The Diabolical Conspiracy Read Online Free PDF Page B

to hear. Of course he did. What else could he have done? The only other option, apparently, was immediate execution and he wasn’t ready for that just yet. He had no desire to cause the death of another person, but merely saying he would do the deed didn’t make him a bad guy or a murderer. Not yet. What it would do was maybe buy him a little time. Time he could use to possibly brainstorm an alternate way out of this mess.
    It was a great idea in theory, but what Marnie did after he told her he would kill for her was so pleasurably distracting it made thinking about anything other than what she was doing impossible. She congratulated him on the wise decision and slithered down his torso to his crotch, where she opened his jeans and proceeded to do things with her mouth that made stars explode in his head. Hell, not just stars, but whole constellations. By the time he came, he felt like maybe he really could kill someone for her, which was probably the point. It was just more manipulation, but this time he really didn’t give a damn. His head was swimming and it was impossible to think straight. Beaten mercilessly and later blown expertly by the same woman in the same night. It was goddamn surreal.
    She worked fast after that, freeing him from his bonds and hustling him out of the guest bedroom and down a hallway toward the door to the garage. He got a glimpse of the living room through an archway as they hurried down the hallway. The living room looked so normal, so deceptively middle class, with the usual array of nice but not terribly expensive furniture. There was nothing about it that screamed, Beware! Satanists live here! Adjacent to the living room was a small foyer. The front door was there. From his vantage point, the living room appeared empty, which made him think the rest of them were back in the garage. Marnie was gripping him lightly by an elbow. As he glimpsed the empty living room, an impulse to dash through that archway and make a run for it flashed through his mind. But Marnie must have sensed this because she tightened her grip on his arm in the same instant. He still might have jerked his arm free and tried for a getaway, but resurgent fear coupled with a case of paralyzing indecisiveness settled the matter. So he relaxed and let her guide him to the door at the end of the hallway and out to the garage.
    The metal folding chairs were still arranged in a loose circle, but at the moment they were mostly empty. Nadia was the only one sitting, and she had her nose in a large, leather-bound book as he and Marnie reentered the garage. She didn’t look up or otherwise acknowledge them as they returned. The other Satanists were standing near a table at the rear of the garage. The table was against the back wall. Upon it rested an assortment of refreshments, including bags of various kinds of potato chips, bowls of dip, and plates filled with cookies, doughnuts, and cake. Beneath the table were two large coolers containing cans of soft drinks and bottles of beer. Mike was amused by how quaintly mundane the scene appeared. It was like they were attending a PTA or neighborhood association meeting rather than a congregation of Satanists. Few of them would fit anyone’s idea of how members of a cult dedicated to furthering the cause of evil would look. Nadia did sort of fit the bill, with her black attire and almost ghostly pallor. She also looked like she would be right at home amongst a coven of witches or whatever you called a bunch of vampires who got together and talked shop.
    The sight of the glistening bottles of beer floating in ice made Mike’s mouth water and he considered helping himself to one, but Marnie had other plans. She steered him toward the circle of chairs and told him to have a seat.
    “ Could I please have a beer?”
    She touched the side of his head and ruffled his hair in a gesture that felt genuinely affectionate. Strange for someone who had made it clear she wouldn’t hesitate to hurt