Page 5 of Dark Predator

Could my uncle be so cruel as to eliminate his own flesh and blood? Of course he would. For money. Power. Influence. I was no fool. I’d known about my parents’ will even before their death, although my uncle had attempted to keep the details from me. He’d told me he’d been protecting me. Bullshit. He wanted it all to himself. I had no clue what he’d gain by killing me. What I did know was that Devon Rosario was a monster, a man with no conscience.

Was Cruz any better?

My birthday was fast approaching, which meant the trust fund my parents had left would become unlocked, my uncle no longer able to control my funds. I’d left because I didn’t care about the money. I’d always considered it tainted in blood. But my uncle was a vulture, determined to keep the millions to himself. If I died, what purpose would that serve?

What little I knew about the man standing in front of me had added to the mystique, our passion unlike anything I’d ever experienced. However, there was nothing innocent about him. Cruz was powerful, not only in stature within New Orleans but in the way he commanded attention whenever he walked into a room. And the way my name had dripped off his tongue reeked of the primal needs I’d satisfied.

Carmella. My given name, the one I’d abandoned years before.

The one that brought terror and uncertainty back into my life.

“Did you kill Talon?” I wasn’t certain I wanted the answer. I thought about the note the artist had left me, requesting I meet him here, but I doubted he would show. He was dead. Dead!

“No, Carmella. He was found dead in his apartment, an email to you on his computer.”

What was that supposed to mean? I shuddered, backing away as I continued staring at him.

“You sent me the roses several weeks ago. Didn’t you?” My tone was more demanding. Maybe I could grab his weapon.

You don’t want that. You love him.

Love.

That was crazy. I couldn’t love a monster.

The way he looked at me with such hunger in his eyes sent a course of shivers dancing all the way to my toes.

“Did you enjoy your gifts?” he asked, his voice even more seductive than before.

“They were a warning.”

“No, sweet Carmella. They were a promise and as I told you from the beginning, I always keep my promises. My word is sacred to me. Just like you are.”

The man was twisted, evil. Then why did I crave him?

I did what I could to resist his charm, but he had a way about him that was irresistible. That sickened me. “What do you want?” I demanded. Cruz’s features were sharp, a man so powerful he could destroy anyone with a single glance.

I’d thought that way since the beginning. Only as I stared into the same eyes I’d lost myself in countless times, I realized I was glancing in through a cracked window, searching for a soul that didn’t exist.

He would tell me I was being melodramatic, allowing my imagination to drag me into a warped, sick frame of mind.

I knew better.

I was raised to be strong no matter the situation confronting me, forced to learn at an early age that resolve and the lack of emotion would serve me well. But nothing on this darkened night would save me from losing what was left of my soul.

He knew.

I knew it.

It had just been a matter of time.

I shivered as goosebumps drifted down my arms, and there was no number of soft blankets or heat that could take away the chill.

“We need to leave. You’re in danger.”

“From you.”

“No, not from me.”

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