Cruel Obsession Read online

  “Hey, buddy,” he slurs as I walk up to the table. As soon as I take a seat, a waitress wearing a low-cut tank top appears by my side.

  “Hey, handsome, what can I get you?” she asks in a sultry tone, utterly unaware of how futile her efforts of flirting are with me.

  “Beer, whatever you have on tap,” I say gruffly without looking at her. She must have gotten the hint because she scurries away without another word.

  For the next half an hour, I engage in friendly small talk with Billy, only sneaking in innocent questions here and there. I haven’t decided if I’m going to kill him yet. It all depends on how much he knows.

  “I have to say, I’m surprised you called. You never just hang out, relax, or let loose, ya know?” he says with a laugh, waving his glass around, spilling half of his beer on the table.

  “What can I say? I’m turning over a new leaf. Trying to be more outgoing.” The lie rolls easily off my tongue. “Especially with all these jobs, Christian has lined up for me. First, he gets into it with the Castros and now with Xander Rossi. He needs to pick his battles better; he can’t fight everybody at once.”

  “Yeah, not sure what he was thinking, stealing those guns from Rossi. He should know better than to steal from him. This isn’t the first time either... he’s going to get himself killed.”

  I nod my head as if I already knew about the guns. Knowing this might come in handy later, but for right now, all I care to find out is what he knows about Dove.

  “Yeah, not sure what he was thinking. I think he is in over his head. He has me killing all these people, and I’m still trying to figure out how I’m going to get to this chick he wants. You know, the one working at the animal shelter.”

  “Oh, yeah, Dove,” he says, and I want to smash his face against the table just for saying her name. No one should say her name, least of all him. Licking his chapped lips, I can only imagine what he’s thinking about her, “Shouldn’t be too hard. She’s completely unprotected.” He shrugs, taking another sip of his beer before burping obnoxiously loud.

  What a fucking pig.

  Ignoring the impulse to slug him in the face, I say, “I wonder why the hell he would want her anyway? She seems to be a nobody.”

  Billy snorts. “If you only knew the half of it.”

  His comment has me gripping onto my glass a little tighter. Doing my best to keep my face void of all emotion, I act like I’m not interested in the subject anymore and change it.

  “Anyway, I could really go for some pussy right now. Wanna head over to Venus? Hookers are on me tonight.” I grin at him. While internally thinking about all the ways I’m about to torture him.

  “Fuck yeah!” He slams the glass on the table with much more enthusiasm than necessary before getting up. Staggering over to the bar, he closes out his tab. I pay for my beer, and we both head outside.

  Sucking in a lungful of fresh, crisp air, I lead Billy to my car. The idiot whistles as he gets into my SUV, completely oblivious to the fact that I’m about to torture and kill his ass.

  Pulling out of the parking lot, I head toward the strip club. Billy’s eyes are cast down as he plays on his phone, not noticing when I make a turn, going off route. Only when I’ve come to a complete stop and parked at an abandoned train station does he realize something is off.

  “Where the hell are we?” He looks up and around confused. When I don’t say anything, he reaches for his gun. Even without him being drunk and slow, I would have seen that move coming. It’s just funny that he thinks he’ll actually be able to shoot me in the condition he’s in. I grab the gun from his hand with ease before he even gets the chance to point it in my direction.

  “Get out,” I order, pointing his own gun at him. He swallows hard and gets out slowly. As soon as I open my door, he takes off running across the parking lot. Idiot.

  Sighing, I get out and raise the gun and pull the trigger. The bullet hits him in the leg, and he goes down with a pained groan.

  “You’re a fucking idiot, you know that, right?” I yell as I walk over to where he’s lying. He tries to crawl away from me, but there’s no hope for him now. I’ve drawn blood now, and I’ll be the one to snuff him out.

  Rearing my foot back, I kick him in the ribs, he rolls over onto his back, and I point the gun at his other leg.

  “Tell me everything you know about the girl! Why does Christian want her dead?”

