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“Sir.” Michael’s voice drift towards us before he appears from a dark hallway.
Tearing his piercing gaze away from me like it’s the last thing he wants to do, Matthew turns his attention to Michael.
“Michael.” Matthew acknowledges him by inclining his head. “All is well, I hope?”
“Yes, sir. It’s been a quiet evening.”
Michael’s gaze flicks up to me briefly before darting away.
“Good,” Matthew says with a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Thank you for watching over my family.”
“Of course, sir. It was my pleasure.” Michael responds with a more genuine smile.
Matthew turns his attention back to me, signaling that Michael has been dismissed for the night.
I hear the click and lock of the door but see nothing beyond Matthew as he resumes removing his jacket. There’s not a speck of blood on him or a crease out of place, but I can sense that something dark, something unpleasant yet very necessary, took place tonight.
Maybe it’s my own twisted imagination, but violence simmers in the air around him like some invisible aura he’s projecting.
“Is Meredith okay?” I ask, finally finding my voice once he’s turned away to hang his jacket on the coat rack.
“Yes,” is the only answer he gives me, forcing me to keep digging.
“And Johnathan? I heard he was shot…”
Matthew stills with his back still to me. His white-blonde head dips down for a moment. “He’s in critical condition, but we’re hoping he survives.”
“Jesus…” I whisper and Matthew’s head jerks up before he whips around to face me.
There’s been so much death around us lately. Paul, Bart, Peter… even that bitch Cherry. If we lose Johnathan… I can’t even bear to think about it. Beth and Charlie will be devastated.
“He’ll pull through or he’ll have to answer to me,” Matthew says with such authority I swear he believes he can make Johnathan pay from beyond the grave or something.
I just stare at Matthew as he begins to undo the cufflinks as he approaches me. When his black shoe hits the first step, the air around me changes, becoming charged with electricity.
I’ve paced these halls all night, waiting for him to come home, and now that he’s here I should feel relieved. Yet there’s something off about him tonight.
I don’t know the gory details of what happened while he was away, and I don’t want to know, but behind his eyes, behind his beautiful face, something sinister is lurking.
Matthew takes another step up, and unconsciously I find myself taking a step back.
It’s a little dance we repeat and repeat.
Once he finally reaches the landing and begins to stalk towards me, true panic begins to set in. My fight-or-flight instinct kicks in.
He hasn’t done anything, hasn’t said anything to cause me worry… And perhaps that’s it. He’s been unusually quiet, and his eyes are so intense it’s beyond creepy. Usually when he returns home, he’s quick to offer soft, tender words and embrace me in his arms.
I know he would never, ever in a million years hurt me. Still, the little hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
And when he smiles at me, that smile that still haunts my darkest living nightmare, something inside whispers, “Run Lily.”
Working without the help of my brain, my feet carry me backward as Matthew stalks after me. I’m so focused on him, so focused on the intensity blazing in his eyes, that I don’t realize where I’ve retreated to before it’s too late.
The back of my heel catches on a rug and I stumble, nearly falling. Catching my balance, my gaze breaks away and I catch a glimpse of my surroundings. Disbelief washes over me. Out of all the places in the house I could have taken refuge in, somehow I’ve managed to stumble into the last place I want to be.
Straightening, I look around me. I suppose it’s fitting in a way. We began in a bedroom, and we’ll probably end in a bedroom…
Matthew strides into the room and closes the door behind him.
The lock clicks into place.
A jolt of awareness courses through my body as his attention returns to me. His mouth is set with determination and his eyes are two blazing infernos of blue-white flames. He begins to stalk forward again, his stride long and purposeful. His body moving like a well-oiled machine.
Every step he takes is predatory.
Hungry.
It’s both thrilling and terrifying.
This is my husband, the man I’ve grown to know over the past couple of years. The man who I’ve grown to love and trust…
Yet there’s still this edge to him, this power he has over me that frightens me.
Logically, I know he loves me and I shouldn’t be afraid. But with a man like Matthew, a man revered as Lucifer, it’s impossible to ever truly feel safe.
“Matthew, what on earth has gotten into you?” I ask as he closes the distance between us.
