Chapter 107
CILLIAN
Erica’s breathing had calmed a line, her sobs subsiding into gentle sniffles. I held my arms about her, the force of her weariness seeping into me.
She still hadn’t shifted yet, but I could sense her hold weakening, her body shuddering less crratically as before. I don’t know how long we just sit there, her huddled in my chest, my hand idly tracing patterns on her back, as if I could somehow calm the terror she had just witnessed.
At last, she moved, drawing back a little. I released her, keeping a close eye. Her face was mottled, eyes red and puffy, lips open as she strugglest us control her breathing. She did not glance at me immediately. Her eyes wandered over my shoulder instead, her body tensing once more.
Something in how her whole face blanked out triggered every warning bell in my brain.
I twisted my head to see what she was looking at.
At first I didn’t register what I was seeing. A tangle of black fur was on the floor near the corner of the bed, all curled up and wrong My stomach turned, and a sense of sickness flooded through me. I stood up involuntarily, stepping closer. And then, in a jolt, realization hit me like a body blow
Nero,
Erica’s pampered little Persian cat. It was dead,
Mutilated.
Blood had collected under the dead body, the dark richness seeping into the pale floor. His head was twisted horribly away from his tiny, lifeless body, and there was a creepy stillness to him that made my flesh crawl
The nausea in my stomach boiled into full rage.
“Motherfucker. I exhaled my voice low and menacing.
Erica stood still where she was, but I could hear the hard catch in her breath. She was looking at Nero, rigid, her face impassive. I had no idea what was going through her mind at that moment. The helplessness, the terror, the raw horror of realizing that whoever had been stalking her had taken it to the worst possible level
I crept slowly down again, standing between her and the gruesome vision.
g to snap her out of whatever place she had retreated to. She was starting to breathe shallowly once more
“Erica” I murmured softly, attempting to
Her gaze wavered to mine, unsering, lost.
I was going to murder the person responsible for this.
I made myself look away from her, then back again to the area next to Nero’s corpse. And that was when I saw something–a bit of paper, wrinkled slightly, lying just to the jade of the dead cat. My teeth were clenched so hard that they hurt as 1 reached down to grab it, already realizing it wouldn’t be anything nice,
My fury doubled as I read the note
“Nobody geis to see you naked. He did. He had to die. So sorry, sweetheart
My fingers wrapped around the paper, folding it into a tight ball in my fist.
Son of a batch..
I hadn’t even noticed my breathing had become harsh, almost jagged, as i struggled to keep the raw brutality seething beneath my skin. My whole body went rigid, the anger boiling to a point of near–explosion as my eyes refouined on the room. That’s when I saw the other things.
The open drawers.
The wardrobe door left open
The bedside table picked over.
And then the lingerie.
My gaze snapped to the bed, my stomach churning at the sight of the delicate, black lace that lay there. It was crumpled, as if it had been gripped too tightly. But it wasn’t the mere presence of the fabric that sei in off. It was the fact that, upon closer inspection, the material was stained.
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Chapter 107
My vision blurred with rage.
In be a detective to know what had transpired here. The uck son of a bitch had rummaged through her most intimate belongings, had
I didn’t have taken his time desecrating her space, leaving his filth in its wake.
And he had done it with the knowledge that she would see it
urge to smash something Someone.
My lists were clenched so hard that may nails bit into my palms, my whole body tense with the urge to san
I turned to Erica, her body still pinned to the ground, her arms around herself, she wasn’t crying anymore. She wasn’t even looking at me. Her eyes were distant, unfocused, fixed on some point beyond me
I breathed slowly, shoving the crusting anger aside long enough to concentrate On
The only thing going through my head was that I had to get her out of here. That stalker had been in here in her apartment. I could have my best men watch over her but still it didn’t seem enough. Nothing seemed enough.
Except if she stayed with me. She would be safe in my penthouse. Under my eyes.
I had already proposed that before and observed how she reacted to the suggestion.
passing thought struck me. Suppose she was home a bit sooner, suppose the stalker were present when she got in
There was a curious constriction in my chest. I decided. I was not taking any more risks. She was coming with me if she did not like it
“Erica. I tried to keep my voice gentle, as gentle as a flame that engulfed me was likely to let me. “Come home with me?
She blinked, opening her mouth an inch. I had expected refusal and to do battle with her on this, but then she mumbled out a tiny “Okay”
I hesitated, not certain if i had really heard her say that. Her throat moved up and down before she forced some words out. “I’ll come with you.”
Rather than being relieved at the fact that she had complied, I became angry. That fucking asshole had intimidated her so badly that she had lost her struggle
I suppressed all other emotions and concentrated only on her. Erica had lost her pet–her best friend–to a deranged fuck attempting to assert ownership over her.
Reaching for my phone. I called my housekeeper and instructed her to prepare the guest room for Erica.
“Come on.” I held out my hand. She grasped it and levered herself up. But then she swayed on her feet,
rm around her waist. She glanced back at her cat. “What about Nero! We can’t leave him here”
I steadied her by putting my arm
“Do you want me to bury him?”
She faced me, her chin shaking. “Il do it.”
I codded to her.
“Okay”
