Page 92 of Kill Feed

I exhale slowly, letting the confidence settle back into place as I match her pace.

I’ve been careful with him. Not that I haven’t noticed that Adrian’s been asking around about Kill Feed. And by asking around I mean confronting Marcos’s little boyfriend in the woods on a jogging trail. And that being the real reason why the man has been such a fucking pain in the ass the last few weeks.

Hypocritical fucking bastard.

The hallway opens out into the courtyard. Air shifts immediately into the faint sound of water cutting through the quiet. The space is enclosed by high glass walls and concrete panels as a fountain carved from pale stone and clay sits at its center.

Bodies intertwine in long jagged lines. Limbs overlapping, torsos twisting into each other in ways that feel beyond excessive. It’s difficult to tell where one ends and the next begins, and that’s clearly the point. Just like the rest of the artwork she has on display throughout the property.

Selene walks straight toward it, heels clicking softly against the stone.

Another chime sounds from my pocket, but I don’t dare look. Not with her on the premises. The urge is there, but I let it burn out on its own as I keep my attention forward.

Selene stops near the fountain, turning. The water catches the light behind her, framing her in something that looks almost dastardly angelic as the wind catches her platinum blonde hair.

“Things have been getting… noisy,” she says, her tone light and conversational, as if discussing a minor inconvenience.

“More and more conspiracy threads are surfacing,” she continues, glancing between us. “It has been bleeding into mainstream media and other platforms. It threatens the operation, of course. And while I do have people in very useful places, even they can only redirect attention for so long.”

Her eyes narrow slightly, the smile never quite leaving her face.

“And then there was that unfortunate little attempt by Xavier Muller,” she adds, almost dismissively. “A documentary, of all things.”

My throat constricts at the mere remembrance of that name. Regardless, I keep my expression exactly where it is. I couldn’t be bothered by Xavier himself; no, it’s the idea of Adrian that jumps to mind.

Selene continues, unfazed. “Ever since then, more curious minds have started crawling out.” Her voice dips with disgust. “Maggots crawl out of the woodwork, and it’s time to exterminate them.”

Her words wash over me as I fight the imagery of Adrian from my subconscious. Marcos steps forward before the silence stretches too long. “What do you need done?” he asks, voice steady and direct.

Selene’s attention shifts to him smoothly.

“There’s a group,” she says, turning slightly as she gestures toward the edge of the courtyard, as if the information is already mapped out in front of her. “They’re young and persistent. They’ve been circling Kill Feed for almost a year now, gathering fragments, building something they think is solid. They’ve been in contact with Xavier—warned him about my knowledge of his involvement just before I sent you out to get him, and with his disappearance, they’ve grown weary.”

She tilts her head, the smile returning in full before speaking. “I’ve had them monitored.”

“And their plans are?” I finally speak, collecting myself with uninvited ease.

“Oh, the usual,” Selene states, waving a hand dismissively in the air. “They have enough damaging information, with ways to make Xavier’s disappearance look like a cover-up, amongst others I’ve had killed, and so on and so forth.”

She lets the words settle.

“They believe if they make it impossible to contain, we won’t be able to silence it.” A soft laugh slips from her. “They’re very proud of themselves.”

The water from the fountain continues to spill steadily behind her, uninterrupted by what she’s about to ask us to do.

“I want them removed,” Selene chimes simply. “Every last one.”

We’re days away from Kill Feed, and she wants to orchestrate a hit?

Fuck.

Carrying out a hit means I go cold turkey during the preparations, the kill, and the clean-up—swapping our personal devices for burner phones. This is troublesome for more reasons than one. The biggest issue being the fact that Adrian gets completely manic if I don’t stay in constant communication with him. And two, hits never get carried out by hunters during October due to Kill Feed.

“Bit close to the event, isn’t it?” I say, casual and unamusingly curious. “Thought we’d be focusing on the main attraction.”

Selene’s eyes flick to me, brighter than ever as she says smoothly, “Oh, we are, but loose ends have a habit of ruining good entertainment.”

She steps closer to the fountain, her fingers trailing lightly along the edge of the stone. “And I do so hate interruptions.”