With a guttural scream, I drove my fingernails into Daniel’s face, dragging them down his cheek. I felt his skin tear, warm blood instantly coating my fingers.
Daniel shrieked, letting go of my hair as he clutched his bleeding face. “You miserable whore!”
He backhanded me. The force of the blow cracked my head against the porcelain base of the sink. Sparks exploded in my eyes, and I collapsed onto my side, completely paralyzed this time. I could feel warm blood trickling from my temple, mingling with the cold water on the floor.
“Daniel! Red lights! I see red lights through the trees!” Vanessa screamed from the front of the house, her voice rising to a panicked shriek. “They’re here! The cops are here!”
“Get the car started!” Daniel yelled back, wiping the blood from his cheek and looking down at his hand in disbelief. He looked back at me, his eyes burning with a demonic hatred. “You think you won, Rachel? Look at your boy. He’s gone. And you’re about to join him.”
He didn’t look for the phone anymore. Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, silver object.
A lighter.
My breath hitched.
“If the poison doesn’t finish the job, the smoke will,” Daniel whispered. “A tragic house fire. Destroys all the evidence. It’s perfect.”
