Kevin Landers was sitting in his living room drinking a bottle of Jack Daniels. Samantha was with her parents and he finally had some peace and quiet. He was alone but he didn't mind it so much.
He thought of his conversation with Tom. Kevin wasn't the biological son of Vincent McDaniels but he wished he was. As a kid, he remembered going hunting with him and Tom, camping with them, and having backyard barbecues with the McDaniels family. There were times that Vincent had been out of the picture or acting funny because he had a little too much to drink but Kevin used to worship Vincent McDaniels. He still did.
The doorbell rang. Kevin put his Jack Daniels down and went to answer it. It was getting late but perhaps Tom was stopping by unexpectedly. Kevin opened the door and there stood Vincent McDaniels.
"Hi Kevin. May I come in?" Vincent was holding a brown paper bag.
"Mr. McDaniels," Kevin was surprised to see him.
"I've told you to call me Vincent...or dad. Whichever you prefer Kevin." Vincent walked into the living room and spotted the bottle of whisky. He put his brown bag down and pulled a bottle of Johnnie Walker out of it. "I felt like drinking whiskey tonight. Who knew you were already drinking some? Do you have a tumbler I can use?"
While Kevin walked to the kitchen to get a glass for Vincent, his guest slipped a few pills into Kevin's bottle of liquor and shook it until they dissolved into the auburn liquid.
The two of them began drinking together and reminiscing about years gone by.
"So where's Samantha?" Vincent asked.
"She went to stay with her parents. Ever since we got married, things haven't been the same," Kevin explained.
"Right, that's what happened to me and my first wife," Vincent said. He could see Kevin becoming more and more inebriated.
Kevin began to sway and passed out. Vincent stood up and pulled out a pair of gloves from his jacket. He slipped them on and then took out a folded and typed note from his jacket as well. He placed it on the coffee table.
He then arranged Kevin in his chair so that it would be easier to do the task he originally set out to do. He took out a razor blade that was in his pants pocket and placed it in Kevin's right hand. Vincent licked his lips as he held his hand over Kevin's and slashed the younger man's left wrist. Blood spurted and began leaving the wound at a fast pace. He could feel Kevin wake from the shock of the wound but he held him in place until he passed out again. Vincent loved feeling the life of a victim leave its body.
"I'm sorry Kevin but someone has to take the fall for me. Your death will help me get back to my old life."
Vincent smiled as he imagined the adulation he would receive when his next book was released. It had been years in the making. He leaned over to Kevin's ear and whispered, "If it gets turned into a movie, I'll make sure someone good plays you."
Before he left, he made sure there would be no evidence of his presence left behind. He closed the door after him and drove to Open Heart Residential Treatment Center.
~AT THE HOSPITAL 6:00PM~
Detective James Smith could tell that David was upset. He seemed anxious and James supposed it was because Eva still hadn't visited. David hadn't mentioned Eva, which James thought was odd. Finally, Smith told David about the phone call he had overheard between Eva and Tom McDaniels. David become upset and pulled out his IV.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Smith asked.
"Get away from me. I've been stabbed but I'm not dead. I was going to be released tomorrow anyway. I'm just going to check out sooner," David quickly jumped out of his hospital bed, surprising his friend James.
He told Detective Smith that he was going to Eva's place to see if they could talk things out.
~AT JACOB'S HOUSE 7:30 PM~
Joelynn was still thinking of her cousin Eva. She didn't want to cut Eva out of her life because of fear. Agent Roux had told her not to let the Demon King have control over her life. By staying away from her cousin, she was letting someone else rule her life. She didn't want that. Agent Roux had explained that King27 was the Demon King. It was scary to think that she had been messaging a psychotic serial killer. Joelynn looked at the computer in front of her. The website for Love Match was open in front of her. She pulled up her profile and clicked at the recent messages. The profile for King27 was still up.
Joelynn began typing. When she was done, she closed the site and smiled. It was time to take control of her own life again.
~AT EVA'S HOUSE~
Someone was pounding on Eva's door. She walked up to it and asked, "Who is it?"
"Eva, it's me...David. Let me in."
Eva looked through her peephole and opened the door, "What are you doing out of the hospital David?"
She was shocked to see him. A taxi cab was driving away from her house as he walked in.
"Have you met him yet?" David asked, looking around her living room.
