Page 27 of Abundance of Obsession

“I’m not telling you a fucking thing, you son of a bitch,” he snarls.

I break out laughing.

“That’s the point,” I say as the last chuckle dies on my lips. “You don’t have to tell me anything. There’s nothing I don’t know. You put a hit on my brother, and I can’t forgive that. In a place I control. It’s like you were begging to be caught.”

Nelson gasps for breath and starts coughing. Blood splatters onto the brown tiles, but he doesn’t raise his head again. He doesn’t have the strength.

I continue, “You understand that every single Pact traitor meets a miserable end. Want to share names?”

The truth is, I didn’t even have to lift a finger myself. I made contacts and connections online. I created a spider’s web on the web that controlled the movements of others. Within five minutes of his targeting Ryker, I was already informed.

Nelson tries with his last ounce of energy to pull at the chains, but it’s useless. He won’t leave this basement alive. And I think he’s well aware of that.

“Fuck you! You’re all dead men,” he says. “You… Your brothers. And those two sisters too. But for sweet little Zoe, something really special is in store.”

Despite recognizing this as an attempt to provoke me, I still react instinctively. In a split second, I’m on him, punching his face over and over. The last thing I do before stepping back is to land another blow to his ribs, and I feel a bone snap under my fist.

My breath is deep, and I can’t tell if it’s from strain or my temper. Adrenaline takes over my body, and I let it. It mixes with rage.

All it took was for him to mention her name.

Zoe.

The last time I saw her comes to mind. A week ago. When my arms pulled her close to my body and my lips found hers. They were so soft and warm. Moist. I had no doubt she would be equally hot down there.

That single impulse from young Matthews was enough for me to cross the first line. But when she parted those tempting lips and her tongue slid across mine, there was no turning back.

I kissed her so hard she moaned, and I seized the opportunity with my tongue. It slipped into her mouth, and I couldn’t stop kissing her. Lost control of the situation, of myself. Unable to stop myself.

Zoe wasn’t indifferent. Oh, no. She was surprisingly active and aroused. The passion with which she returned the kiss matched the intensity that had taken hold of me.

She ran her hands through my hair, pulling me closer. Even through our clothes, I could feel her burning body. Her moan was like a siren’s song. It lured me to my doom, and I had no strength to resist it.

But then she said those three words that brought me back down to earth. “I want you,” she whispered against my lips.

I grabbed her shoulders and backed away from her.

The way she looked… Fuck. She was every teenager’s wet dream, mine included. Lips swollen from our kiss, rosy cheeks, a hazy gaze…

I wanted everything she was ready to give me… But I couldn’t take it.

I behaved like a decent guy for the first time in my life. Couldn’t take advantage of a girl who was drunk. Not her. The next day, she would regret doing that with me.

No one in their right mind would ever pass up an opportunity like that. The battle in my head was never-ending. One side said I’d done the right thing. The other whispered that I could have tasted her.

Out of reflex, I punched my temple twice. Like the lunatic I am, I concluded that it was Nelson’s fault.

“See what you’ve done?” I ask, although he doesn’t understand a thing. “For the last two hours, while we’ve been hanging out here, I’ve had a break from thinking about her. You’ve screwed everything up.”

But he just wheezes, hanging. Eventually, he asks, “Kill me already.”

With all these intrusive thoughts and memories, I didn’t hear the approaching footsteps. And I’m usually highly sensitive to any sounds. This time, I fail across the board when the basement door swings open and Ryker walks in.

He’s dressed in an elegant suit and a crisp white shirt, looking like he’s coming back from a date with his wife. Black hair slicked back, a neatly trimmed beard. On one side of his neck there’s a tattoo of Aisling’s birthdate; on the other, Ash’s. Two women, one heartbeat. Poetic, if you ask me.

Ryker closes the door and examines our guest intently. Inch by inch. The grimace on his face…

He approaches me, hands in his pants pockets, and we stand shoulder to shoulder.