“What?” I could feel him struggle and my monster roared to life. Anticipation bloomed under my skin, eager for the kill.
“I’m sorry. It’s nothing personal.” My blade had just started to slide across his delicate throat when his hands grabbed at me in a vain attempt to pull me off.
At that moment, I also heard the front door slam and the sound of a single set of footsteps pounding on the floor, getting closer.
But I couldn’t stop. The knife was already across his throat, his blood spurting from the open wound and coating my hands. There would be such a mess to clean up. Not to mention, there would be a trail from me ordering the food and the driver coming to my house.
Shit. I hadn’t thought this through. I hadn’t thought any of this through.
“Jesus! What the fuck, Nate?” Aiden’s panicked voice cut through my thoughts, and my eyes darted up at him as he pulled his gun and aimed it at me.
For a moment, I wondered if he would shoot me on sight. But not my little bird. He was a good cop. A fair cop. Even though I was clearly armed and in the middle of a murder, he still would give me a chance.
“Drop the fucking knife, Nate. Now.” His voice wavered almost as badly as his hands as he stared at me like he had no idea who I was.
Fuck.
30
AIDEN
“Jesus! What the fuck, Nate?”
There was no way what I had just seen was real. I didn’t just watch my boyfriend slit some random guy’s throat in his kitchen. I didn’t.
Fuck. This can’t be happening. Please let this be a nightmare I’m going to wake from any second.
Nate’s eyes were cold and flat when he looked up at me. I didn’t recognize the person who looked back at me, and it had me drawing my gun and pointing it at him. Even with shaky hands, it was better than nothing. Especially since he still had the knife, and the dead body, in his hands.
“Drop the fucking knife, Nate. Now.” My voice shook, and my mind rebelled. I had no idea what he would do, but I still didn’t want to believe he would hurt me. He had to still be the guy I knew, the man I’d fallen in love with.
Fuck. I love him. How can I still be thinking that I love him?
The realization hit me like a ton of bricks and I almost went to my knees from the weight of the knowledge.
I loved him, but he was a serial killer. A serial killerIwas trying to catch. Fuck, Victoria had tried to warn me, but I didn’twant to listen. All the signs had been there, red flags waving in my face, and I had actively ignored them and all their potential meanings.
Glancing back, I tried to judge if I could get out of the house before he could get to me.
Probably not. Plus, he knew where I lived. He knew where myparentslived.
Shit. I’d put everyone I loved in danger.
Tears slid down my face at the realization that I’d fucked up my life and the lives of everyone around me.
Worst cop ever award to this guy right here.
A thud jerked my attention back to Nate. And I realized I’d taken my eyes off him for too long, distracted by my own internal struggle. I needed to be careful or I would end up like the guy Nate had just tossed to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
“It’s okay. Put the gun down, little bird. I don’t want to hurt you.” Nate still had the knife, but his hands were out at his sides, as though he were trying to appear unthreatening.
“Fuck you,” I sputtered. “God, I am such a fucking idiot. You were using me this whole time, weren’t you?” I ignored the shake of his head and let it all out. “Did you know I was on the case? Onyourcase? Is that why you came up to me and pretended to be interested in me?”
Nate didn’t move or even try to defend himself. I snuck a glance around his house, taking it in for the first time. When I first arrived, I thought for sure I had the wrong address. Sure, Nate said he was wealthy, and from what I’d found online showed he’d inherited wealth from his parents, but this was some Bruce Wayne shit.
Except, instead of being the hero, Nate was the villain. He was a monster, a murderer.
“What are you doing here? How did you even find me?” His voice was low and level, as though he asked about the weatherrather than the fact I’d just walked in on him committing murder.
