, but something about her just awakened this protective instinct in me. And it’s the same with this Piper clone. Maybe I do have a heart after all. At the very least, I’m not a psychopath. Right?

Billie’s been sawing at the rope, and at last it gives way. Finn falls unceremoniously to the ground.

“Ouch! Thanks, Billie.”

“I’m so sorry!” she gasps. “Are you hurt?”

“Hopefully,” I mutter.

“Damn, I feel hungover.” He sits on the ground, rubbing his temples. “Guess it’s all the blood to the head. Come here, you.”

He hooks his hands around my waist, pulling me into his lap. “I knew you wouldn’t kill me. I just knew it. You’re my goodgirl, baby, aren’t you? Okay, scram, Billie.”

“I… uhm… what?”

“I mean, you can stay, but I’m about to fuck your friend so hard she’ll cry for her daddy. So if you want to watch… I don’t mind. Stay, if you’d like. You know, I have a thing for people watching.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed,” I snap. “Billie, don’t go near the gymnasium. Just in case the bomb squad isn’t here yet. You don’t want to get blown up.”