Monster In The Shadows: A stand-alone dark romance, page 12
Sway grabs Marcus’s hand, lifting one finger up. Marcus tries to pull away, but the shackles hold. I open the bolt cutters, placing the cold metal against his finger, and stop for a second.
“Bye-bye, little piggy,” I say.
Sway gives me a funny look. “Piggies are toes.”
“Whatever.” I slam the bolt cutters together.
The crunching sound is music to my ears, and the finger drops to the ground with a satisfying thud. I smile as Marcus screams in agony. I fucking love this.
“You gonna talk now? I can do this all night,” I tell him, holding up the bolt cutters.
“I don’t know anything,” he says, his head swaying a little.
He’s either going to pass out soon or vomit. Leaning to the side, he empties his stomach, and I laugh.
“What? Can’t take a little pain, Marcus? We’re just getting started,” I taunt him.
Sway grabs his knife and gives me an evil grin.
“My turn,” he says as he spins the knife, watching the light gleam across it.
He drags the knife along Marcus’s face, coming to his ear.
“You really should have just told us the truth,” he says, starting to saw at Marcus’ ear.
Marcus screams at the top of his lungs, but by the time the ear is completely off, he’s passed out from the pain.
“Way to cut play time short.” I glare at him.
He shrugs. “He wasn’t talking tonight anyway.”
“Why is your knife so dull?”
“I figured it would be more fun that way. Clean cuts are so lame. You know the louder they scream, the more I like it.” He places Marcus’s ear in his lap and smiles at me. “Thought he’d like a present when he wakes up.”
We dress the wounds quickly so he doesn’t bleed out—not that him bleeding out is likely, but we don’t want to take chances. We haven’t gotten any information out of him, which means he can’t die yet.
“My feet are fucking killing me,” I whine to Leanne after giving her a glass of wine. “I love day shifts and I like only working three days a week, but I do not like the working for twelve hours.”
“I bet! But hey, you’re done. Now you don’t have to work anymore,” she points out. She’s always able to find the silver lining on any cloud.
“Yeah, but I still have to work at the library the rest of the week. Thankfully, I have Sundays off. That’s the real silver lining.”
She laughs. “So, how are things going with you and Donovan?”
“How are things going with you and Sway?” I throw back at her, taking a sip of my wine.
Donovan told me that our dinners together this week would be canceled, and I keep wondering why. He still drives me everywhere, but he’s been a little more guarded than usual. I wonder what happened Sunday night, because that feels like when everything changed.
I still play the kiss on Saturday over and over again in my head. Every time I think about it, I get a tingly feeling through my body, and my panties get damp. It was the hottest kiss of my life, and it only lasted a couple of minutes. I’ve gotten myself off to the memory of it a few times already.
“Things are great between Sway and me. We both know it’s just sex. No feelings involved. Just amazing, mind-blowing sex.”
I laugh. I wish I could relate.
“I want to have sex with Donovan,” I blurt out.
Leanne’s eyes go wide, but a grin spreads across her face.
“Really?” she asks excitedly.
I nod. “I don’t know why. I barely know him, but I just know it’s what I want. I’ve never had a feeling this strong before. I don’t know what it is about him, but I can’t stop thinking about it. Sometimes I just want to walk over to him naked and say, ‘Take me.’”
She laughs, which makes me laugh.
“In all seriousness, I was hoping we would have more time to talk, but I’ve barely seen him since Sunday. He’s been busy with work,” I sigh.
“Yeah, Sway has been busy too. He stopped over for a quickie last night, but that’s it.”
“I can’t believe Sunday was already three days ago. I mean, I’m glad I’m done with my shifts at the hospital, but I miss him. Is that weird?”
She laughs and shakes her head. “What you and Donovan have is nothing like what Sway and I have. You lurv Donovan. I just like Sway’s dick.”
“I do not,” I say defensively.
How can I love him? It’s far too soon for that.
Do I care for him? Yes. Am I attracted to him? Hell yes. Do I want him to make love to me? More than anything. But love? No, it can’t be that.
“You can lie to yourself, but I know you better than that.”
“Ready for face masks?” I ask, and she nods.
We go to my bathroom and are about to start applying the masks when I hear a window break.
“What was that?!” Leanne shrieks, and then my alarm system starts blaring.
“I don’t know, but it’s not good.” I lock the bathroom door and my phone starts ringing.
I grab it. Of course, it’s Donovan, not the alarm company.
“Why is your alarm system going off?” he asks when I answer.
“We just heard broken glass. I don’t know what’s happening. We’re locked in my bathroom,” I say as tears start to trickle down my cheeks.
In all of the crazy situations I’ve been in this year, I have barely cried. But tonight, for some reason, I can’t stop the tears. Maybe it’s having Leanne with me, or maybe it’s knowing people are out to get me.
“Sway and I are close. We’re on the way. Stay where you are,” he instructs.
“Please hurry. I don’t want to die,” I sob.
Leanne pulls me into her arms.
“It’s probably nothing, hon,” she tries to reassure me, but it isn’t working.
I cling to her like my life depends on it.
