And suddenly, I am not so fond of those volatile things called “feelings” that I spent my entire miserable life wanting to experience.
Because the jealousy that hits my chest isn't like anything I have ever felt before. It is like a horde of rabid, starving demons actively eating away at my intestines. The fury is so hot and suffocating that I feel like I am literally going to spit boiling blood onto the dashboard.
She is mine.
Fuckingmine.
She was supposed to run to me. She was supposed to run out of options and realize I am her only goddamned savior. I am the one who orchestrated her ruin just so she would run to me.
Nothim.
Me.
Me.
Fuckingme.
And now she is inside his apartment.
It won't be long.
I force myself to wait, counting down every second until exactly midnight. Midnight means fewer eyes on the street. I reach into my glove box, pulling out my handgun. I’m driven by a psychotic, possessive trance. I pick up the silencer, slowly twisting it onto the barrel, the rhythmicclick-click-clickdoing nothing to calm me down.
Using a key fob my security team procured within the hour, I slip past the building's front locks with ease. I pick the lock to his apartment door, ready to hunt through the bedrooms.
But it appears the bastard is incredibly lucky tonight.
The apartment isn't dark.
A small lamp illuminates the space.
And there she is.
Maya is sitting on the edge of the couch, a glass of water in her hands. The moment the door nudges open, her head snaps up. Her terrified eyes lock directly onto mine, the glass slipping from her fingers and shattering against the floor. Before a singlescream can leave her throat, I am across the room. I grab her by the waist, slamming my palm over her mouth to muffle the sound.
"Shh," I whisper against her ear, the barrel of the silenced gun pressing right beneath her chin. "Don't make a sound. I'm just here to clean up the trash."
The second she sees the direction of my gaze shift toward the closed bedroom door down the hall—William’s room—she breaks down.
She begins to fight me with a strength she didn't even use when her sister attacked her.
"No! Graham, please, no!" she whimpers beneath my hand, tears flooding her face and wetting my palm.
I tear my hand away from her mouth, and she immediately drops to her knees at my feet.
"Please, not William! Please! He has nothing to do with this! All he wanted was to help me! He's just my friend, Graham, please don't hurt him!"
The moment she begs forhislife, every single fuse in my consciousness blows. A white-hot static fills my vision, and I swear to God I can actually hear steam hissing from my ears.
If I don't calm down this exact second, I am going to torch this entire building to the ground with everyone inside it.
"Stop begging for his life, Maya," I growl in a demonic rasp.
My polished shoe comes down beside her trembling fingers.
"You are pissing me off. And when I am angry... I get incredibly thirsty for blood."
"I'll do anything!" she gasps as she scrambles up from the floor. "Anything, Graham! Just stop!"
