Chapter 5 Emmett and Thea

The girl’s footsteps faded into the darkness down the driveway, leaving the back patio suffocatingly quiet.

Emmett didn't even look after her. He just leaned back against the dark brick wall, his broad shoulders relaxed, casually pulling a fresh blunt from his pocket. He clicked his lighter, the small flame illuminating his razor-sharp jawline and the dark ink of the crown-and-barbed-rose tattoo crawling up his throat. He took a long, slow drag, blowing a thick cloud of grey smoke up into the cold night air.

He acted as if I weren't even standing there.

I stood frozen in the wet grass, my whole body trembling internally. He looked terrifying, like a predator resting after a hunt. But I forced my shoulders back, taking a deep breath to shake off the wave of nausea and disgust threatening to choke me. I had to pretend I was fine. I had to maintain decorum, even if every protective instinct in my body was screaming at me to run back inside.

I took three stiff steps forward onto the patio stones and cleared my throat loudly.

Emmett didn't flinch. He didn't even turn his head. He just took another slow drag of his blunt, his heavy, languid hazel eyes slowly drifting downward to lock onto me.

Without a word, he exhaled a thick stream of smoke right into my face.

I flinched, waving my hand frantically to clear the sweet, pungent cloud from the air, coughing softly.

You disgusting, arrogant jerk, I screamed at him in my head. You monster.

Outwardly, I kept my expression as smooth as glass. I couldn't risk letting him see how terrified I was. He was a killer, and I was completely isolated with him in the dark.

“We need to talk,” I said, keeping my voice as steady as humanly possible.

Emmett just stared down at me. His eyes were blown out, dark, and heavy, completely unbothered by my presence. He didn't say a single word. He just brought the blunt back to his lips and took another drag, watching me like I was an annoying bug hovering around his head.

The silence stretched between us, heavy and agonizing.

“In case you forgot,” I began, my nerves making me ramble faster than I wanted to, “my name is Thea. And apparently, our parents are getting married this weekend, which means—”

“Get it over with, Stepsis,” Emmett cut in, his voice a low, gravelly growl that cut right through my words. “I have somewhere to be.”

I bit the inside of my cheek hard to stop myself from cursing at him. The sheer rudeness radiating off him was unbelievable.

“You really don't have to be such a rude person,” I said, crossing my arms tightly over my chest to hide the shaking of my hands. “I’m just trying to make sense of all this.”

He raised an eyebrow, his jaw shifting as he rolled the blunt between his fingers. He didn't answer.

“Where were you last night?” I asked, trying to sound casual, as if I were just making polite small talk. I couldn't bring myself to mention Maya's name yet. I couldn't let him know I knew. “Around ten o'clock?”

Emmett lowered the blunt, eyeing me up and down with slow, mocking scrutiny. “What are you? A detective or something?”

“No,” I replied quickly, my posture stiffening. “Not that it’s any of your business. I just wanted to know because... because I feel like I saw you around campus last night. Do you even go to the university?”

Emmett tilted his head, blowing another small wispy ring of smoke into the air. “If I do, what’s it to you?”

I almost rolled my eyes out of pure frustration, pressing my lips into a thin line. “I’m just trying to have a normal conversation with you.”

“Don’t pretend you like me, Stepsis,” Emmett said coldly, his tone dripping with disdain. “I know you don’t. And I could care less about you, too.”

Before I could process his words, he released his back from the wall and stepped forward. He sidestepped me completely, his broad shoulder almost brushing against mine as he started walking away toward the driveway.

Panic surged through my veins. He was leaving. I was going to lose my chance.

“What do you think about the Red Rose Killer circling around campus?” I blurted out to his back.

The question hung in the air like a heavy weight.

Emmett stopped dead in his tracks.

He didn't turn around immediately. He just stood there, his tall frame blocking out the faint light from the house. Then, slowly, he turned his head, tilting his sharp jaw as his dark eyes locked back onto mine.

I shuddered visibly the moment his gaze hit me. A cold sweat broke out along the back of my neck, my pulse racing wildly against my ribs. I internally berated myself, screaming at my own stupidity. Why did I just ask him that so bluntly? Are you insane?

