Taking a long pull from the bottle, the mask he constructed for the sake of the police starts to crack, his true self bleeding out a bit. “We’ll see about that.”
My nails bite into my palm as I try to keep my cool. “Hell’s that supposed to mean?”
For once, he shuts up, finishing off his beer and tossing it in the trash. Thatcher appears first, a plastic bag in hand, followed by Risa with a duffle bag slung across her shoulders. The other two are empty handed, bringing up the rear and showing how little she actually had. She wasn’t living here with her boyfriend; Blake was allowing her a corner ofhisspace and claiming himself her benevolent savior to the world.
“That everything, beautiful?”
She gives me a sheepish nod, looking embarrassed. The fact that he’s messed with her head so much that she thinks she has any reason to be, pisses me off to no end.Heshould be the one ashamed of how he treated her, the conditions he forced her to live in. She doesn’t have a damn reason to be embarrassed for not having much to her name, and her behavior when we took her shopping makes so much more sense now.
Stryker puts a hand on her lower back without thinking about it, needing the comfort for himself as much as wanting to offer it to her. Ryker and Thatcher share a look that Risa catches, gently sidestepping from his touch and giving them a shy smile that has both of their hearts skipping a beat, and Blake’s thundering with indignation.
“Sorry to trouble you guys for nothing,” she states, gripping the strap of her bag.
Ryker recovers first. “Not a problem in the slightest, ma’am. This line of business, we prefer a lack of excitement to shake things up.” With a tip of his head, he and Thatcher move out into the hall.
Uncrossing my arms, I head towards Risa, taking her bag from her, the weight barely registering from how light it is. Stryker steps out first, Bane bringing up the rear when Blake calls out, “I’ll be seeing you around.”
Pivoting, I pin him with a warning glare. “I should hope not, since we’ll be avoiding you like the plague. Obsessive isn’t a good look on you, Blake, so you should focus your attention literally anywhere other than my wife.” His name leaves a bitter taste on my tongue, but it’s for the greater good.
“A piece of paper doesn’t mean jack shit,” he retorts. “She will always belong to me; I found her, fed her, and fucked her long before you three assholes came into the picture, and I’ll be here after you’ve dipped out.” He turns to Risa, who’s currently glaring at him with utter loathing. “Isn’t that right? You think if they picked you up so easily, they won’t grow bored just as fast? Move on to the next pretty thing that catches their eye? Face it, Risa, you’re on borrowed time.”
He tries to give her a face full of understanding and pity that makes me gag. “Who else would love you like I do? I’ve been here through all of your mistakes. I can forgive you for letting them get in your head and manipulate you, but you’ve got to work with me here so I can help you.” At her scoff, his face hardens. “When you come to your senses, I’ll be here.”
Her voice is robotic as she keeps a tight rein on her emotions. “Then you’ll be waiting a long damn time. Move on, before you die alone.”
With that, she turns, storming out of the apartment. Slipping my phone out of my pocket, I hit end, memorizing Blake’s blanched face as he realizes how epically he fucked up. Before there’s a risk of it getting deleted, I send the message to both officers and my email as an extra backup copy.
“Listen closely, because I’m only going to say this once, Blake Thompson.” Crossing the room, I let my pupils contract to slits and fangs peek out, knowing that not a single soul will ever believe him. “I’m going to kill you. It might be tomorrow, it might not be for a decade, but the one thing I can promise you?” I lean in closer to whisper, “It’s going to be a slow, agonizing death that will have you begging for mercy that will never come.”
Smacking a hand to his chest in parting, I head for the hallway, my eyes returning to normal. “See you around, Blake. Don’t forget to lock your bathroom window; you have a terrible habit of forgetting to close it.”
Grabbing the door handle, I smirk, the scent of fear clouding through the room despite his attempt at an impassive face. “It’d be a real tragedy if anything happened to you, especially right after getting dumped. Sleep tight; don’t forget to check under the bed for monsters.”
The smirk I give him as I close the door has his mask cracking into splinters. “You never know what sort of things roam around right beneath your nose.”
Chapter 19
