Book 2 of 2, sequel to Alaska's Illicit.
In which Mikaere returns to Alaska, but upon arriving realizes that she has a new problem: Vaughn, Darren, or should she just stick with Jared?
Vaughn's past and life are revealed, and also a serial killer mi...
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A.N. // slightly early update before I go to bed - I hope you all are well :) also i apologize for the long chapter but it had to be done
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: IN FOR A PENNY
Content warning: violence, blood, death
Mikaere and Perry immediately scramble after him, trying desperately to grab him, but he slips out of grasp all too easily.
Trotting behind the bar's counter, he stops in front of the cabinet and begins to whine, scratching at the floor.
"Oh, my God. See, this is why I shouldn't have brought you in," Mikaere says as Perry reaches for his collar. She's exasperated with him, but a part of her is reaching for a reason as to why he's behaving like this.
He's never been like this before. Why now? Is it because of Malee? She wonders. That must be it, she decides. He can still smell her from when she was last here.
But then he snaps at Perry, causing the man to quickly withdraw his hand with a yelp, and that's the final straw.
"Red!" She criticizes. "What are you doing? C'mon, she's not here, and we both know that."
He starts to sniff at the cabinet door, now, and Mikaere sighs, opening it.
"Look," she tells the dog as he instantly nudges his head inside, nose going into overdrive. "There's nothing here but random bar items. See?"
"Are you really talking to the dog like he's going to understand and just, like, chill out?"
She ignores Perry, focusing on Red who is beginning to lick at something inside the cabinet.
"No, don't do that." She pulls him away to see what he's getting at. Did perhaps a piece of food fall in somehow? A few crumbs through the cracks?
But when she looks closer, all she sees is blood.
She takes a deep breath in shock before immediately reprimanding herself for reaching that conclusion. What am I thinking? She scoffs, and her mind works to reassure her.
Of course it's not blood. It's just ketchup. Obviously. This is a restaurant. And it hasn't been cleaned because this cabinet has always been rarely opened. It's not blood. It's just a sauce. A condiment.
Of course.
But what if, her own little voice in her head thinks, it is blood? What then?
And with that mere hint of doubt, her mind's reassurances fall, and she can feel herself begin to question it all. BecauseRed wouldn't go to such drastic lengths to lick at some ketchup. Everyone knows how he hates the stuff.
She moves him to the side, between her and Perry, who takes a step back from the dog and asks her what she's doing. She just ignores him, crouching down and looking inside the cabinet.
