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“And it’s clear you’ve been obsessing about me for the last seven years.”
She struggles harder in my arms. “Let me go, you jerk. I have not been obsessing.”
I laugh. “Stop lying, Nina. I know you too well for you to lie to me.”
“You don’t know me at all. We fucked one time. You barely talked to me before that. And, even if you had, don’t you think I’ve changed in the seven years since?”
She hasn’t changed in seven years, but I have. I’ve turned into more of a monster than I ever thought possible. She is no longer safe, not even with me.
I let her go for just a second, playing with her, letting her think she has a chance against me. And then I grab her back, firmly pulling her into my arms.
“I know everything about you, Nina. I know you never finished your grad classes. I know you haven’t taken a job even remotely related to art history. I know you never stay in any one place for longer than six months. You’ve been to Texas, Maine, Vermont, Montana, Oregon, Nebraska, South Carolina, Mexico, Canada, Massachusetts, and now Florida. You had a cat for about a year before he died of cancer; that was bad luck since you got the cat to keep you company. And I know you have known Heath for only six days and that he’s at least ten years younger than you.”
“Eight years. He’s only eight years younger than me.”
I raise an eyebrow.
“But you’ve made your point. You have been following me for seven years.”
“I know more about you than you do. I’ve studied you, prepared for seven years for the moment when I could finally claim you as mine.”
“I will never be yours or any other man’s. I am not property. I’m a woman who is fully capable of taking care of herself.”
I cock my head to the side. “That might have been the truth. You were a very capable woman who had a whole future ahead of her at one point. But not anymore. You used to belong to yourself. Now, you belong to me and my family.”
“You’re an evil monster, you know that?”
My lips twitch a little and then curl up into a dark smile. “I’m much worse than you could ever imagine. But you have no one to blame but yourself.”
“No. I never asked for this. All I wanted was a good fuck. Not to be kidnapped forever and used as your plaything against my will.”
She tries to pull away, but she still doesn’t understand that she will never have that option again.
“You don’t get to pretend that I’m the bad guy and that you have no blame in any of this. I warned you multiple times to stay away. You started all of this, not me.”
Nina just stares at me. She knows I’m telling her the truth, and that’s why it’s so hard for her. Her obsession got her into trouble.
She glances over my shoulder. “Heath is coming back soon.”
“He can’t protect you.”
“What?”
“The boy can’t protect you. That’s why you married him, isn’t it? You were tired of running, tired of being alone. You thought, if you were married, then I would leave you alone. Or at least, if I came, you would have someone to protect you. Someone who would call the police when I kidnapped you. Someone who would never stop searching for you.”
She doesn’t say anything.
I grin. “You don’t fight me when I’m right. It’s how I know that I’ve figured out the truth.”
“The truth is that I love Heath, and he loves me. That’s it. We eloped because we love each other, and there was no reason not to get married.”
“He can’t save you. No one can.”
“You’re wrong.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Yeah? How am I wrong, Nina?”
“Because one person can save me.”
