Awe…thanks babe. LadyMaeve
You're beautiful in anything you wear. Richard1234
Except my sweats. LadyMaeve
Especially in your sweats. Richard1234
When you coming over again? LadyMaeve
The texts taunted the dark-haired male lounging in a black desk chair. His orderly cubicle and clear desk top allowed only the mousepad, mouse, and keyboard to clutter the space.
"Damn, that's stone cold." His coworker, an overweight and unhappily married man of twenty years, hovered over his shoulders. "What are you going to do?"
The messages rapidly posted in real time. It wasn't that long ago that they exchanged similar texts and messages. He'd wait on pins and needles to read the next line, to pick up the phone call and hear her sweet voice. Now? He wanted to strangle her.
Kessler's love for his beautiful wife withered. How dare she cheat? On him of all people!
"I'm going to kill her." He announced flatly.
"Wait a few days."
"I don't intend to break the law, Don."
Donald sipped hot coffee and continued to observe the stream of textual flirting. "How?"
He swiveled away from the evidence. "Haven't decided."
"What are you capable of?"
Taking it as a challenge, Kessler Dallager fondly remembered each kill. Pride swelled in his chest and the murder flag waved over his head. "Last year…I drowned a couple of homeless urchins. Finding a homeless person that's still alive or unprotected is harder than people think. Year before, decapitated the kid who crashed into my mustang. He was hiding in his parent's basement. Shot the father in the chest with a shotgun. Left the mother alive out of spite. Year before that…I forced my ex to look me in the eye and apologize after beating her around a few hours. Then I shot her between the eyes."
Donald Winslow whistled. "Quite the record."
"What's your record?"
"Shot the ex-wife and her new husband last year. No more alimony payments. They died at the hospital waiting for care. The year before that I was bedridden. I didn't purge the first year. Wasn't in the right…mental space."
Facing the monitor again, Kessler nodded. "The first kill is usually the hardest. After that, knife through butter."
"I'm trying to eat over here. You mind?" Alex complained a cubicle over.
"Grow a pair." Kessler shouted over the divider. He crossed his arms and huffed. "Kids these days."
"Not everyone purges, asshole."
"Maybe I'll purge you this year, Alexander."
A blond-haired middle-aged man poked over the top of the divider. "I hope she shoots you first."
Kessler grinned. "Whoever said she'd be awake?"
Donald swallowed hard and clutched his shaking chest. "Women these days. No sense of loyalty. You need rope?"
The plan formulated piece by inspired piece. "Possibly." He stared at his phone and willed it to ring. Alexander sat back down, the clacking of the keyboard and crinkling of a wrapper breaking the silence. "I'll slip something in her wine. She's 130 soaking wet, not too heavy for me to carry around and tie up."
"You keep a supply? She lets you?" Donald whistled again. "Your wife is trusting. Mine won't let me keep the weapons anywhere but the basement."
"The first two years…it was perfect. I don't know what went wrong." He shook his head in disappointment and clicked out of the tab displaying the painful infidelity.
A plump hand gripped Kessler's shoulder. "Don't let this get you down, Kess. You're better than her. Besides, four more days and she won't be a problem anymore." He assured the overly calm Kessler Dallager.
The seeds of the plan planted, and he turned to his stack of paperwork deadlined for tomorrow.
Four Days Later
"Dinner's done." Carla called from the kitchen of their two-bedroom, two story colonial home situated in the middle of town.
In the living room, Kessler checked the golden sundial shaped clock hanging on the wall above the flat screen television. 5:23 pm. Right on schedule. "I'll be there in a minute." He replied sweetly.
Across the room a handgun stashed under the television stand. A knife tucked under the couch within easy reach. In the hallway, a pocketknife rested in a coat pocket. A clunky quartz paperweight on the key stand by the door and coat rack could act as a weapon on the fly.
He listened for sirens, satisfied upon hearing nothing. No police officer would answer a call within two hours of the start the purge. EMS might transport people to the hospital, but the hospital started its lockdown procedures an hour early every year. Perfect. Just thee way he wanted it. No one to play hero or interrupt.
He could kill his wife now and no one would know.
