Whodunit

Chapter 22

Anisa's long, menacing laugh haunted the once fun and youthful den area.

Desi stood with Jordan's gun pressing a circle the width of the barrel into the side of her head. She sat on the couch, face forward. Legs bent. Eyes narrowed with delight. Dmitri had retreated outside to the shed in the backyard to find rope or something strong enough to lock her down while they attempted to perform an exorcism.

"Go on. Shoot me. Won't do no good," she taunted. "I'm not Ximena. A single bullet to the head won't kill the demons in me. It'll only make them worse."

"You can't reverse psychology me," Desi broke the silent oath he'd taken since Dmitri left the room.

Anisa snickered, her shoulders more animated than needed. "Go on. Try."

Desi clenched his jaw. "I loved you like a sister. I can't believe you would do this."

"Don't blame me. Blame your homeboy. He made me this way."

"Yeah, Dmitri messed up, but you were supposed to be stronger than him. Stronger than that. Light is always supposed to win over the dark. You should have got your revenge by moving on and doing better for yourself. Not by stooping to his level." He shrugged. "But what do I know? I'm just a sixteen-year-old grocery boy."

Her eyes snapped up at him. His words struck any delight out of her irises. "You don't know a thing about the light and the dark. Shut up and stick to your scary movies, because I'm only holding off on you right now so that I can have fun with Dmitri. Don't make me lose interest."

Desi swallowed the bile rising up in his throat and tossed his tongue back with it. He might not know much about the light and dark, but he knew one thing for sure.

Don't tempt the devil.