  “You know I can’t—” I cut him off by pulling the trigger. The shot rings out through the air, and another bullet rips through the flesh of his leg.

  “Fucking fuck!” He’s squirming around on the ground in agony, trying to get away. “I don’t know why he wants her!”

  I’m past playing games, now I just want the truth, want the information, so I can keep Dove safe. “Don’t fucking lie to me. You already told me in the bar that you know something. Tell me and die quickly. Or I can torture you for hours. That’s up to you. I’ve got all fucking night.”

  “Jesus, fuck. You can’t kill me. Christian needs me, and he’ll have your balls for this. I’m more useful to you alive.”

  “Do I look like someone who gives a fuck? At this point, you’re more useful to me dead.” I pull the trigger a third time. The bullet hitting him directly in his kneecap. A high-pitched scream rips from his throat, and for the next few seconds, all he does is scream. It’s annoying, and I’m half tempted to shoot him in the head to make him shut up, but that wouldn’t get me the information that I need.

  When he is somewhat calmed down, probably because he is starting to lose a lot of blood, I ask him again, “Why does he want her dead?”

  “All I know… is that…” He’s fighting now to get each word out. The pain makes it hard to talk, but I don’t give a shit.

  “Talk!” I snarl like a dog ready to bite.

  “He’s been… looking for her… for a while,” he groans. “For a long time.”

  “How long?”

  “Years. Ten, maybe more.”

  “He has been looking for Dove for over ten years?” I have to confirm that I heard him correctly.

  “Yes…”

  “Why?”

  “I-I don’t know.” He shakes his head, and I believe him. Christian’s not a damn chatty man by any means, and whatever secrets he has, he keeps them close to his chest. Aiming the gun at Billy’s head, I fire one last bullet, hitting him right between the eyes.

  Staring down at his lifeless body for a few seconds, I try to decide if it’s worth moving him. Deciding it’s not, all I do is grab his wallet from his jacket and walk back to my car. I’ll let the cops find him and figure something out on their own.

  On the drive home, I roll down my window and throw his wallet into the river as I cross the bridge. My mind is a fucking mess as I try and connect all the dots.

  Why the hell has Christian been looking for her, and why for so long? I thought Billy would be able to give me answers, but instead, he gave me more questions.

  I might not have a lot of answers, but I do know one thing. I need to get Dove away from here. She’s not safe anymore. Not in her own home, not at work, and definitely not anywhere in this town.

  7

  You know that feeling that tells you not to do something? When your gut tightens, and your palms grow sweaty. When it feels like something bad is seconds away from taking place? That’s how I feel right now. Like I shouldn’t be coming home, like something terrible is going to happen. I force myself to take a calming breath and unlock the door.

  It’s all in your head, Dove. I mean, seriously, this is my house. My home. I have no reason to be scared. Shoving the door open, I take a hesitant step inside. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and goosebumps break out across my flesh.

  Slowly, I close the door behind me and reach for the light switch right beside the door. It doesn’t turn on, and I reach for it again, flipping the switch off and on. The light bulb must’ve gone out.

  Feeling through the darkness, I find my wa
y to the lamp on the side table. I flip it on, and a second later, the room is bathed in a soft glow. Flicking my gaze around the room, I realize something is terribly off. Max. He’s not here, and he always greets me at the door. Always…

  “What the…” The words are cut off when a mammoth hand comes out of nowhere, cutting me off. A scream rips from my throat, but the sound is muffled beneath the hand that’s pressed firmly against my lips. Pulled back against a firm chest, a thick arm of muscle wraps around my middle, restraining me completely. All I feel is a hard body against my back as I’m practically carried away from the door.

  Panic like I’ve never felt before rises up inside of me, and instantly I start to struggle, my fight or flight instincts kicking in. Those instincts do me no good when the man holding onto me is so much bigger and stronger than I am. Fighting is a waste of strength and effort, two things I’m already lacking. Tears prick my eyes and hot breath fans against my ear.

