Page 155 of Villainous Rise

Annie didn’t answer, but her panic attack had fully receded. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides.

“I’ve fucked her in my car, in restaurant bathrooms, in elevators. She’s convenient when I need to get off.”

In reality, I barely remembered the woman. Some meaningless encounter from before Annie, when sex was just another way to pass time between the moments that actually mattered.

“You’re disgusting,” she hissed.

“You asked.”

“And tonight?” Her voice rose. “Were you planning to fuck her again?”

“I had her up against the wall in the bathroom twenty minutes ago,” I said. “Quick and dirty. Just how she likes it.”

Annie’s face contorted. For a moment, I thought she might hit me. I wished she would.

“Fucking bastard,” she spat out.

“Never claimed otherwise.”

“I thought—” She cut herself off, shaking her head. “It doesn’t matter.”

She spun away from me, the fog parting and swirling around her as she moved. Her silhouette became indistinct, edges blurring in the mist.

The silence stretched between us, filled only with the soft hiss of fog condensing on the pavement.

“Would you like the truth now instead of that fiction?”

Annie didn’t respond. Didn’t turn around. Her silhouette remained motionless, shoulders rigid.

“I don’t know her first name.”

Annie’s head tilted slightly, listening.

“Winters. That’s her last name. I only know that because I heard someone call her that while you and I were dancing.” I stepped closer. “I don’t remember the names of any of the women I’ve fucked. Not a single fucking one.”

Annie’s shoulders tensed further, but she stayed silent.

“I couldn’t pick any of them out of a lineup if my life depended on it. Just warm bodies to fuck when I needed to scratch an itch.” The words were ugly, but true. “I don’t remember their faces. Don’t remember what they sounded like when they came. Don’t remember if they were any good. They were all meaningless. Convenient. Everyone got what they wanted. They got fucked. I got off. End of transaction.”

Annie’s breathing changed, but I couldn’t read it. Couldn’t tell if she was angry or hurt or relieved.

“But I remember everything you’ve ever said to me. I remember every sound you’ve ever made. Every expression. The way your skin feels. The way you taste. I remember every single thing about you, Annie.”

Annie’s shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath. Still facing away.

“I didn’t fuck her tonight. Didn’t want to.” I clenched my fists, fighting the urge to reach for her. “But I wanted to hurt you. I wanted to make you feel what I felt watching him touch you. Kiss you.”

Annie finally turned, her face pale in the diffused light filtering through the fog. Her eyes were dry now, but her expression was unreadable.

“Say something,” I demanded, hating the edge of desperation in my voice. “Tell me to go to hell. Tell me you never want to see me again. Just say something.”

She stared at me for a long moment, her gaze traveling over my face as if searching for something. She turned away from me again, facing the wall of fog that had swallowed the bay. She stared into it like she was trying to see through the impenetrable gray, but there was nothing to see. Just endless nothing.

“Havoc used to take me flying in the fog,” she said quietly.

I waited, watching the way her fingers twisted together.

“He’d just launch us straight into it. No warning.” A small shiver ran through her. “One second we’d be standing somewhere solid, the next we’d be hurtling through absolute nothingness.”