Killing Hope

Chapter Twenty One

She must have fallen asleep at some point because she woke to the crackle of the fire. Hitman was up already and she could smell sausages cooking in the pan. He handed her some and a mug of tea then tapped her mouth not altogether gently with the thread so that she could eat and drink. She knew it wasn't Hitman but she needed to behave as if he was at least until she could take control or she was afraid of what he would do.

"Thank you sir," she said and he nodded curtly. She ate the food he had given her and drank the tea, both of which were good and reminded her forcibly of the time they had camped at the stables with Sheamus, Drew and Juniper when Sheamus had provided them with breakfast. He watched her eat and as soon as she was done he tapped her lips with the thread again, preventing her from speaking. In a way this was a relief though as it meant she didn't have to consider what she would say. He grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet when he'd decided it was time to go, pushing her in front of him to the mouth of the cave.

It was a grey, stormy morning and Hope realised that her parents would by now know she was gone. Whether they thought she was with Hitman or not they would look for her. Juniper had noticed his odd behaviour the day before and would no doubt alert everybody else to it and she hoped that they might realise all was not as it should be. Hitman looked about himself a little warily but then gave a sharp tug on the thread, causing her to stumble as he led her away. He was irritable as they walked, muttering under his breath and looking up at the sky often. When it started to rain he grew even angrier, his muttering becoming a full on rant as he strode out.

"Fucking stupid fucking place. Weather all over the damn place, fucking rain and thunder and lightening. Couldn't have just had a fine day to get this done with. I hate the fucking rain!"

And again she knew this was not Hitman who cared not one iota for what the weather did. She slipped on the wet path as he dragged her along, forcing him to stop and he glared as she tried to get to her feet,  but the rain had made the path like an ice rink and she couldn't get her footing. In the  end he was forced to reach out a hand to help her, but as he touched her his real face was displayed and she couldn't help but shrink back a little as she saw Finn's face behind the facade of Hitman. As if he knew what she had seen he glared at her angrily.

"You keep going or I'm going to give you a clattering you won't forget," he threatened and she nodded, lowering her gaze. Somehow seeing that it was the hybrid Demon had made her felt better for a moment before something else occurred to her. If he was here where was Bret?

She bowed her head and followed him, surreptitiously looking at him through her lashes, trying to decide if he was inhabiting Hitman's body or if this was an illusion. Now she was studying him more closely she saw that many of Hitman's mannerisms were missing. Hitman would pause to check on her, however pissed he was at her. He would touch her as well,  place a hand on her cheek when he spoke to her, lean in to kiss her, put his hand on her back as he passed her. This version hadn't been near her, keeping her at a distance at all times. When he walked, Hitman was alert to everything, his eyes constantly moving to survey what was up ahead, looking behind him to check nothing followed them. The Demon pretending to be him kept his eyes straight ahead and strode out.

They'd been walking a long time and both were soaked to the skin when he finally decided they would stop. He led the way into what looked like an abandoned cottage and immediately stripped off his jacket and T-shirt. She noticed he didn't go round the room with the pink thread and he didn't remove it from her either and as he turned to face her she saw that he didn't have a tattoo over his heart. It was not Hitman's body, which again made her feel better. It wouldn't matter what he did or said now; no part of him belonged to Bret.

He tapped the reel on her lips so that she could speak and she regarded him for a moment as she formed the words.

"Where are we going, sir?" she asked, keeping her tone calm and polite. He scowled at her as he flopped into a chair.