SO COLD (18+) currently editing

Chapter 34

"In there," I nodded, trembling from both the wind and the fear of being caught.

"I'll take it to the car pound," James looked over my head at Cole. "She'll catch a cold out here. Why don't you head to the flat?"

"No!" I shouted animatedly. "We'll go someplace else. The café – Millie's café. It's warm. There's food. I'm hungry. Come on, Cole." My teeth chattered loudly. The sharp looks they were giving me made me shift uncomfortably. A thought occurred to me. My blood turned cold. I patted my body frantically.

"What are–?"

"I lost the gun. I lost the fucking gun. How did I lose the fucking gun?! They'll find the shell casing and my fingerprints and the body and-" I was still all of a sudden, and then I cautiously said. "I'll blame dad. His blood is splattered on the wall. They'll believe me. I should go to the station and plead my innocence before they come to me. That's a good idea. It is, isn't it?"

"Send men to search the area. Strip the flat. I want it destroyed." Cole instructed. "I'll make a call and keep the cops away. Make sure the job is done before morning."

James acquiesced.

Cole's fingers curled around my wrist and he said. "You're with me." Something about his expression wasn't kind. He jerked me towards his car and motioned for me to get in. As I reached for the seatbelt, I heard the soft click of the lock.

"You don't trust me."

"Not at all."

I observed my hands. Patches of skin was stained red and I heaved a weary sigh. "Am I a liability?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to kill me?"

A nerve in his jaw pulsed. "Maybe. I'm still deciding."

"OK."

The car ride was silent. Our tongues were twisted into knots we couldn't untangle. Words trapped in the folds of the pink flesh. My head was past the point of swallowing a few pills to relieve the discomfort. My limbs were brittle, cold settled in the under the skin, numbness hastily crawling up my legs like a snake, snuggling under the wet denim.

He parked outside a familiar house and asked me to get out and shadow him. The iron gate was taller than him, raindrops sliding down the spikes and the lock. He unlocked the gate and then held a hand to the small of my back as if I couldn't walk without his guidance. I didn't put up a fight. The garden was kingdom of wet greens and slumped trees. A stone pathway leaded up to the house.

A black and white dog (a Japanese Akita) launched itself at me as soon as I walked in. "Down, boy!" Cole dragged him away by the collar but another (an enthusiastic German shepherd) rounded the corner and bounded forward, yipping excitedly.

I dropped to my knees, cuddling the second dog as it sniffed me, pushing its nose everywhere it could. "Oh. Hey, little baby. You're so cute ...and big. What are their names?"

"Ghost," he petted the Japanese Akita who licked his hand fondly. "Tito and...where's that fat bastard? Here he comes."

An overweight bulldog with a squashed face waddled in tiredly. Cole picked him up. "This is Fat. All he does is eat and sleep."

"You named him Fat?" I got up and rubbed the bulldog's belly. Tito tugged on my laces, whining for affection. Ghost sat obediently at Cole's foot. "I'm in love with all of them."

"Fat used to belong to James. Once he broke up with his wife, he dumped him on my doorstep. Couldn't look after him. His name was ...Spot or something stupid like that."