But the words were already out in the open. There was no pulling them back.

Emmett let out a dry, breathy chuckle that held zero humor. “The Red Rose Killer, huh?”

A dark, sinister curve touched the corner of his lips. He dropped the end of his blunt onto the concrete patio, lifting the heel of his heavy leather boot and smashing it out with a slow, deliberate grind. He watched the glowing embers die beneath his shoe before looking back up at me.

Languidly, his hand dipped into his pocket. He pulled out the heavy silver hunting knife he had been holding earlier and began twirling it casually between his long fingers, the blade catching the dim yellow light of the patio bulb.

My eyes snapped to the sharp metal, and I took an involuntary step backward. I tried desperately to hide the sheer terror gripping my throat, but my skin was cold and clammy.

“Do you... do you just carry things like that around?” I asked, my voice cracking slightly despite my best efforts.

“What? These?” Emmett flipped the knife closed with a sharp clack, then tossed it a few inches into the air, catching it effortlessly by the handle. “Have to protect myself against this killer, don’t I?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying to keep him talking. “So you’re scared of him?”

Emmett stopped twirling the knife, his heavy eyes narrowing into dark slits. “I can’t be scared of a pussy who hides in the dark, Stepsis.”

The repeated, condescending title grated on every single one of my nerves.

““My name is Thea,” I hissed, my anger briefly overriding my fear.

“And I’m thrilled to know you, Stepsis,” he replied dryly, his face completely expressionless.

I furrowed my brows at him, my chest tight with frustration as he brushed me off like I was nothing.

A sharp, dark laugh escaped his chest. “Look at them,” he said, jerking his chin toward the glowing dining room window where our parents were still sitting. “Your mother looks real happy in there with him.”

“Why shouldn't she be?” I asked defensively, taking a small step closer to him as my curiosity got the better of me.

Emmett’s expression hardened, a dark shadow passing over his features. “Everyone is so frightened of this killer... but Calvin Rhodes is the one everyone should be more afraid of.”

My breath hitched. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Instead of answering, Emmett reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out another blunt, and flicked his lighter open.

I stared at his hands in disbelief as he brought the flame to the tip, pulling the thick haze back into his lungs. Another one? I wondered, my mind reeling. How could someone smoke this much in a single evening? Was he constantly trying to numb himself, or was there something so rotten inside his head that he needed the haze just to keep from completely snapping?

He took a long, deep draw, the bright orange tip glowing intensely in the shadows, before blowing a heavy cloud of smoke straight up toward the cold night sky.

He slid the knife back into his pocket, turning his back on me once again.

“See you at the wedding, Stepsis.”

He began walking away, his heavy boots crunching against the gravel of the driveway.

“The wedding will not happen, Emmett!” I screamed at his retreating back, my voice trembling with a mix of fury and terror. “Over my dead body!”

Emmett didn't even slow down his pace. He just raised one hand in a lazy gesture, his rough, gravelly voice carrying clearly back through the dark.

“I’d love to help you stop the wedding, Stepsis. But I have bodies to bury.”

The words struck me like a physical blow.

I stopped cold, the blood draining completely from my face.

Bodies to bury.

I stood frozen on the dark patio, staring at the empty driveway where he had just disappeared into the night, left completely alone, frightened, confused, and shocked to my very bones.

He was a monster. A dangerous, cold-blooded killer who carried a blade in his pocket and joked about murder while my friend’s body was barely cold in the morgue. And now, he was about to walk right into my life, taking over my home and sleeping under the same roof.

My mother had no idea what kind of devil she was inviting into our lives. She was completely blinded by Calvin’s money and charm, entirely oblivious to the dark web closing around us.

I gripped my trembling hands into tight fists, the biting chill of the night air sharpening my resolve. Maya deserved justice, and my mother needed protection, even if she didn't know it yet.

I couldn't go to the police without proof, but I could stand in his way. I wasn't going to sit back and let this psychopath play family with us.

No matter what it takes, I swore silently, staring into the dark void where Emmett had gone, this wedding will not happen.