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She evolved. And so she survived.

“So?” Ryden said after a few minutes as we drove toward home. “The other two?”

“They could have changed their names. I need pictures. Now that I remember, I could see if they are really the same.”

“So, Patricia might really be the Strangler?”

“If I had any doubts before. it’s all gone now.”

“But Trish said…” Ryden trailed off.

“Logan Jones was her accomplice. Maybe Patricia found someone else,” I gritted out. “The bitch is good at manipulating men.”

“Patricia loves you, and she wants me dead,” Ryden said with a grunt as I parked the car. He got out and opened the door for me.

“She wants everyone in my life dead, but…” I cupped his face. “She won’t… take anyone else away from me. Not you. If she hurts you, touches even a single hair…” I tugged at his hair with a sigh. “I’ll bury her alive, and then dig her out and kill her all over again.”

For a second, I imagined my life without Ryden, and it was a nightmare. I didn’t want to live in that nightmare.

“You go and say things like this, and how am I supposed to stay unaffected, Red?” Ryden groaned, his voice rough as he pulled me closer, his fingers pressing into my waist.

His breath was warm against my cheek, his body heat seeping into mine like fire licking at my skin.

“The look in your eyes when you talk about protecting me…” His lips brushed against my temple, slow, soft. “You love me, Yara West. And you love me in ways you don’t even realize.”

I swallowed hard, my heart pounding in my chest as he gave me a smile.

“What?”

“I trust you. You love me.”

“I already told you that.” I huffed as he pulled me even closer, catching my lips with a needy groan. He kissed me like he was starved, like he had been waiting for an eternity, like I was the only thing keeping him alive.

He kissed me like he had never kissed me before. A low moan left his lips as his hands tangled in my hair. He tilted my head back, deepening the kiss, his teeth grazing my lower lip, desperate for more.

Sighing, I curled my fingers into his shirt, clinging to him, holding on, wanting more, wanting everything, and then hating myself for it.

He pulled away just enough to look at me, his lips swollen, his eyes deliciously depraved. His hands came around my throat, and he pulled me closer.

“Say it,” he whispered, his breath hot on my skin. Say you love me. Say you’re only mine.”

I rolled my eyes, but stopped when he let out a feral growl. “I love you, Ryden. And I’m only yours. I don’t want to be anyone else’s. It has always been you for me, Ryden, from that first moment I saw you.”

His grin was enough to destroy what common sense still held me.

“Fuck yes. You are mine.” And then he pulled me into the kiss again, until we were both drowning within each other.

We walked into the house, and Ryden looked around the place, his eyes thoughtful. “Why do you live here?”

“To remind myself that I survived this.”

He took my hand, threading his fingers with mine, giving me a smile that healed me.

“But maybe it’s time to finally let go of this part of my life. I’ve been clinging to the ghosts of my parents for so long, and it’s tiresome.”

“What?” Ryden asked, his grip on my fingers tightening slightly.

“When the time’s right, I want to start somewhere new. Someplace that isn’t stained with pain and blood, anger and betrayal.”