“Go,” he urged. Something about his tone snapped me into action. I turned and hurried down the alley, feeling his eyes on my back until I turned the corner. I should’ve been afraid, but as I walked to my car alone, all I felt was the strange certainty that nothing would touch me while Knox was nearby.
Twelve
Knox
She hadn’t even flinched.
I stood at the mouth of the alley long after Hallie’s footsteps faded around the corner, the echo of her sandals clicking against concrete still ringing in my ears like a taunt. I’d just admitted to her face that I’d dug into her ex’s life, found the filth he spewed online, printed it, and shoved it under her door like some anonymous guardian angel with a hard-on for control. I’d told her I’d been watching her. And what had she done?
She looked up at me with those pretty brown eyes, whispered “You’re not a monster,” and meant it.
Jesus Christ.
Hallie Rutherford—Adrian’s little sister, the girl I’d known since she was an awkward preteen with pigtails and braces—was just as fucked in the head as I was. I’d given her every reason to run screaming away from me, and she’d barely blinked. She just looked back at mewith that reckless trust that made my cock twitch and my stomach twist at the same time.
She trusted me.
After everything.
After I’d tied her wrists and overstimulated her until she sobbed and counted her own orgasms like a good girl. Even after I’d fucked her throat until tears streaked her mascara and she still swallowed like it was a privilege.
She wasn’t scared, and that was the problem.
If there wasn’t at least an illusion of danger, the fantasy collapsed. I needed her to stop seeing me as Knox Ballard, the family friend, and instead fear me as someone who could break her until she begged for mercy. I needed her afraid I’d take things too far, pushed right up to the edge of uttering that safe word.
Luckily, I’d already put things in motion.
Sitting in my car, I pulled my phone from my pocket and opened my tracking app. There was Hallie’s car, not pointed toward home but instead drifting toward the Lower West Side. The tracking device I’d hidden under her passenger seat worked exactly how it was supposed to, allowing me to watch her pull up next to a little restaurant on Ashland. God, didn’t she ever take a night off?
I drove home to my apartment and pulled out my phone to check her location again as I made my way to the mailboxes, watching her car approach a residential neighborhood farther south. I watched the little dot move slowly across the street, knowing she was mine to watch.
Mine to torture.
I inhaled, pulling out my keys to unlock my mailbox. Inside sat a plain brown package, its discreet shipping label telling me exactly what it was. A slow smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. When I forced myself on Hallie the first time, I had to improvise with the curtaintiebacks—I had no way to restrain her feet. Worst of all, Hallie’s big, brown eyes stayed open the whole fucking time, almost ruining me and threatening to undo every ounce of control I had left.
Well, she wouldn’t be able to do that next time.
Next time I had Hallie alone, she’d be fully restrained, disoriented, and completely at my mercy, with no way to fight me off, even if she dared to try. I’d make sure of it.
***
Two nights later, the perfect opportunity finally presented itself.
Hallie was making deliveries just west of the Loop, zipping all around like she was on a mission to beat some kind of record. That made it a little difficult to keep up with her, but I maintained a distance of just a few blocks. As she ducked into a McDonald’s, I pulled over a block and a half away to send her a text.
I didn’t bother to hide behind an unknown number this time.
Knox:Out looking for trouble?
Hallie:I think it just finds me, honestly.
My grin stretched wider. Fuck, she had no idea what kind of trouble was about to find her that night. I held my breath, deciding to send another text that would elevate her fear.
Knox:Is the McRib back, or is that more of a winter thing?
Hallie:Where are you???
I didn’t answer. I’d already said enough. I kept my engine idling, watching the little dot on the screen until it started to move again. I shifted into drive the second her car turned onto the street, speeding up to shorten the gap between us. Her little black car came into view up ahead, and I watched her turn down Lake Street—and then a side street. I followed, glancing back and forth from my phone to her taillights so I wouldn’t lose her. I kept just enough distance between us so I wouldn’t be spotted, but kept close enough that I could act fast when she stopped.
