Chapter 0033

The man starts to scream as Kent stands behind him, pressing the sharp edge of the knife to the man’s

pinky finger. The scream turns to a howl of horror, of pain, as Kent presses the blade deeper.

I’m frozen to the spot, horrified. Though I can feel myself trembling, I can’t move, can’t stop watching.

The man not being cut begins to scream in panic, looking everywhere for a way out and then –

Oh my god –

His eyes fix on me. He sees me peeking through the door, fixates on me. He begins to scream in my

direction and I think I can hear the words “help! HELP!” reverberate through the room.

Sensing a change, Kent’s eyes shift to the other man and then move directly to me.

I gasp and push the door shut and then bolt – bolt – from the hallway.

Panic moves me faster than I thought I could go as I scramble up the stairs, sprint across the kitchen,

pull open the kitchen door and then use the banister to propel myself up the main stairs two steps at a

time.

Oh my god, I think, he’s a monster, he’s a psychopath!

Of course, I had already made this assessment – in jail when I’d interviewed him, then again when he

kidnapped me – but now? The truth feels like it has hit home inside of me, after seeing that scene in

the Mafia King’s basement.

I reach the top of the stairs and throw myself towards my room, my fingers inches from my doorknob,

when something grabs me around my waist, hauling me back against a solid body –

I scramble, shrieking, trying to get free, but he holds me fast. He grabs me by the hair at the back of my

neck, forcing my head back, my face turned up towards his. I pant, in his arms, pinned against him,

finally still. “What did I tell you to do, Fay?”

“My phone!” I gasp, remembering my rationale for being there. “I forgot my phone!”

“You deliberately disobeyed me, Fay,” he says, walking forward a few steps, pressing me backwards,

my feet working to keep up as I feel the door to my bedroom press into my back. It swing opens and

then, suddenly, we’re in my room.

Kent kicks the door shut and pushes me up against the wall. My breath comes fast then – I almost

hyperventilate –

“Calm down, Fay,” he says, his body pressed against mine. I blink up at him, realizing that he’s

completely calm. That he’s been completely calm this entire time.

It takes a minute, but I force my breath to come slower. I look up into his face and he watches me, his

fingers loosening in my hair, beginning to stroke slowly at the base of my neck.

I can’t tear my eyes from him as he brings his face close to mine. “Did you like watching me work,

Fay?” he asks, his voice dangerous.

I feel my lip starts to tremble. I see him look down at it.

“Do you know what happens to people who watch me when they’re not supposed to?” He murmurs, his

voice tipped with a razor’s edge.

Slowly, I shake my head no.

He brings his mouth close to my ear, the stubble of his jaw brushing against my cheek. “They get

punished,” he whispers.

My breathing grows heavier at this. I can feel my breath matching up with my pounding heart, my chest

pressing against his. I know he can feel it too.

He withdraws his mouth from my ear, looking at me again, a cruel smile lighting his lips. “What is it,

Fay,” he murmurs, wondering. “It’s almost as if, disobeying me like that, you want me to punish you…”

I close my eyes as a moan slips out of my mouth when he says that. God damnit – god damnit – my

whole body goes loose in his arms, pressed against him – a steady ache builds at the apex of my

thighs, and, suddenly, I know that I’m wet for him.

I feel horror cross my face, shame – god, what was wrong with me –

“No, Fay,” he growls, and I open my eyes to see him staring down into mine. “Don’t fight it. You want to

pretend that you don’t belong in this world, but you were born to be here. Just like me,” his voice

lowers, stroking me like velvet, “you’re drawn to the danger, Fay.”

He brings his face even closer to mine so that I feel his next words like a force against my lips.

“Danger,” he says. “It makes you want to fuck.”