✔Paint Me a Murder | Book 1

Chapter 37: Death's Embrace

Purple pigtails peeked out from behind the boxes. Samantha stepped forward, revealing her blood-stained apron and the sharp knife in her hand. A bandage covered her hollow socket, so only one green eye pierced through Kazimir.

"What do you want, you one-eyed bitch?" Emmett spat.

"Now, is that any way to greet an old friend, Emmett?" she asked. "Tsk. You never were one to show your manners around the ladies. Your little plan has failed. Did you honestly expect something this stupid to work?"

"I should've killed you that night in the tunnel," Emmett rasped.

"Too bad you didn't." She taunted him.

"You're crazy," Kazimir told Samantha, standing between her and Emmett. "You're doing all this to get justice for Luca, but you've already fallen down the same path as him. You're not an addict. You're worse. You kill for the Black Vipers. You've already let them steal your life away."

"Shut up. You're wrong. This is my revenge. This is me putting a stop to this shit once and for all. I'll kill every single one of your gang members, including you, Kazimir. Anyone who tries to stop me will die too." Samantha directed her knife at Kazimir's head. "Your little boyfriend's already at death's doorstep. You can die with him. Live in hell together."

Kazimir took a few steps back. He almost bumped back into Emmett. The artist was scared out of his mind. He knew she wasn't messing around. She wouldn't hesitate to kill them both.

"Emmett didn't kill Luca," Kazimir said. "You're after the wrong man."

"Oh, don't give me that bullshit." Samantha scoffed.

Samantha caught onto Kazimir's movements and wrenched his arm. She bent it at an odd angle, forcing him to cry out until she released him. Kazimir almost stumbled back into the sealed boxes full of drugs.

"Dammit, you little shit. Don't try any funny business."

Kazimir hadn't wanted to fight, but she left him no choice. He sprung toward her and pulled her down to the ground. They wrestled for the knife and he tried to knock it out of her grasp, to no avail.

They went back and forth. The knife switched between Kazimir and Samantha's possession. She punched and kicked at the artist. He did the same to her. Kazimir's eye swelled from her sharp blow. It hurt so bad. He struggled to see clearly from it as blood dribbled from his nostril.

Kazimir couldn't get a good grasp on the weapon again. She wouldn't let go of it. The purple-haired demon used the knife and slit his hand when he tried to steal it. He hissed against the pain as blood dribbled to the floor. He retaliated by punching her in the mouth. That made her knife fly across the floor by some of the boxes.

Once Kazimir had her on the ground, he seized her wrists and pinned them up above her head. Samantha writhed beneath him like a snake in a trap. Kazimir couldn't hear what she yelled at him over the thunderous pounding in his heart. Probably nothing nice.

Samantha was no fool. She freed herself by kneeing Kazimir in the lower stomach. He realized she missed her intended target. Thank goodness for that. Before Kazimir could fight back, she tackled him like a football player and lunged for his throat.

The knife was within Kazimir's reach. He didn't think Samantha noticed when his hand curled around the handle of the weapon. He hesitated when he brought it to her neck. He had no choice. She would've strangled him to death. The sharp knife punctured her flesh. Blood dribbled out all over Kazimir as she gaped, stumbling back into the boxes as she clutched her bleeding neck.

Kazimir crouched down, hovering over her. Desperation shone in her one good eye before the artist brought the knife back to her neck and leaned down beside her. Blood dripped onto the sharp point. Lowering his voice, he said, "Alfie killed him."