Chapter Twenty

“So beautiful. So innocent and yet so clueless about what I’m going to do to you.” He hugged the nightgown with the little pink flowers close to his body and buried his face in it, inhaling Teegan’s scent from the last time she’d worn it.

It felt good to know she was scared. He would feed off of that fear. Now it wasn’t her new lover who would be in the forefront of her mind. It was him, Mummy Man. Control. Control. Control.

He rather liked that name, Mummy Man. It suited him. There was something about wrapping up a body; taking it back to its beginning stages of existence. In the world of kink, sex slaves and submissives seemed to find being wrapped to be a source of comfort and safety. It was like they were back in the womb. He was taking them to another womb. He was taking them to their grave…the eternal womb.

He just wished the police would leave his work alone. As much as he enjoyed the attention when a wrapped body was found, he wished they wouldn’t unwrap it. They needed to leave it alone in its state of eternal perfection. Unwrapping it just ruined everything. And then he had to do it all over again.

He ran his hand over the pictures that covered one wall; a shrine of sorts to Teegan. He’d taken all those pictures, catching her in her most intimate moments. He’d been following her after he discovered her stories on serial killers. He had devoted so much time to her. Disappointment washed over him as he thought about how she’d betrayed him by wearing that slutty red dress for another man. She was no different than any other woman: wave some money and a pretty face under her nose and she became a bitch in heat. If a woman as innocent as his sweet Teegan could be lured in by the riches of the world then all women had to be evil. Didn’t she know how much time he had invested in her? Didn’t she know she was the center of his world? Didn’t sweet Teegan know he loved her? Couldn’t she feel it?!

He had no choice. He was going to have to show her. He was going to have to take her and convince her that Thomas Wentworth was nothing more than a rich playboy who would use her and cast her aside after he became bored with her. It hadn’t taken him long to figure out who the mystery man was who accompanied Teegan to her ransacked house. Wentworth had had the world handed to him on the proverbial silver platter; he didn’t deserve her.

“Oh, sweet Teegan.” He trailed a fingertip over one of the pictures. “You’ve captivated me with your beauty and your innocence. I simply cannot permit him to get in the way of our union. Even if it means killing him for us to be together. I understand; you’re just confused right now, but don’t worry, darling…I’ll help you.”

He pushed down the anger he felt toward Teegan. He had to remember that it wasn’t her fault she’d been deceived. She was dealing with a worldly man, a man who enjoyed reading people’s weaknesses and preying on them. He wasn’t much different than the killer. He was a predator too. Let the games begin. It was always more gratifying to have an opponent who was capable. Oh, what a thrill it would be to pull the saintly Thomas Wentworth into a life of murder.

It was one thing to manipulate someone into killing for you, but quite another to tempt a man with a conscience into killing, because it would torment him for the rest of his life. From now on, every time Wentworth looked in the mirror and guilt cut through him, the cause of his terror would be brought to mind.

It was so delicious to think about all the power he held: power over the sweet, innocent Teegan, power over Thomas, and ultimately power over a city that walked in fear because a killer was in their midst.

He was getting the itch again and it would take time to abduct Teegan. She would be leery now, afraid to go home after her personal space had been violated, so he would need to make due. He needed to find someone else to play with, if only for a while. He needed another victim. Maybe he’d indulge in a little breath play…and, boy, was he ever ready to play.