Monster In The Shadows: A stand-alone dark romance, page 4
“Yes. The bugs and cameras were placed yesterday. Just hooking up the firewalls so they can’t get hacked and other people can’t watch whatever the hell you think you’re going to see in there.”
“And Meringe? We need someone tailing him.”
“Fuck, Don, you act like I’ve never done a job before. I’ll send you the details for the cameras and audio tonight. Just let me do my job,” he groans.
He hangs up, and I throw my phone onto the passenger seat and slam my fist on the steering wheel, wishing I knew more. Wishing that I could just take Paige and vanish.
But there is so much more at risk. Every day, a new puzzle piece is added to this fucking labyrinth I’m stuck in, and I’m starting to lose my mind.
I should get home and interrogate the man who is in my basement, but I have this feeling in my gut that he’ll be just like everyone else.
It’s starting to piss me off that no one is fucking talking. The part that’s even harder is that I truly believe these men don’t know anything. And that means that whoever is running this sex trafficking ring is smart enough to not let any information leak.
“Mr. Sexy is checking you out again,” Leanne says, bumping me with her elbow and pointing with her chin.
“Who?” I ask as I casually turn to see who she’s talking about.
When I do, I find myself staring into sky-blue eyes. His lips turn into a perfect smile, and my breath catches. Damn, that is a beautiful man. I’ve seen him in here before, usually with the inner-city kids he works with. Today, he’s alone.
He has to be a good guy. I can’t imagine working with those kids is easy, but they are always smiling and laughing when they’re with him. I don’t even know his name, but I’ve kind of developed a crush. I mean, a sexy guy who has a good job and is good with kids? Who wouldn’t want that?
But there is no way someone that handsome is interested in me.
And besides, I don’t date. Men are trouble.
I quickly turn away and feel heat rising to my cheeks.
“There is no way he’s interested in me,” I whisper to Leanne.
“Oh, really? Then why is he staring at your ass right now?” she giggles.
“He is not,” I hiss, but I glance over my shoulder and he totally is.
“You should go out with him.”
“No. You know I don’t date.”
“But he’s perfect,” she whines.
I roll my eyes.
“You were just saying like a week or so ago that you wanted to go on a date to get sexy, dangerous man out of your head. Here’s your chance.”
“We barely even know him,” I counter weakly.
I do want to get the mystery man out of my head. But how can I go on a date with a complete stranger? And it’s not like he even asked me out.
I stopped dating men a long time ago. I was sick of being labeled a tease for not sleeping with them. Maybe if they gave a relationship a chance, I would have. I’m not fucking a guy on the first date. Hell, I’ve never slept with anyone. It’s not that I’m a prude; I just have higher standards.
Guys are trouble, anyway. And I won’t end up in a situation like my mother. I won’t give my heart to the wrong man, only to be left all alone. I mean, I’m only twenty-seven. I still have lots of time to figure life out. Maybe I don’t ever want to settle down. Maybe I want to be single forever.
That thought makes my heart sink. I guess that isn’t what I really want. But I also don’t want to end up with my heart broken.
“Excuse me,” a deep male voice says, causing every part of my body to vibrate.
That’s new.
I turn, and Mr. Sexy is standing at the front counter of the library, right in front of me.
“Can we help you?” Leanne asks, batting her eyes.
I’m thankful that she’s the one talking, because words seem to have left my brain.
He smirks and looks at me. “Actually, I was wondering if you’re busy tonight. I would love to take you out for dinner.”
My heart starts pounding, and I have to remind myself to breathe.
“She’s free,” Leanne says for me, and I glare at her.
“I’m sorry, but I’m actually busy,” I lie, still trying to be polite, as I awkwardly adjust my glasses.
“You have tomorrow and Sunday off. That hardly ever happens. Take advantage and have fun,” Leanne whispers.
“Please?” he asks, and those beautiful eyes implore me to say yes. “Just dinner.”
I bite my lip and think about it. It would be nice to go out. It’s been so long since I’ve been on a date. Maybe he’ll be the man who is different. He at least shouldn’t be a psycho; I know they have to do background checks for his job.
“Just dinner,” I say, and his smile is back, brighter than ever.
“I promise to be a complete gentleman. By the way, I’m Leo.”
I giggle and shake his outstretched hand. “Paige.”
I give him my number, and he leaves with a grin on his face. I guess I’m going on a date tonight.
I sip my coffee from the cover of my car outside the restaurant, my pulse racing with anger as I watch Paige and her date enter the restaurant. He places his hand on the small of her back, and I feel my skin prickle. I don’t know if I’m even going to make it through this dinner. If he keeps touching what’s mine, I’m going to blow his head off before I get any information out of him.
How did he even convince Paige to go on a date with him? All I hear her talk about is how she doesn’t trust men. I watch her cry into her pillow at night over a man who left her young and made her lose trust and respect in all men. If her mom was still here, I don’t know if she would cry for him, but she’s all alone now. Just like me.
I’m not saying I’m a good man, and no way would I be good for Paige. Still, seeing her hurt makes me want to try something. At least convince her that the pleasure I will give her will outweigh the pain.