“I love you so much, Leanne,” I tell her, sobbing into her shoulder. “You’re the sister I never had. Without you, I wouldn’t have made it through Mama’s death.”
She rubs my back and shushes me. “We aren’t going to die, honey. It was probably just a kid throwing a ball or something. We can stay here until Donovan gets here if that will make you feel better, but I’m sure everything’s fine.”
She sounds so calm. How can she be, when this could be the last time we ever hug? I hold on tighter. I’m sure I’m crushing her, but she doesn’t complain. She just keeps rubbing my back and shushing me.
I don’t know how long we stay like that when a pounding comes on the bathroom door. I sob harder. This is the end. It has to be. Whoever broke my window found us.
“Paige, it’s me,” Donovan’s voice comes through the door.
I swing the door open at lightning speed, flinging myself into his arms.
“I was so scared,” I cry.
I know he probably hates this, but I need him to hold me right now. He grips me tightly for a few moments before stepping back slightly and cupping my cheeks in his hands. Turning my face up toward his, he presses a gentle kiss to my lips.
“You need to move in with me,” he says.
Normally, I would fight him for my independence. But after this, it’s clear to me that I’m not safe on my own anymore.
“Did you find something?” I ask him.
He nods. “It was a rock with a note attached.”
He looks at me, then at Leanne. Fuck. I kind of forgot she was still here.
“What did the note say?” she asks.
Donovan looks at me again, as if asking for permission to tell her.
I turn and face my best friend, ready to tell her some of the truth. “That date I went on almost a month ago now…well, he tried to kill me. Donovan was in the right place at the right time and shot him. He works as a bodyguard on the side and has a license to carry a concealed weapon. I didn’t want to scare you with the truth, so we came up with the grocery store story.”
“Oh, my God,” Leanne whispers, covering her mouth.
“I’m sorry. I should have told you the truth. I just didn’t know how to do it.”
She nods, clearly still in shock.
“What did the note say?” I ask, turning to face Donovan.
“It said, ‘Your death is next.’”
I feel my body go ice cold and my knees go weak.
Donovan catches me before I hit the ground. “I’m not going to let them get you, but the only way I can guarantee your safety is if you live with me. What if it hadn’t been a warning? I don’t think I would have been able to get here in time to save you.”
I cling to him and nod. I don’t have a choice anymore. I won’t have any independence at all if I’m dead.
“I’ll move in with you,” I whisper into his chest.
He holds me tight and kisses my head.
“I’m so sorry you had to be a part of this at all,” I tell Leanne, and she pulls me back into her arms.
“I’m your sister. You can tell me everything. This isn’t your fault. But I think it’s a good idea for you to move in with Donovan. He’s one of the good ones.”
If she knew the whole truth, she wouldn’t think that way. But I won’t burden her with that knowledge.
“Should we start packing now?” I ask.
Donovan nods. “I’ll call Kyle. He and Sway can help. Pack the essentials first. Everything else, we can pack up and put into storage. I don’t need your furniture.”
I nod my understanding, but I still feel a little weird about leaving my mama’s house.
The plan couldn’t have gone more perfectly. We scared the shit out of Leanne and Paige, and now I won’t have to worry about her anymore.
She will finally be completely mine.
I heard her talking about wanting to sleep with me, and that makes me so excited. I feel bad for claiming her heart because I know I can never reciprocate those feelings, but I am extremely excited to claim her body.
When I had her in my arms in the hot tub on Sunday, I wanted to fuck her so bad. Her tits filled out the red bathing suit perfectly and felt amazing in my hands. Her caramel skin radiated in the water and stopping was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life.
I’m thankful Sway had this idea, though. No one actually hurt or threatened her, but I got what I needed. I got her to agree to live in my house full-time.
“Is everything packed?” I ask Paige.
She nods sadly.
“What’s wrong?”
“I grew up here. This house has always been my home. My memories are all here, and now I’m just abandoning it.”
I pull her into my arms, and I see Sway smirk.
“It’s just a house,” I tell her. “You don’t have to sell it or anything. But for now, it would be best for you to be with me.”
She nods. “I know. It doesn’t make it hurt less to leave, though.”
“Come on. Let’s get going. It’s late, and you look exhausted.”
Sway walks Leanne to her car, and I see him give her a very sloppy, wet kiss.
“I’ll see you in five,” he tells her.
I shake my head. I don’t really care about Leanne, but I know if her heart gets broken, it will hurt Paige. And for some reason, I don’t ever want to see her hurting again.
“I can carry my own bags, you know,” Paige says before covering her yawn with her hand. “Sorry.”
Her cheeks turn bright pink. She gets embarrassed so easily, and it always makes me smile.
“I know you can, but I don’t want you to,” I say.
She follows me to her room, and I place the two bags she wanted for tonight in her room. I go to leave, but she grabs my arm.
“Stay with me, please,” she asks, her eyes wet with tears again.
I don’t cuddle. I don’t stay the night unless I pass out from crazy sex. That’s just not the kind of man I am. But how can I tell her no? Especially when I’m the reason she’s scared?
I nod, but don’t say anything. I don’t know what to say. This is completely new territory for me. I know she isn’t going to want sex, not after the night she just went through.
