Page 80 of Murder Mittens

I waited around the corner in the kitchen, listening for the arrival of my victim. If I did my job right, he wouldn’t realize he’d been hit before he died. On that front, I did well as a paid killer.

As far as murders went, I’d enjoy his death more than I should.

Heavy footsteps came down the stairs, and I peeked around the corner to confirm it was Stefan.

It was.

He reached the bottom step, and I lunged out, slashing the knife across his throat. To make certain he never bothered anyone again, I reversed my grip on the knife and plunged it into the top of his head while he fell. While his body gasped and convulsed when he hit the floor, his eyes stared at nothing, and the first stages of death took hold. I wiped the blade off on the back of his suit. At the top of the stairs, the other woman stared, her hands over her mouth.

“Hello, Yvonne. As soon as our next guests arrive, you’ll be going home, so why don’t you go gather whatever you want while I hunt?”

“What are you?”

“I’m a lycanthrope. I’m also a bounty hunter, to be specific.”

“You’re not a wolf.”

Damned wolves. “I’m a lynx.”

“You’re a cat?” She stared at Stefan’s body. “He didn’t even have time to scream.”

“Well, that is the idea. It’s rude to draw out a murder.”

“You really killed him.”

“Well, he deserved it for drugging me and dragging me out here. And since I’m guessing you two ladies aren’t here of your own free will, he definitely deserved it.” I grinned, skipped to the kitchen, and washed my hands and the knife. “It’s extra rude to stab multiple people with the same knife without cleaning it first.”

Yvonne joined me in the kitchen, her eyes wide. “We get to go home? We really get to go home?”

“That’s the idea.”

“He said he’d kill us if we tried to go home or contact anyone.”

What an asshole. “Well, he won’t be doing that. It’s pretty hard to kill somebody when you’re dead.”

“No kidding. What about his brother?”

“Make yourself a nice, warm drink, ladies. This show is just getting on the road.”

I made use of the cabin’s bathroom to shift into a full lynx, and I took my hunt outside. I waited for Stefan’s brother and his woman to arrive using the Audi as cover. The two pregnant women packed what little they had and wanted to keep, which I assumed was maternity clothes. I had no idea if Stefan or his brother had given them anything worth keeping.

I had no idea how long it took, but headlights approached, illuminating the driveway and approaching Stefan’s Audi. The vehicle came to a halt nearby, and two figures stepped out. I recognized both from the pictures Sebastian had showed me. To my surprise, the woman was the driver, putting the man in easy range of my claws and fangs.

“Stefan?” Kenard asked. “What is so important you dragged us out here? I don’t have all night.”

No, he didn’t. I waited for the man to come closer before I erupted from my hiding place, tearing my claws into his chest and closing my jaws around his throat. The delicate bones of his neck crunched between my teeth, and to make certain he went down without a fight, I gave a single shake of my head. Using the corpse as a launching pad, I leaped across the car, landing on the woman with all four of my paws, and shredded her before taking a bite out of her throat.

I liked when my prey didn’t even have a chance to comprehend they were about to die before I finished my work.

I took the time to ensure they were truly dead before I headed for the cabin, stood on my hind paws, and rang the doorbell.

Lori opened it, peeked outside, and let me in. “You’re covered in blood. Are you okay?”

I bobbed my head and dropped down to my paws.

“Are they okay?”

I shook my head.