I will never promise her a fairy tale ending, because I know I don’t get one, but a few nights of the best sex of her life? That, I can do. And any girl would want that, right?
My phone rings and I glance and find that it’s Kyle.
“What’s their plan?” I ask.
“I hacked into their phones. They’re planning on killing her tonight. They think that she means something to you. Who is she, anyway?”
I feel my breathing pick up. No one touches what’s mine. And she is mine, even if she doesn’t know it.
“She’s no one,” I tell him, and hang up. He gave me all the information I needed.
How did they find out what she means to me? Hell, I don’t even know what she means to me. But I do know that she’s mine.
I watch the date through the window and my blood boils more and more as he touches Paige across the table, letting his fingers dance over her skin. He’s breaking down her barriers, I can tell. The way she smiles at him, she’s telling him that she wants him. She doesn’t even know him.
And she most definitely won’t be seeing him ever again.
Two hours later, they finally come out of the restaurant, and I follow them—at a distance—to an alley. Is he seriously going to kill her in such a public place, or is someone else there waiting to grab her?
Keeping my back to the wall, but still close to the alley, I put the silencer on my gun. I know it won’t mask the noise completely, but hopefully the city is busy enough tonight that I can take care of the asshole and get Paige out of here without anyone noticing. She’s in this situation because she helped me. It was a foolish and stupid move on her part, but I feel indebted.
“Why are we in an alley?” Paige asks, her voice loud, but not loud enough for someone who wasn’t paying attention to take note.
“Because I want you so bad and I can’t wait,” he pants, grabbing her around the waist.
I want to blow his head off now, but if I miss, she’ll get hurt. Thankfully, he hasn’t seen me yet.
“I don’t think I’m ready,” she says, taking a step back.
I don’t miss my opportunity.
I shoot, not even able to enjoy the way his face gets blown off. Rushing forward, I press my hand over Paige’s mouth.
I shouldn’t have killed him; it was a dumb move. This guy definitely would have had information, but my thoughts are clouded when it comes to Paige. She’s mine. She was mine from the moment she took care of me.
Her eyes are wide, her face pale, as she screams into my hand. Blood is spattered across her face, and she’s shaking.
“Would you please stop screaming? I have to get this taken care of.” I point my chin toward the man with no face.
I smile, and her eyes narrow at me. Recognition dawns on her face as I release my hand from her mouth.
“You! You just killed my date!” she screams.
I quickly cover her mouth again. “Yeah, and if I hadn’t killed him, he was going to kill you.”
Why won’t she stop screaming? I did her a fucking favor.
“He wouldn’t have done that. He was a complete gentleman!” she yells after I remove my hand again.
“Yeah. All gentlemen bring their dates into alleys to fuck,” I scoff.
She opens her mouth to scream again, but I cover it with my lips.
She tastes sweet, like honey. My dick is immediately hard, and I want to fuck her so bad. This is the moment I’ve been waiting on, and it’s everything I hoped it would be and more.
She’s taken off-guard by my kiss and gasps, allowing my tongue to slip in. Fuck. I could almost come just from this.
She bites my tongue, and I laugh at her audacity.
“Fuck you!” she screams.
I place my hand back over her mouth, running out of patience. “We need to get out of here. I’m just trying to protect you. You can choose the easy way or the hard way. It’s up to you.” I go to pull her, and she bites my hand. “I was hoping you were going to be grateful. Turns out you like things the hard way.”
I grab her tightly, taking the syringe out of my back pocket and stabbing the needle into her arm to inject the drug. It takes a minute of her thrashing and screaming into my hand, but soon enough, she’s asleep in my arms.
I lower her to the street, grab the lifeless body of the idiot who tried to take what was mine, and throw him in the dumpster. Then I pick Paige back up, place her arms around my neck, and cover her with my jacket to make it look like I’m tenderly caring for my girlfriend.
“You’re so beautiful when you sleep,” I whisper to her as an elderly lady passes by.
“And they say chivalry is dead,” she says with a smile.
“I know, ma’am. She can’t hold her liquor like she used to. I’m so glad I have her,” I respond.
She giggles and moves on. I lay Paige down on the back seat and quickly drive off.
“Call Winston,” I tell my car as I pull onto the highway.
“What do you want?” he answers.
I love that he doesn’t beat around the bush.
“I need a clean-up in the back alley of Le Bistro on 430th.”
“You aren’t normally the messy type.” He knows me well.
“Correct, but this wasn’t something I could control.”
I feel my jaw tick. I hate not being in control. And I have been out of control since the night Paige saved my life. I can’t stay away from her, and because of that, I put her in danger. How they found out about her, I will never know, but they did, and I couldn’t let them hurt her.
“I’ll get it taken care of. Anything else?” he asks.
I consider telling him about Paige, but change my mind. “Nope. That’s it. Thank you.”
I hang up and glance in the backseat. Thankfully, Paige is still sleeping. I used a lighter dose, just enough to knock her out so I could get her out of there.
She’s going to hate me when she wakes up, but it’s for the best.
Leanne: How was your date last night? I want all the details.
Me: It was lame. And to top it all off, I think I got the flu.