I should feel bad that I caused her pain and panic, but it had to be done. I do the hard things, the things no one else wants to do. I know what has to be done and I do it without question. Feelings, emotions—none of that matters to me. But it’s starting to matter with Paige. She’s starting to tear me open layer by layer, and she doesn’t even know she’s doing it.
What happens when she gets to my pink underbelly? Will she stab me and leave me for dead? Or will her love change me for the better?
I never wanted to be changed before. I’ve always liked having no soul. No heart. It was easier loving no one, caring for no one.
But my life has been changing just as much as Paige’s has. I can’t deny that anymore. And it’s all because she was a strong-willed, stubborn woman who couldn’t let a man she’d never met die.
Donovan starts to unbutton his shirt, and butterflies form in my stomach. I’ve never been held by a man at night. I don’t even know why I asked him to stay. All I know is that when he went to leave, something inside me screamed not to let him go. The safety I feel when I’m with him is like nothing I’ve ever felt before.
Grabbing sleep shorts and an oversized t-shirt, I go to the bathroom to change.
When I come back, Donovan is already under the covers. He turns to look at me, his eyes clearly roaming over my body. My body heats, and I can’t seem to move my legs.
“Are you sleeping there, or are you getting into bed with me?” he asks after I still don’t move.
My cheeks heat even more, and I slowly force my feet to move. When I climb into the bed, I feel more butterflies. A tightness grabs at my chest, and I almost regret asking Donovan to spend the night with me. Keeping to the edge as much as possible, I cover myself with the blankets.
At first, I think Donovan is just going to stay on his side of the bed, and I’m okay with that. I already regret asking him to stay. My heart is pounding so hard, and I’m freaking out. But then a large arm reaches over my middle and pulls me to his side. I don’t even know how it’s possible, but my heart starts pounding faster, and I’m having a hard time breathing.
“This is what you wanted, right?” he asks, running his hand up and down my side.
I fight back a moan that wants to break from my lips. It feels so good. I want more, but I know I’m not ready, so instead I just snuggle closer to him. He pulls me tighter to him and kisses my head.
“Sleep well,” he tells me.
I just nod. I can’t form words right now; this whole thing feels too weird.
I wake up expecting to feel a body beside me, but he’s not there. My stomach twists in a knot, and I fight back the tears.
I know Donovan wakes up early; he’s already told me this. I don’t know why I was expecting anything different.
I grab my suitcase and start to take my clothes out. I might as well unpack now, since this is where I’m going to be living for the foreseeable future. Will I ever get to go home?
I take the box of letters from the bottom of my suitcase and place it on the top shelf of my closet. My mother’s birthday is coming up soon, and I’ll be bawling as I read them, drowning in the sorrow of losing her all over again.
After I get dressed, I head downstairs and walk around, exploring my new home. Walking by Donovan’s office, I see he isn’t in there. Well, fuck. I was hoping maybe he would give me an official tour, but I guess I’m on my own.
I pass the gaming and theater room, and I think about watching a chick flick with Leanne in there one day. I’m going to be able to have my friend over, right? I mean, I know this is Donovan’s house, but since he begged me to move in, it kind of makes it mine now too. Right?
As I continue my exploration, I get to a door, which I open to find a set of stairs. I wonder what’s down here. I’m about to go down when a large hand lands on my shoulder, pulling me back.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Donovan growls at me.
I’m startled and slightly scared. What the fuck crawled up his ass?
“I was just looking around the house. I stopped by your office to ask for you to give me a tour, but you weren’t there, so I just started to wander around. I just wanted to see where I’m living now.”
“You don’t have permission to do that.” His tone is firm, and I want to scream.
“You begged me to move in here. Doesn’t that make this my house too?” I ask, trying to contain my anger.
“No, it doesn’t. This is my house, and you will do well to remember that. You go where I tell you to go and do what I say to do. I’ve tried to go easy on you and put up with your attitude, but I’m putting my foot down, Paige. You need to listen, or you’ll end up dead.”
“Is that a fucking threat?!” I scream. “You know what. Fuck you! I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me. I just wanted to see the place I just moved into, but I didn’t realize I was living with a fucking asshole. I guess it was possible for you to put on an act. For a minute, I thought you actually cared about me. But it was all just a ruse to get me into your house and return you to the dick I first met.”
I storm away, wanting to throw something or punch him. How dare he act like that? I wasn’t doing anything wrong. He never told me not to go in any specific rooms. I mean, I’ve never had time before to do exploring, and I honestly didn’t think it was a big deal.
Donovan doesn’t follow me, and for that, I’m grateful. I seriously don’t want to deal with him right now.
“Get up. It’s time to work out,” Donovan says, throwing my door open.
“Ever heard of knocking? Asshole.” I whisper the last part under my breath, but he definitely hears it, because his nostrils flare.
“I’ve had enough of your attitude. Put workout clothes on and meet me in my gym in five minutes. If you don’t listen, your real punishments will begin.”
He storms back out, and I stay seated on my bed. I’m not listening to him. This is bullshit. He can’t treat me like this. I’m not a child, and I won’t be treated like one.