  I wasn’t wrong. Someone was watching me, and now he’s got me. Now he’s going to hurt me. Rape me and kill me. He’s going to get what he wanted all along.

  Kicking out my legs, the heel of my foot lands against my assailant’s shin, and a grunt fills my ears. The kick isn’t enough for him to release me though, so I continue fighting. I won’t be a helpless victim again. I won’t let him hurt me without a fight.

  A million scenarios run through my head. Opening my mouth, I feel his flesh against my lips, and it hits me then what I need to do. What I should’ve done all along.

  Biting into the meaty flesh of his palm, I sink my teeth deep like a dog and don’t let go, not until he forcefully pulls his hand away.

  “Fuck,” he growls. The timbre of his voice is deep and frightening, and fear blankets my insides. I do my best to tamp that fear down, but it reminds me of a time when I was helpless and had no one. Putting everything I can into getting away, I let out a horrid scream, knowing this is probably my one and only chance of having someone hear me.

  Instantly, his hold disappears and shock courses through me as I twist around coming face to face with my attacker. Is this a game to him? I don’t understand why he let me go, maybe to leave me feeling hopeful?

  Flattening myself against the wall, I look at him. He’s tall and handsome, and for one single second, I’m stunned like a deer seconds away from death. Standing there, I stare at the man who has been following me.

  The same man who was sitting in Sharon’s waiting room with me hours ago.

  He lifts his hands, and I flinch. “I’m not going to hurt you. I would never hurt you,” he says. His words don’t match his actions though, and when I look into his eyes, I see emptiness. I see someone without a conscious, without the ability to feel. It chills me to the bone. I feel like prey caught in a trap, and here right in front of me is a predator.

  Taking a step to the side, I slide along the wall. My gaze flicks to the door and then back to him. If I want to get out of here alive, I’m going to have to be fast. He’s definitely stronger than me, but I might be faster, especially if I can catch him off guard. I don’t care if he says he’s not going to hurt me. I need to get out. Get away from him.

  All I can hear is my heartbeat hammering in my ears. A rush of fear ripples through me as he takes a step forward, partially blocking the front door. My throat closes, and it feels like an elephant is sitting on my chest.

  Run. Escape. I internally scream at myself, but it feels like my feet have blocks of concrete attached to them. Snapping out of it, I turn on my heels and rush toward the kitchen. If I can just get a knife or something to fight him off. I toss anything and everything in my path at him, but nothing deters him, and I don’t make it far before he catches me. His hand wraps around my wrist, and he tugs me backward, causing my body to collide with his chest. The air is forced from my lungs with the impact.

  His strength is a reminder that I am nothing more than a fly in the fight against him. Wrapping both arms around me, almost as if he’s giving me a bear hug, he picks me up and presses me to the nearest wall.

  “Please, don’t, please…” I start to beg.

  “Shhh,” he murmurs softly. The man’s face is millimeters away from mine, and I can feel his harsh heartbeat through the thin material of his shirt, the clean scent of soap invading my senses.

  He releases his hold on me, but I’m still trapped between him and the wall with nowhere to go. No escape. Fear wraps around my throat like a shackle. Lifting a hand to my trembling face, he cups my cheek and gently swipes away the tears. I wasn’t even aware they’d started falling from my eyes.

  “I would never ever hurt you. You are way too important to me, Dove. You have to trust me, I promise everything is going to be okay.” He tries to soothe me, but not a single part of me believes him. My mind is racing, and I have a thousand questions. Why else would he break into my house and attack me if he wasn’t going to hurt me? How does he know my name? And most importantly, why am I important to him? He must have the wrong person. This is all a big misunderstanding.

  I’m shaking now, consumed with fear, and my vision is blurry with tears.

  “Stop,” he orders, slamming a fist into the wall beside my head. His voice is harsh and only makes me cry harder. He seems to grow frustrated by my failure to listen and releases a hard sigh a moment later. “I didn’t want to have to do this to you… but you’ve left me no choice.”