"Met who?" Eva was still trying to understand how David was out of the hospital, "Shouldn't you be in a hospital bed right now?"
"I checked myself out," he went on as if it wasn't anything important. "Listen Eva, I heard from James that you're planning on meeting Tom McDaniels. What has to happen for you to learn not to mess with the Demon King?"
Eva sighed, "Listen David, coming here wasn't a good idea. You should calm down. I'm sorry I haven't come to visit you. I just feel like everything has been happening so fast."
David's cell phone rang. He pulled it out from his pocket and answered it, "Hey Smith. Yeah I'm here. I'll call you if I need anything. Thanks." David tossed his cell on the sofa and sat down. "Look Eva, I'm sorry. You're right. It's too fast. I don't want to rush you...just don't cut me out of your life."
Eva nodded and sat down next to David, "It was too soon. At least for me it was. I mean...I just found out about you being roommates with Christopher McDaniels. Then Joelynn was taken. You were stabbed and then you said you loved me. I wasn't ready for it."
David took Eva's hand. "Do you think we can start over? Pretend I didn't say I love you? I promise I won't try to pressure you into anything serious until you're ready."
Eva smiled and remembered why she liked him in the first place. He was sweet and she had missed him during the time he was in the hospital. "Okay David. Let's start over. I'm sorry about not coming to see you. And it's not that I don't care for you. We've been friends for years and I've always been attracted to you. I actually think I might love you but I want to be sure. In the past, everyone I loved has left me."
"Water under the bridge," David kissed Eva. When he pulled away, she noticed he seemed a little different. A bit more nervous and uncomfortable. Why wasn't he more upset with her like he normally would be when he thought she was being silly? She didn't mind him agreeing with her so readily but it wasn't like him. "David, why did you check yourself out of the hospital early?"
"I thought this was more important. I didn't want you to see that Tom guy," David explained. "Is it okay if I use your bathroom? I want to check on my bandages."
Eva nodded, "My first aid kit is under the sink. Use it and then get ready, because I'm driving you back to the hospital."
David laughed, "Yes ma'am." He walked to the bathroom and shut the door.
While Eva was about to get her purse, David's phone made a dinging noise and the small notification light blinked blue.
Eva picked up the phone to tell David but she decided not to bother him. Instead, she swiped the screen and pulled down the notification tab. It was a message from somebody named LadyJ.
Eva tapped on the message which read, "I'm not going to let you control me."
Eva thought it was strange. She clicked the message again and it brought her to an app on his phone.
Love Match
She hadn't realized that she said it aloud. Eva felt like her heart had stopped. She prayed she wasn't going to find what she dreaded. She clicked on the "my account" tab and looked at the username that appeared.
King27
"Now why did you have to do that Eva?"
Eva dropped the phone at the sound of David's voice. She felt something hitting her hard over the head and she fell to the ground unconscious.
~THIRTY MINUTES LATER~
Agent Sally Roux had two teams en route. One was going to the home of Kevin Landers and the other to the home of Eva Lewis. When Sally had notified the hospital about David Wilson, it was too late. He had already checked himself out. When questioned about his friend, Detective James Smith mentioned that he wanted to visit his girlfriend, Eva Lewis.
Sally Roux was leaving the station to head to Eva's house. Both men had been accessing the King27 account while Tom McDaniels had been in jail. The whereabouts of Tom McDaniels were also still unknown. Sally got a call from one of her teams.
"Landers is dead. It looks like a suicide. There's even a note."
Sally cursed, "What's the note say?"
"I'm a disciple of the Demon King and shall let no man judge my actions. My death is preferable to having others judge me for helping my King."
"So what? Is he one of those guys that's been making those weird disciple forums?" Sally asked.
"It's a mess here but it looks that way."
"Alright," Sally said. "Keep me posted if you find anything else."
She checked in with the team that had gone to Eva Lewis' home before her. Nobody was home and her car was gone. Sally cursed again. Where could he be? Sally Roux could only come up with one place that Tom McDaniels could be besides his home which had already been checked. That was the home of his father, Vincent McDaniels. It was a long shot but maybe David and Tom were together somehow.
~IN HIS CAR~
Tom McDaniels watched David Wilson enter the home of Eva Lewis. He didn't want to enter while David was there so he waited. A little over half an hour had passed when he saw David carrying an unconscious Eva into her car. Wasn't he supposed to be in the hospital? How the hell was he lifting Eva?
