Page 64 of Double Obsession

She dropped her knife and brought the empty hand to her mouth. “I killed him. The thing tricked me.” She grabbed Hunter by his torso and tugged.

If she’d hurt Buddy, he’d bash in her skull. “Killed who?”

As she dragged him, she panted for breath. “Jesus.” She deposited him in his partially enclosed brick dungeon.

Fluffy took off, leaving him alone with the whackjob.

She hummed her demonic theme song as she danced. Following an extended arm leap, she bent over him. “Guess what? I have great news!”

“The demons have crowned you queen psycho?”

She giggled. “I am a Level Twelve Cutter and a warrior princess.” Her shoulders pulled back and her chin lifted.

“You play Killer Combat Zone?”

“Yes, William. I am excellent at it. And I am excellent at cooking, doing laundry, crocheting, reading, and lots of other things.” She leaned close. “And I know what they are up to.” She pointed to the ceiling.

“You mean God?”

“The government bigwigs.”

“Hmm.” A paranoid-of-the-government, video-game-playing, delusional woman who couldn’t differentiate between him and a book cover and thought they were soul mates couldn’t be too hard to manipulate. “So, what’s this good news?”

Her entire body shook like a dog coming in from the rain. “Jenna Gibson wasn’t being lazy. She was busy writing the nextDesirous Dukebook, and it’s about you again. Those other dukes weren’t as handsome.”

The hair on the back of his neck stood up. “Jenna?”

“Yes. We are BFFs, and she is on her way with the book.” Arkansas twirled like a deranged ballerina.

Behind his back, his wrists twisted and rubbed. “How does she know where we are?”

She stopped flitting about to stare at him; her humongous purple birthmark moved closer to his face. “I gave her the address.”

He frantically tried to pull his wrists apart.

“That thing—” she backed away and waved her hands “—said you are having an affair with Jenna. But I know you love me. We both wear the special mark.” She pointed to her birthmark, then his scar.

He’d trade every one of his muscles for brains. Although his plan wasn’t firmly in place, he exhaled and went for it. “Are you in love with the duke, William Chester?”

“Yes! I love you, Hunter, and I love William.” Her arms reached into the air as she spun.

If only she’d slam right into the bricks and knock herself out. “I am William Chester, and you are a beautiful dancer.”

“Whee!” She pirouetted into the three-legged table. “Ouch.”

He tried not to laugh as she hobbled around, rubbing her hip. Then the solution hit him: He needed her weak so they were on equal footing.

He cleared his throat. “So, I’ve been thinking.”

She balanced on tiptoes as if she were inreleve´and swung her arm in a big ungraceful circle. “Thinking. Blinking. Winking.”

“We should match each other exactly.”

Her already wild eyes grew crazed. “What do you mean?”

“You should have a love mark over your heart exactly like mine.”

“A mark?” She fell to her knees and crawled to him. “To seal our love.”