  He takes a step closer, and we’re so close now that we are chest to chest. Our faces are only inches apart. My eyes are in line with his full lips, and that’s when I realize just how much taller he is. Out of the corner of my eye, I see him reaching for something, and I know this has to be it. The end is near, after all I’ve been through in my life, this is how it’s going to end.

  “I’m sorry,” I whimper, and even in the face of death, I’m unable to stop the tears from coming. I want to fight, but it’s as if there isn’t anything left in me.

  I’m barely hanging on, barely breathing, barely here. I flinch when he leans into me and buries his face into my hair. The action is so intimate, and when I hear him inhale sharply like he’s smelling me, a shiver skids down my spine.

  “No, it’s me who is sorry, Dove,” he whispers against my ear a moment before I feel a pricking sensation against my neck and something cold entering my skin.

  “Don’t…please...” I try and get the words I want to say out, but my thoughts become hazy. Muddled. Up and down become the same.

  Leaning away from me, his face once again comes into view, his full lips a breath away from my own. Strangely, I find he’s beautiful as he peers down at me. Beautiful and frightening, all at the same time.

  “Shhh, everything is going to be okay now. You’ll always be safe in my arms.” He threads his fingers through my hair and brings our foreheads together. He holds my head in place, forcing me to stare into his dark, cold eyes.

  I’m fading fast and find that most of my body sags against his now. My heartbeat slows, and my lips part, and I want to ask him how I’m going to be safe with him? The words never come though; my tongue is too heavy to talk.

  “It’s okay, don’t be afraid…” His voice is the last thing I hear, and his haunting eyes the last thing I see as the world fades to complete darkness.

  8

  Part of me knows what I did to her is wrong and fucked up. But I couldn’t help myself. What other choice did I have anyway? If I don’t disappear with her, Christian will find her and have someone else kill her.

  Having her in my arms, even with fear in her eyes was everything I thought it would be and more. Her soft body molded against mine perfectly, her sweet scent surrounded me, and feeling the rapid beat of her heart against mine was the best kind of high.

  When she started crying, I snapped, her tears are a trigger to me. I hate seeing her cry, but even with her tears, I can’t seem to shut off my body’s reaction to her. My cock grew harder than steel, and I had to stop myself from taking from her, reminding myself that she is fragi
le and that if I did something, I might regret it. No, I would definitely regret it.

  The drive to the safe house seems to take forever, and I find myself glancing between Dove’s sleeping body and the road over and over again.

  With every mile, we leave the city further and further behind. I stop once to switch cars. Luckily, I had parked the getaway car in a parking garage, so no one saw me as I dragged Dove’s unconscious body from one vehicle to the other.

  Soon enough, I’m pulling into the driveway of what looks like an ordinary farmhouse. The white picket fence has seen better days, and the siding on the house needs to be power washed. The paint on the porch is chipped, and the windows look like they haven’t been cleaned in years. It looks like no one has lived here in some time, but it’s not about what you see on the outside but what lurks inside.

  When I bought this place, it wasn’t because of the farmhouse, but because of what was underneath it. The house was built on top of an old 1960’s bunker. The house itself was nothing more than a cover-up. I gutted the entire place, made it bigger, and homey, knowing that someday I may have to bring Dove here. I wanted her to be happy here, on the off chance that we ever got to a place where we could be together.

  Parking, I turn the car off and sit there for a long second. Normally, I can shut off my emotions and let go completely. This is different. In order to protect Dove and ensure I don’t hurt her, I can’t shut down. I have to keep myself in check.

  That means I have to learn to deal with the feelings I’m having right now. Which is hard as fuck because all I want to do is strip her bare and take until there’s nothing left. All my sick and twisted dreams have come true, but only at the expense of Dove’s life.

  Remember that, asshole.

  I may have finally gotten her, but I’ll die before I let anyone hurt her. Things have just gotten ten times more complicated. Not only will I have to protect her from Christian, but I’ll have to protect her from myself.