Tom decided to follow them.
~AT VINCENT'S HOUSE IN THE WOODS~
The lyrics from the Partridge family were familiar to Eva who was tied down to a large slab of wood in what she now recognized as Vincent's cellar.
A figure stood beside her. It was David.
"David? What are you doing?" Eva asked.
He laughed and caressed her face with his left hand. "It wasn't supposed to be like this Eva. I went through so much trouble to keep you out of it. I even had to fight with him to keep you safe. I told him it wasn't a good idea to involve you. Too messy. Why are reporters so damned curious?" He yelled the last two words.
He shut the music off and Eva whispered, "I don't believe this. I saw you fighting with him. It can't be you. Please don't let it be you."
"I'll let you in on a little secret Eva. I really am the Demon King."
"It's impossible. I saw him stab you," Eva shook her head.
"It's not impossible Eva. Not when you have a partner."
"What? Who?" Eva tried asking but he stopped her.
"No, don't try to ask. You won't get an answer out of me."
David began walking around the cellar. She could hear the crunching of something under his footsteps. Eva tried to look and realized that sound was of the bones that Vincent had on the floor. She looked closer and saw what appeared to be three human skulls in the corner of the room. Her eyes widened and he laughed as he saw what she was looking at.
"Do you like them? They're mine. I collected them a few years ago. They belong to prostitutes and other garbage I came across," David smiled.
"Why?" Eva asked as tears streamed down her face. It was shocking to see the man she had kissed not too long ago holding a sharp knife with a sinister smile on his face.
"Why? Why? I'll tell you why." He leaned in towards Eva's ear and whispered, "It's because I love it."
He smirked, "Don't women love a bad boy? Do you want to save me now? Stop me from murdering? Even if I hadn't been trying to frame Tom, I can't say I wouldn't be doing the same thing. Different victims maybe...probably."
Eva couldn't believe it, "Why bring me here?"
"Oh you didn't figure it out yet? And you call yourself a reporter. Vincent McDaniels is my father. Surprised?" David laughed.
David explained, "I found out about it before I went off to college. Here I was living my life as some loser orphan when out of nowhere this famous author comes to me and tells me he's my dad. The thing is he wanted me to keep it a secret. I didn't care but he was real nice and wanted me to meet my brothers. He had me get a dorm with Christopher." David stopped talking so that he could sharpen one of the small knives that was placed on a table near Eva. "Christopher and I had so much in common. I really liked him. He would've been a great brother. When he told me all the shit he went through with his uncle, I felt bad for him. Especially because it was Tom's fault."
Eva asked, "Did you kill Christopher on purpose?"
"I'm talking here, Eva!" He stabbed the knife into the wooden table. Eva stayed quiet.
"The more I got to know my dad, the more I liked him. He's a good man but he had some problems. That's why he couldn't take care of me when I was younger. He taught me how to hunt and be just like him. I didn't want to have to hurt you Eva. It wasn't part of the plan," David really looked regretful now.
"Maybe it's not too late David," Eva was grasping at straws.
David looked at Eva and came closer to her, "You mean that baby? You'd still love me even after knowing everything about me?"
Eva nodded.
David took the knife he had in his hand and pressed the tip of it into her cheek, "I call bullshit, bitch."
Blood began to drip from her cheek. "Don't lie to me Eva. You're just like Tom in a way...you're willing to do whatever you want to get what you want. You write those stories even though it put you in danger. I even had him take Joelynn but that didn't stop you. Tom killed Beatrice. He hurt Vincent and Christopher. And you...you have no idea how much I did for you."
Eva was shocked but was trying to figure out how to keep David from killing her. She couldn't think of anything.
"A fake fight between my partner and I didn't stop you from digging into this story either. Did you know I even killed Gonzales for you?"
Eva was shocked, "What? I never asked you to do any of those things!" She could feel her throat tightening up in fear. She could barely speak. The reporter in her wondered who his partner was.
"That bastard was the one trying to spook you. I caught him in your house one night. I handled it so you wouldn't be scared. I really liked those articles you wrote," David was holding a small knife that he had just sharpened. "I was trying to keep you alive as payback for calling me a king. It's a shame you looked through my phone."
"Won't....won't you let me go?" Eva stammered.
