Aras

On a day defined by decisions I shouldn’t have been making, going into that room had been the worst.

I had told myself to stay away, tried to force myself stay away, and yet I’d found myself back in the place I knew spelled danger.

I’d acquired this mansion and the twenty acres it sat on years ago and had spent a great deal of money making it as secure as possible. The entire property was wired for sound and video, had a fully stocked armory and the best security system money could buy.

No place was ever completely safe, but no one could enter the property without me knowing.

Just as no one could leave.

Still, though I knew she was going nowhere, I couldn’t look away from the cameras, telling myself I was gathering information and not feeding my ever-growing obsession with her.

I’d watched Lake as she took in her surroundings, saw as she was grappling with what was happening to her and what she might do about it.

Seeing that gave me insight into another side of her.

She was almost always closed off and kept how worried she was, how afraid, inside.

And I hadn’t liked it.

Caring about her reactions, about anyone’s reactions, was new to me.

I shouldn’t care if she was afraid, but I did. Even worse, I found myself wanting to check on her.

And when she’d drifted off to sleep, I’d had the perfect excuse.

Besides, she could be injured.

I hadn’t hit her hard enough to do real damage, but she could have been having ill effects from losing consciousness. And she was an important chip, so it was my responsibility to make sure she was in tip-top shape.

At least that was what I had told myself as I slipped into the room.

I’d hovered at the doorway, not daring to get closer.

I didn’t need to be.

I was close enough to see if she was in the any distress, but far enough away that I didn’t have to force myself not to stare at her, not to touch her.

I still had no idea what was driving this, but I needed to figure it out and soon.

Or maybe I didn’t.

Whatever this was with Lake—that feeling of primal possession that seemed to grow more intense with each moment—was beside the point.

I had Vlad in my crosshairs, and she was simply a tool that was going to help me get what I wanted after all these years.

After that, nothing else mattered.

That reminder helped me recenter myself, reminded me that my purpose was clear. I exhaled slowly, feeling some of the tension release from my body.

And then I watched her as I had the night before.

My eyes had been glued to the screen, watching Lake and Vlad until disgust had forced me to look away.

Seeing her touch him had enraged me.

Seeing him mistreat her had almost broken my control.

I’d been seconds away from killing him then, uncaring of my plan if it meant he wouldn’t ever touch her again.

I was glad I’d held off, hadn’t ruined my chance to make him truly suffer.

He could never repay what he had taken from me, but he would feel pain.

I would make sure of it.

And more, Lake would help me.

How would she feel about that?

I wasn’t sure of the answer.

Maybe she liked him, was perfectly content with the way he treated her, though I seriously doubted it, especially when I’d seen her lose her composure, break down in tears after one of his visits.

No, Lake hated him.

I found my gaze drawn to the cot where she slept.

She looked peaceful, more relaxed in a freezing-cold basement than she had in what was supposed to have been her home.

Yes, she hated him.

And soon, I would make him pay.

For what he’d done to me.

And what he’d done to her.