AfterLife™

Chapter 11

As my apartment comes into view, I narrow my eyes. At first I think it's an illusion, but there's no mistake. The door's ajar. And I'd locked it before I left.

I reach for my stun gun, pushing the door open with an ominous creak. 

There the invader lies in wait. Like a spider watches a fly. 

Ensconced upon my projector sofa, her long, slender legs lean against the armrest. She wears a skintight leather outfit like some extra in The Matrix. Curvy. Almost flawless. 

Quite the femme fatale.

Then it hits me. 

It's her.

Stella's killer.

Unlike her last murder, she doesn't wear a balaclava, but an elegant mask. The kind ledges wear when they attend fancy masquerade balls for charity. It's black with silver filigree tied with a black ribbon behind her head. The ends cascade down her back along with her ebony waves.

The killer's skin almost glows, pale as alabaster. As I draw nearer, the distinct scent of coconut and mango wafts my way. A specialty shampoo I know all too well.

"How dare you?" I spit the words at her like venom. "You bathed in my tub? Using Stella's soap?" 

As the intruder rises, she gracefully untwists her limbs and slinks over to me like a wary predator. She's painted her full lips crimson. Dark as blood. She presses them together and releases them with a barely audible pop. 

My heart flutters at the sight of her. No, this is no stranger.

She knows me. And my heart tells me I know her.

This close, her light-brown eyes twinkle in the light. She's found me. Caught me in her web. Unable to breathe, I can't look away as she traces my cheek with her fingertips. Her prey.

"Tara..." She whispers my name with a hint of an accent I can't place. Trailing her patrician nose across the tender side of my neck, I shudder in her arms. Unable to pull away. "Do you not see?"

"Don't touch me." My words fall flat, without emotion. "You killed her."

"Did I?" 

She trails her fingertips across my shoulders and down my spine. When I try to pull away, I can't move. It's like a vice holds me in place. Panic erupts in a cold sweat. 

"Shh-shh-shh..." She places a gloved fingertip on my lips. "Don't be afraid."

My heart thuds against my ribs. Death is coming. Not with the force of a thousand screams but with a gentle whisper and a kiss. Her lips barely graze my skin, and yet the burning starts.

"Have you ever heard of a krait?" Her voice is breathy and sultry. Smooth as butter. Deadly as poison. "The bite is painless. Yet it paralyzes its victim and kills it softly."

I shudder. 

"Suffocation..." She trails a fingertip down my neck. "In four to eight hours. The closest hack I could find to replicate death by a boa constrictor. A merciless death. It's what you deserve."

"Why?" 

"Why?" She brushes a wayward curl from my face with the tenderness of a lover. "Because you hurt him, Viper. You dug your venomous fangs into my brother and killed his humanity."

"What are you talking about?"

"You...created the serum."

She spits in my face.