He smiled, "No Eva. I can't do that. I know you and as soon as I let you go, you'd call the cops on me. Even if I said I loved you. It wouldn't matter. You only love your next big story. Now let's get started. If you're real good, I'll kiss you before I kill you."
David was about to turn on the music when he heard the doorbell ring. He quickly turned to Eva, "You scream and I'll skin you alive."
David walked upstairs and answered the door. He couldn't believe his luck. At the door was Tom McDaniels.
"Well...well...well...look what the cat drug in," David said.
"What are you doing in my father's house?" Tom asked.
David laughed, "Shouldn't you say our father? Come on in and join the party."
Tom came in cautiously and looked around for signs of Eva. He knew she was in here somewhere, "Our father?"
"We're related. Surprise! So brother, what brings you here?" David asked sarcastically.
"You sure like claiming to be my relative," Tom remarked. He noticed that David had a knife in his back pocket.
"Well why not? You're not acting too surprised so I'm guessing you already knew," David eyed Tom who didn't seem that shocked by David's declaration that they were brothers.
"So brother, what brings you here?" David asked.
"I wanted to talk to my father. We met earlier but I had more questions for him," Tom answered.
"Father?" David sneered. "You haven't met with him in years. I'm the one that sees him when he's at Open Heart. I'm the one that visits him here to go hunting. Father? You're not a son to him."
Tom smiled, "Really? Well my last name would say differently."
David scowled, "You don't deserve him as a father you bastard."
Tom laughed, "Bastard? Wouldn't that be your role?"
David began advancing on Tom in anger. Tom punched David who shoved his brother into a table and lamp.
~OUTSIDE VINCENT'S HOUSE~
Agent Sally Roux had just called for backup. Both David and Tom were there. That meant Eva was probably there too. She was going to wait for her fellow agents but then she heard loud banging sounds coming from inside. She kicked open the front door and barged inside to see David and Tom fighting one another.
"FBI! Step away from each other!" Sally shouted.
Tom looked at Agent Roux and stepped beside her. She was holding up a gun to David.
David began to make a clucking sound, "Agent Roux, didn't anyone ever tell you it's bad manners to bring a gun to a knife fight?"
She was confused enough by his question to not notice that he reached inside his back pocket and threw a knife in her direction. Tom saw it and pushed Sally out of the way. The knife missed Sally but hit Tom straight in the chest. Sally was then thrown into darkness. She couldn't see Tom or David but she heard laughter.
She was still holding onto her gun. She was waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness before attempting to stand up. She felt around her and could feel a body on the floor.
It was Tom.
She felt around his chest area but didn't feel a knife. She could feel his blood on her hands. She tried to apply pressure to his chest but knew it was already too late. She heard him take his last breath and realized that she couldn't stay with Tom's body or David would eventually kill her.
Sally stood up and bumped into the couch. She couldn't see much of anything and she didn't hear David come up from behind her. She only felt the blade of the knife sink into her back and the hard floor as her body fell.
Meanwhile, Eva was staring at the cellar's ceiling. She didn't want to die like this. There were so many things she hadn't done yet. So many stories that she hadn't written. She heard someone softly open the door and to her dismay, it was David. He left the door open as he walked into the cellar. She could hear a few bones breaking as he stepped on them.
"We had some unannounced guests...but they're gone now." David switched on the music and began to walk towards Eva. He picked up a knife on the table next to her and climbed up on the slab of wood she was tied to. "Don't worry honey, this won't hurt a bit." He leaned over her and kissed her mouth. Eva began screaming. He was on top of her and had his knife poised to cut her skin.
The sound of the shot was loud enough to overcome the music that was playing around them.
David's face changed from mania to surprise to anger. Blood spurted everywhere and his body fell on top of hers. Eva was screaming and looked up to see Agent Sally Roux leaning against the doorway of the cellar, barely holding herself up, gun still drawn.
David was bleeding on her. He was gasping for air and he looked at Eva and whispered, "Eva..."
She heard him take his last breath and then he was gone.
"It's over," Agent Roux said.
"He has a partner," Eva cried, suddenly remembering David's admission about a partner.
Sally was having trouble holding herself up, "Kevin Landers. He's dead too."
Both women could hear the sirens of the police coming closer. They looked at each other and smiled. It was finally over.
****
A/N: Thank you for reading! DO NOT SKIP THE EPILOGUE!!!
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