Leanne: *sad face emoji* Well, that’s a shitty way to spend your weekend off. Want me to bring some ginger ale over?
Me: Nah, I’ll be fine. Just want to stay in bed all day.
Leanne: Sounds good. Take care. Text me if you need anything.
Me: Totally will.
I set Paige’s phone onto the table and head upstairs to check on her. She should be waking soon, and even though she’ll hate it, I want her to see my face. I want to tell her I saved her.
She needs me to keep her safe, even if I did put her into this situation. It’s not like I meant to, and had she left me to die like any smart girl would have, she would never need to know about the dark underbelly of Chicago. But she helped me, and now she’s caught in a world she knows nothing about, a target for the monsters who hide in the shadows of this city.
I run my hand over the satin sheets; the coolness is calming and welcome. I sit up slowly, and the room starts to spin and I realize I’m about to be sick. Leaning over the bed, I empty my stomach. Thankfully, there was a garbage can there.
A man rushes over to me, pulling my hair back and rubbing my back.
I look into his face and freeze as memories of last night start to rush back.
Leo is dead, and the man who keeps haunting my dreams is the one who killed him.
“Why am I here?” I ask, my voice shaking with panic as I pull away from his touch, scurrying to the other side of the bed.
“You need to be kept safe,” he says flatly.
“Why did you kill Leo?”
“Because he was going to kill you. Are you going to continue to ask a million questions?”
I feel my stomach turning again, and I empty the bile onto the floor, not caring about the mess.
“Here. Drink this,” he states, getting up and grabbing a glass of water that was sitting next to a chair in the corner of the room.
Why is he being nice to me? He fucking kidnapped me.
“I’m good,” I say, refusing the water.
He rolls his eyes at me as he places the glass on the nightstand and sits back down on the bed. “You’re a nursing student; you should know that you need to drink water to help ease the drugs out of your system.”
“You’re the one who drugged me. Why are you trying to help me now?”
“I wouldn’t have drugged you if you’d just come with me.”
“You fucking killed someone!” I scream, feeling my blood boil.
Fighting with someone who killed a man right in front of me probably isn’t the smartest move. I just can’t help it. He’s acting like killing someone isn’t a big deal. I’m terrified, but if I give in to the fear, I don’t know if I’ll make it out of this alive. I need to keep this anger in order to keep my sanity.
“You’re welcome,” he says, and I lose it.
“Welcome? Really? How did you help me in any way, shape, or form? I can barely sleep since the night I saved you. You haunt my dreams, and in some weird fucking way I feel like you’re always around. And now I’m scarred from the sight of my date’s brains being blown out two feet away from me and splattering on my face. The last person I should be thanking is you!”
He stares at me for a moment before laughing. Like, a full-on belly laugh.
“What the hell is so funny?” I ask, glaring at him.
I lived a perfectly normal life before saving him, and now it’s like my whole world has been turned upside down.
He’s probably going to kill me next. I’m an eyewitness here. Isn’t that what men like him do? I’ve seen enough mafia movies. You kill anyone who knows anything. The only way to guarantee someone keeps a secret is if they aren’t alive to tell anyone.
“Most women who are kidnapped, as you like to put it, don’t go straight to yelling at the man who took them. Crying? Pleading for their lives? Yes. But fighting? Not so much,” he tells me, still chuckling a little.
“Are you going to kill me?” I ask, feeling the tears break from my eyes.
“Don’t you think I would have done that already?” He has a smug smile on his face, and it pisses me off.
“Well, I don’t know what kind of weirdo you are. All I know is that you kill people and take others. Maybe you’re going to rape me and then kill me.”
He crawls across the bed toward me, his eyes darkening. Why the fuck is that so hot? I should not find this man attractive at all.
“Sweetheart, I don’t rape women. But you will be begging me to fuck you one day, and if you’re nice, maybe I will.” His breath is hot on my face and my arms prickle with goosebumps. “Dinner is almost ready. I’ll see you downstairs in five minutes.”
Then he turns and walks out the door.
Who the fuck does this man think he is?
As soon as he’s gone, I stand with ideas of rushing to the window, but my legs give out. I pause, willing the room to stop spinning.
I need to get out of here. I need to get to the window now.
Unable to walk, I crawl to the window and slowly stand. Looking out, I notice I’m up high, at least two stories. Well, I guess I won’t be jumping.
How the hell am I getting out this fucking prison I’ve found myself in?
You are so fucking stupid, Paige. If you hadn’t saved him, you wouldn’t be in this situation. He’s just a sick fuck who’s now holding you against your will, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
I turn, placing my back to the wall and sliding down. I’ve been so busy being angry that I never let myself feel the other emotions I should be feeling. Anger is useless at this point. He’s clearly back to his strong, overwhelming self, and there is no way I can take him. He could snap me like a twig if he wanted to.
Fear starts to creep over my body and the tears fall. My body shakes as the sob leaves my lips.
I should have hugged Leanne tighter the last time I saw her. Because now it might have been the last time I ever see her.
I had so much I wanted to do with my life, and I’m never going to get to do any of it. All because I listened to the stupid part of my brain that said to help a stranger.