Where was the thrill?
No. He'd wait until 6:50.
"Smells good." He said lovingly and slipped behind her. "You shouldn't have."
She laughed at him and kissed his cheek. "You have plans tonight?"
"I might. Waiting on the call from a buddy." He lied and nuzzled her neck. She smelled of the perfume he bought her for her birthday. A divine, little lie he wanted to strangle here and now. The temptation twitched his dick. "You staying in as usual?"
She shrugged. "I see no reason to change the tradition."
"What are you binging this year?" He moved around her and set out the pale blue square plates.
"Hmm. Romance. Cheesy plots." She plated up the steaks and potatoes. "You have all the weapons you need?"
He nodded.
"And the medical supplies?"
"The first supplies I bought." He assured her. If only she hadn't cheated on him. They were perfect for each other. "I love you."
"And I you." She shoved his plate toward him. "Now eat."
Accepting the last meal from his wife, Kessler made himself comfortable in the living room. His eyes followed her from the kitchen to the living room admiring her curves one last time. He didn't want to kill her, but he had to.
Cheaters deserved to die. All of them.
"How is my sister?" He asked.
She ate slowly, choosing to speak between bites of creamy potatoes. "Alive. Well. Busy."
"You text her a lot."
"She's a friend."
"I'm happy you can agree on the important things." He let it drop and stabbed at his own steak, cutting the meat into small bite sizes leisurely. "Doesn't she get under your skin?"
She swallowed hard and thumped her chest with her fist. Inhaling sharply, she gulped down the glass of water before speaking. "Once you're past the abrasiveness she's alright."
He considered her and dismissed it as trivial. "You went out to the movies last Friday, right? You planning a surprise party for me?" He joked.
She cocked a brow. "No. I just like her as a person. She's interesting."
He propped his feet up on the footstool. "No one likes my sister."
"Well, not a lot of people understand what I see in you either." She stared him down. "But I tell them behind your stiff exterior you're a teddy bear."
He shook with unexpressed mirth. "Kida is not a teddy bear."
"Well, I like Kida." She glanced at the clock. "What time are your friends calling?"
"Soon."
"Getting late." She said needlessly and watched the murder mystery tv series play out predictably on prime time tv. "Maybe you should call them."
His jaw worked. "I'll pour you a glass of wine to go with your movies."
"Many thanks, my handsome hunk of a hubby." She winked.
His chest constricted. Maybe he should bed her first before trying to kill her. No. He wanted to toy with her fears before destroying her completely and dumping her lifeless body on the streets around 6:40 am.
One pill later in the bubbly, he waited until it fully dissolved and delivered the glass to her. She thanked him and lost herself in the stack of movies. The chick flicks included all his least favorite movies to suffer through. After tonight he'd donate all of them to the neighbor's teen daughter who was boy crazy.
Standing anxiously over her, he waited.
"What's wrong?" She asked him. "They not helping you out tonight?"
"I should call them. It is skirting the line." He glanced at the clock. 5:59.
She motioned him off and tossed aside her favorite go-to. Remembering her stash in the basement, she carried the glass with her.
An entire shelf dedicated to his purge addiction claimed the awkward corner near the steps. She gravitated toward another shelf cluttered with tools and bulk items they couldn't fit upstairs. Tripping on the uneven cement, she cursed her luck as the wine splashed to the floor. Deciding not to waste the last of it, she downed the meager sip and placed the glass on the shelf at waist level.
Feeling a little weird, she clutched her forehead. "You feeling alright, darling?"
She started and turned on her heel. "You scared me."
"Sorry." He pointed to the shelf to her left. "I moved your movies yesterday to make room."
Seeing the stack partially hidden, she scooped them up and walked toward him. "I'll come back for the glass." She said to no one and moved past him. He followed, smug and eager to have the unconscious female in his grip.
His hands rested on her hips. "They said they'd be here later than usual, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun." He whispered in her ear.
She hmmed and leaned into his touch. "Oh baby…make me purr."
He helped her up the last step. "Put away your movies and I will."
