“You’re obviously lying.” He was upset and pulled her hair.

Eva groaned.  It was none of his business who the father of her baby was. Eva looked at Trixie, the now dead hooker, her body growing colder by the second. Hopefully he would leave soon to dispose of her body.

“Tell me the truth.”

“Why should I?” Eva asked.

“What? Are you afraid to admit that you’re carrying the Demon King’s baby? What would that make him? The Demon Prince?”

Eva cringed at his remark. He was right. Eva was carrying the Demon King’s child. She hadn’t known it until her abductor had asked her if she was pregnant. Even before he took her hostage, she hadn’t had her period. It all made sense now. Her appetite was off, no period, and constant mood swings. She had even cried at a spaghetti commercial.

Almost three months ago, Eva had slept with and sort of dated a man named David Wilson. She knew him as a friend, a cop, a confidant, and a really sexy guy. She would eventually find out the truth. That he was a total sociopath that had been murdering women to frame his biological brother Tom, whom he was jealous of and hated. David and Tom’s father was Vincent McDaniels. Vincent used to be a famous author but had stopped writing after Tom killed his younger sister when they were children. He had recently gotten back into the writing spotlight after writing a book entitled, Raising the Demon King. Vincent McDaniels was an odd man. He suffered from blackouts and was known to check himself into the local residential treatment center to keep himself sober. In the past, he was a horrible drug user and adulterer. Apparently, the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree when it came to Vincent McDaniels and his errant children.

Eva thought of David Wilson, her former lover. If she separated him from being the Demon King, then she didn’t feel bad about carrying his child.  When she remembered that David was a psychopathic serial killer, her heart began to race. Could she really carry the child of a man who killed women, skinned their faces off, and then stabbed them?

She didn’t have a choice. She looked at her abductor. She still didn’t understand his motive in kidnapping her. He had told her before that he hated her because she betrayed David. Eva wasn’t sure how she had betrayed him. Maybe one day he would tell her. He was obviously enamored with the Demon King.

“Are you a disciple?” Eva asked him.

"Am I a what?”

“Are you a disciple of the Demon King?” Eva thought he had to be. Why else would he go through so much trouble to kidnap her and then bring in prostitutes to kill in front of her?

A strange look came over him. “I’m not just any disciple Eva. I’m the Deadly Disciple. The strongest disciple. The disciple that’s going to get vengeance for the Demon King.”

“Why do you hate women?”

“Who said I hate women?” he was starting to sound defensive.

“You must hate women since you keep killing them.”

“These aren’t just regular women Eva. These are whores. I hate whores!” Eva smiled. She clearly hit a sore spot with him.

“You don’t like whores?” she asked.                                                                                                 

“Of course not! Why would I? Why would anyone? Whores are worthless!”

“I hope your mother doesn’t know you talk about women that way,” Eva said.

“What did you just say?” he asked in a low almost lethal tone.

Eva swallowed in nervousness. “Does your mother know that you talk about women that way?”

“My mother was the biggest whore of them all. Wait. I take that back. You’re probably the biggest whore of them all.” He clenched his fists and began pacing the floor.

Eva braced herself. She knew he was going to lose it soon. “So you do hate women.”

He suddenly stopped and let his head fall to one side as he stared at her. “I know what you’re doing Eva Lewis. You’re trying to get inside my head. It won’t work. Whatever it is you’re doing…it won’t work.” He quickly picked up Trixie’s body and began carrying it to a large black trash bag he had prepared for her body. “I’ll be back later,” he said and left.

Eva sighed and leaned against the wall she was chained to.         

She didn’t like her abductor but being with him was actually less scary than being alone with her thoughts.

Meanwhile                                                                                                                     

Joelynn walked past the small group of prostitutes that Trixie had pointed out to her earlier. To find her cousin, she may need to question some of them as well.

 Candy gave her an ugly look as she passed and shouted, “What are you looking at?”

Joelynn shook her head and walked faster to the corner shop. As she walked down the street, she noticed groups of men in khaki pants and white wife beater tops. They were in groups and as soon as she passed, they all began to stare. Their heads moved in her direction all at once.

In her mind, Joelynn was praying that an Angel was looking out for her.

She saw the light of the corner shop. It was named La Tiendita.

Joelynn walked in and a dinging bell from door indicated she had entered. Two men were manning the counter. One was a short Hispanic man and the other was a tall Caucasian fellow covered in swastika tattoos. Joelynn wondered how the two got along.

They didn’t greet her when she walked in but watched her with their eyes.

The man with the swastikas was chewing on a straw while the Hispanic man was playing on his phone.

Joelynn was too nervous to ask for cigarettes so she pretended to look at candy.

The man in swastikas left the counter and walked to the store’s door.

Joelynn walked to the counter and asked the man for a pack of Salems.

“You want Salems?” he asked.

“Yes, please.”

Joelynn didn’t think she was being funny but the Hispanic man laughed, “Yes, please.” He repeated as if mocking her.

“Are you a hooker?” he asked.

“What?” Joelynn was taken aback by the question. She forgot for a moment that she was dressed like a lady of the night.

The sound of a loud click startled Joelynn. She turned around to see that swastika man had locked the store’s door.

“How much you charge for two?” the Hispanic man asked. “You want these Salems?”

The hair on Joelynn’s neck began to stand up. Her fight or flight instincts were kicking in. “I’m sorry but I think I have to go now.” Joelynn turned around to leave but ran straight into swastika man.

“Where you off to baby?” he asked.

“My friends are waiting for me,” Joelynn said. “I really really have to go.”

“You ain’t got no friends. You hookers never look out for each other,” swastika man said.

Joelynn felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked around for a weapon but all that was next to her was a box of suckers. Joelynn shrugged off the hand on her shoulder and grabbed a lollipop. She shoved the stick part of the lollipop in the Hispanic man’s eye and ran to the door. Swastika man grabbed her from behind and threw her to the ground.

“You stupid bitch! I think she blinded me!” The Hispanic man yelled.

Joelynn began screaming for help.

Swastika man just laughed. “That’s right baby. Keep screaming. I like it that way.”

Joelynn prayed for a miracle as the sound of her dress being ripped was only drowned out by her blood curdling screams.