Unlocking the door quickly, I push it closed behind me and take a deep breath. Adrenaline courses through me, the feeling of fright hot on my heels. It reminds me of when I was little and I thought there were monsters under the bed. I’d run and leap onto my bed, snatching my feet up as quickly as I could, afraid the monster would grab my feet at the last second. Getting that door open and getting in the building felt exactly the same.
As I walk into my apartment, a sense of relief comes over me. I’m exhausted but looking forward to my weekend off of work. In the bathroom, I take my sleep medication and change into my pajamas before heading to bed. Happy to be in comfy clothes, I climb into the cool sheets, my thoughts racing as I think about Derek, the date, and a certain set of ocean-blue eyes.
Who was following me tonight, though? The same person that bought my groceries?
My medication soon pulls me under, and the last image I have in my head as I fight the pull is Kayden. He’s always my last thought before bed and my first thought when I wake up.
For three years, I haven’t been able to escape him.
And now he’s back.
Four
Kayden
Dani sleeps like the dead. Sure, she was tossing and turning, but the woman wouldn’t know if someone was in the room with her unless they shook her awake. The medication she takes to help her sleep sees to it that she is held under thoroughly.
It makes it all the better for me.
Dani got in pretty late tonight. I watched through her cameras when she got home and immediately noticed she wasn’t getting ready for bed like she normally does. She was getting ready to go out. I followed her the entire night, and my little spitfire is one hell of an intuitive woman. She felt my eyes on her all night, and a part of me, a dark part of me, loved that I was the one affecting her so much.
When Dani left the date, I followed her home, keeping to the shadows and ensuring she got home safely. Part of me wanted to grab her, ravish her senseless in an alley, and hear her scream my name. The other, more sensible side of me, realized it would come in time.
I know what I’m doing isn’t right, but I can’t help but feel a pull to this woman. Where Dani is concerned, there is no line I won’t cross. I’ve done much worse in my life—and bloodied my hands for far less. I didn’t want to hurt Dani though, atleast, not in that manner. Did I want to see her bleed so pretty for me? Sure, but only if she begged for it. There’s something intoxicatingly beautiful about someone willing to walk the line of pain and pleasure.
I’m here tonight for much less sinister reasons, however. I’m done fighting the need to stay away from this woman. I’m determined to finally make her mine—no matter the cost.
I sit in her oversized chair in the corner of the room and watch her sleep, twirling the daisy in my hand. She likes to stomach sleep, letting one leg out from the covers, but every now and then she breaks out in goosebumps and pulls her leg back in. She does this repeatedly in her sleep, seemingly never able to find the appropriate balance. Her cat usually sleeps on her pillow but is currently staring daggers at me.
I drag a hand down my face as I lean back in the chair, a need bubbling just under the surface of my skin, a need that demands Dani is mine. Over the last week I’ve learned a lot more about this woman than I knew to begin with. A lot of little things that reflect on Dani as the person she is—the person I suspected her of being. A person that is so good that I’m afraid to taint her with my darkness.
For instance, every week when she goes to the pet store, she donates to the animal shelter at check out. She also buys an extra bag of cat food that she physically walks to the shelter to donate. Her bank statement shows very little activity except for her normal purchases, which also happens to include a monthly automatic withdrawal to a local organization that provides aid and resources to survivors of sex trafficking. Every Sunday on her morning walk, she gives money to the homeless man down on the corner and buys him breakfast. After she visits the bookshop that Melody works at and makes her weekly purchase, she brings part of that purchase to the nearest Little Library asa donation. This woman that barely takes care of herself—barely puts herself first—tries to take care of everyone else.
I knew when I saw her in that house, saw how she fought for the other women, that she had a light within her that I couldn’t let be destroyed. While I’m glad she still has that light—that goodness—in her, I just fucking wish she’d show herself the same kindness and actually fucking take care of herself. So here I am, done with staying away. If Dani doesn’t mind a little darkness, we’ll see just how much of mine she can handle.
Once the sun starts edging toward the horizon and the first hint of pink lines the skies, I know it’s time for me to leave. Walking over to Dani, I run a finger along her jaw, captivated by the beauty of the woman before me. Seeing her cell phone on the nightstand, I grab her phone and put my name and number in her contact list before going to her alarms and setting two new ones for her. With that complete, I set the daisy on her nightstand.
Time to go.
I make my way through her apartment and leave, locking the door behind me.
My knuckles meetflesh and a satisfyingoomphis music to my ears. I’m bloody but not bleeding. No, this blood is from the ringleader of yet another trafficking ring we busted after I left Dani’s apartment. We found three out of the five women that were reported being here at our last recon, our assumption being that the other two were already sold.
Either way, my men are doing another sweep of the house while I have a little fun with the boss of the operation.
“Where. Are. The. Other. Women?” Each word is followed through with a punch to his body, but he’s being surprisingly quiet. Normally they start singing once I bring out the cigar cutter. Not this one. I’ve taken three fingers already and he’s still not talking. Blood runs down his face, and drips onto his chest where a brand is seared into his left peck. This is the third trafficking ring we’ve taken down where all the bastards had this brand on their chests. Which means these pieces of shit aren’t even calling the shots. It pisses me off even more because it means there’s a bigger fish out there that needs to be fried, and we are no closer to figuring out who it is.
Knowing I’m not going to get much else out of the man, I pull out my gun and lay a single shot into the back of his skull.
Wiping my hands on my pants, I pull out my cell phone and make a quick call to my brother’s wife, Emilia, putting her on speaker phone. She has a clean up crew on her payroll, and I’ll need them to clean this up before authorities find an empty house with dead bodies littered throughout.
“Emilia. How are you?”
“Good, Kayden. What can I do for you?”
“Always to the point, Em. I need a clean up crew at my location. I’ll text it to your phone.”
“Will do, Kayden. How many?”