She carried the stack of twenty DVDs to the living room and swayed. That was strange. Strong arms wrapped around her waist and spun her into a pressing kiss. He pulled her out of the living room and up the carpeted steps. They tumbled into their master bedroom a mess of limbs and sloppy kisses.
"Sweetheart?" He whispered in her ear. "Mind if I use the blindfold and cuffs?"
She giggled. "Yesss please."
His blood sang.
He rummaged around the sock drawer before emerging with a black silk blindfold and a pair off handcuffs. Slipping the key around his neck, he eased the elastic over her head and straightened out the blindfold. "Better?"
"Hmm."
He lifted her onto the bed and backed her toward the metal bars on the headboard. A moment later, he stood back to admire his handiwork. His wife handcuffed to the bars with her arms spread outward couldn't see him. He loved this – all of it. "I'll be back in a few minutes." He said, licking his lips and slipping off toward the basement.
His phone rang on the way down the steps. "Don!"
"She restrained?"
"Yes, I'm ready to purge with you tonight. Just give me a moment to get my gear together." He said loudly.
"Perfect. You need help?"
Kessler's pride roared and flexed for nonexistent crowds. "I got it. I'll bring the rope."
Donald chuckled. "Give me a call when it's done?"
"Absolutely. Just give me a few. I have a stiffy to resolve." He hung up and rolled his neck.
"Kess!"
He cocked his head. Did the Rohypnol not work? Was his research wrong? Making his way back upstairs, he stopped and turned around. The doorknob of the front door turned. "A moment!" Advancing toward the door, he grabbed the quartz paperweight and jerked the door open. "Kida?"
His sister retracted a house key copy. "Nice to see you too, little bro."
"What are you doing here?"
"Watching movies with your wife. She invited me." She grinned at him and elbowed her way into the house.
Glancing up and down the street, he spotted a group of young men clustering together on the corner and eyeing up a house on the corner. Shutting the door quickly, his jaw set. "We were about to have sex."
"I can wait." She replied and made herself at home in the living room. "I have headphones."
Damn it.
"She's probably going to fall asleep soon."
"Have you seen her collection?" Kida kicked off her boots and picked through the sorted stacks. "No, no, and no. Absolutely horrid picks. What was she thinking?"
Damn it, damn it, damn it.
His eyes raked through the room. "Do you mind?"
"Like I said, I have headphones. Noise cancelling." She held up a quality pair from her tote bag. "Go. Have fun. Just lock the door."
His lips pressed into a thin line and he physically wanted to slap her. Stomping up the steps, he barged into the master bedroom and found her at an awkward angle. He crawled onto the bed and straddled her waist. "Why is Kida here?" He demanded, pulling on her hair.
She inhaled. "Movie night gets lonely…"
He let go and kissed her neck. "She's going to have to wait."
"What?"
Deciding he could still kill her even with his sister in the house, he produced a ball gag from the underwear drawer. "Open wide." He demanded. Not giving her the option of refusal, he forced it past her teeth and cinched the straps into place as tight as possible.
His fingers curled into a fist and he flexed his hand.
She squirmed beneath him.
He backhanded her. "You backstabbing, cheating whore."
Her head spun and she tensed up before thrusting beneath him violently.
He pulled his hand back for another slap.
Kida sorted through the DVDs without a thought to what Carla wanted to watch this evening. They had twelve hours of lawlessness to escape from and she preferred to gaze upon the beautiful abs of Hollywood actors. "Damn, woman, you need a wider selection than this."
Ticking of the clock annoyed her and she rummaged around in the kitchen for a drink. Accidentally knocking over a jar of candies, she cursed and picked up the individual wrapped pieces. A white pill crumbled under her touch. Holding the chunk up to the light, her eyebrows scrunched together. What was her brother up to? Quickly sweeping it all back into the jar, she grabbed the dish rag and wiped down the counter.
Grabbing a steak knife from the wooden knife block, she curled it up in her hand, tucking the back of the blade against her forearm exposing the serrated edge outward.
"Hey bro?" She shouted up the steps.
No answer.
"Kessler! I'm going to pop in a movie now." She called up and slowly walked up the steps. Halfway up she hastened toward the closed bedroom door and tip toed forward. Heart racing, she pressed her ear to the door and listened. Faint thuds randomly interspersed. Pulling back, she tucked her hands behind her back and knocked with her left hand. Could she kill her brother? Was her brother trying to kill her sister-in-law? "Kess! I don't mean to interrupt, but I require Carla and you have a date with murder! Or I think you do."
The door creeped open a sliver to reveal her fully clothed brother. "I'm trying to have a quickie."
She bobbed her head toward him. "And I'm trying to enjoy a movie with my sister. Hurry up."
He shut the door and a new conundrum presented itself.
Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe he wasn't hurting Carla. Just because it was Purge night-
The door opened again, and she faced her brother. Spying a handcuffed disembodied hand against the headboard, she cleared her throat. "Kess, I know you purge. I know its an addiction. Are you trying to kill Carla?"
"Why would I kill my wife?"
"I don't know. Why aren't you following your usual habits?"
"What do you know about my usual habits?" He argued, blocking the rest of the view.
She breathed deeply. "Kessler Adam Dallager."
"Kida Taylor Dallager."
This didn't feel right. None of it. Not him. Not the handcuffs. Not the pill. "Let me guess. You're a drug addict hiding your addiction from Carla. If you're addicted, you can afford rehab. You know I'll keep the men away from her." She pleaded with him, sincerely hoping he wasn't trying to kill Carla.
She genuinely liked the woman.
They moved at the same time. She thrust her foot between door and frame and cried out. Pushing the rest of her body in the empty space, she ducked out of the way of a sex whip. Spotting a handcuffed, red faced Carla in the center of the queen-sized bed, her blood boiled.
"I don't want to do this to you, Kida. Stay out of it." He backed away from her, whip lax at his side. "She's earned this."
Her jaw worked back and forth. "You have no fucking idea how much she loves you. I would die for someone to love me like she loves you."
"This whore is flirting online!"
"Flirting is not cheating."
"She's my wife!" He edged toward the bed, but she blocked him casually unveiling the steak knife. "Stay out of this or I'll have to kill you too."
Dark laughter ripped from her throat.
"Step aside."
"You are a true-blue idiot."
"Kida!"
Her head tilted and she dropped the innocent act. "Let me guess. His name is Richard1234."
"You knew?!"
It was purge night…
"Someone had to keep her secrets." His knuckles turned white. "You were an idiot anyway. All you saw was her beauty. Forgot about the brain. The mind. People appreciate it. Worship it. Not you. All you care about is having your ego worshipped."
"Kida…." He growled.
She grinned. "What would Mom and Dad say about this?"
He lunged at her, the whip's reach grazing her forearm. She thrust forward with the steak knife and lodged it in his chest. "But- "
"You tried to kill Carla." She snarled and shoved him back. "Drop dead, asshole."
Stumbling back, he hit the dresser and slowly dropped to the ground in staggering motions. Kida turned to Carla. "Let me take out the trash, beautiful." Grabbing hold of her brother's legs, she dragged the limp Kessler out of the master bedroom to the bathroom. Leaning over her still breathing brother, she twisted the knife viciously.
An evil glint entered her eye. "I'm Richard1234, moron."
Lifting the blade one final time, she jerked it back down. Reclaiming the blade, she carried it with her to the bedroom and placed it on the dresser. Tenderly removing the blindfold and ball gag, she caressed the flaming cheeks. Carla flinched away. "Sorry." Carla mumbled.
Kida's lips crushed against hers.
Tongues wrestled, slipping and sliding erotically.
"My brother is an idiot, but I'm too turned on to remove the cuffs. May I?" She asked, sucking on Carla's earlobe.
A sharp inhale. "No whip."
"No whip." She agreed. "Do you mind if I cut away the offending layers?"
Carla closed her eyes and swallowed hard. "No."
"He's dead."
"Are you sure?" Her voice shook.
"Yes." Kida promised.
Widower Carla Dallager breathed and tugged at the cuffs. "What are you waiting for? I'm all yours." Without further hesitation, Kida indulged her lover's demands. It wasn't the first time they lost track of time exploring each other leisurely and tonight would be the first time they didn't have to worry about Kessler interrupting them.