Past…

“Did you speak to Detective Trejo?”

“Jesus Christ.” My heart rate accelerates at the sound of Cain’s voice in the pitch-black room. “Give me a heads-up next time.”

My eyes adjust, and I see the desk chair Cain’s sitting on shift slightly, but he doesn’t turn around. He keeps his focus glued to the tank—which is weird as fuck given the neon lights are turned off.

Then again, Cain’s not exactly normal. Neither of us are.

We’re two screwed up peas in one fucked-up pod.

Which is why I can’t blame him for what happened to Mrs. Miller.

If the roles were reversed—I might have sacrificed someone Cain cared about in order to save myself. Save us.

Like my father always says. You have two choices in life—you can either be the lamb…or the slaughterer.

Cain finally got tired of being the lamb.

My chest constricts, and I feel around for my cigarettes. I don’t blame Cain for standing up for himself, but it sucks that Mrs. Miller got caught in the crossfire.

Cain didn’t mean it—I remind myself. He had no other choice. It was her or us…and he chose us.

Just like I did.

“Yeah, I talked to him.” Fetching my lighter, I put the flame to the end of my cigarette and take a long drag. “Listen, I don’t know if you heard but—”

“Mrs. Miller’s dead.” His voice is flat. Devoid of any emotion…not even shock. “Her husband beat her to death.”

“Yeah,” I utter, the gravity of it all settling in my gut like a brick. “It su—”

“How did everything go at the precinct?”

His immediate change of subject sends a spike of irritation through me. “You mean apart from finding out Mrs. Miller died? Fine, I guess.”

His heavy sigh tells me he’s about as irritated as I am. “Did you stick to the story? Or did you throw a curveball like you usually do?”

I cross my arms. “I didn’t throw any curveballs. I told you, I got your back.”

“Why?”

My eyes narrow. I don’t like that he’s questioning my motives when he already knows he has my unconditional loyalty. Or how he won’t spare Mrs. Miller’s death more than a second of his time considering he’s partially responsible for it.  

And I’m feeling all kinds of fucked up about it.

Dragging a hand over my scalp, I mutter a curse. “You already know why, Cain.”

“Because you’re a cocksucker who’s infatuated with me.”  

There’s no teasing in his voice. It comes out like an accusation.

“Yeah, well. Last time I checked, your feelings were mutual.”

With the way Cain’s been on my dick lately, I thought he moved past his hang-ups about our situation.

I thought he realized, just like I did weeks ago—that what we have—this eerie pull between us—isn’t wrong.

“Christ.” His laugh is antagonizing. “You’re either too stupid to realize, or too obsessed with me to notice.”

The energy in the room transforms into something ominous and my muscles tense on instinct. “Realize what?”

“That two people can feel the same emotion for two very different reasons,” he says slowly like I’m a small child incapable of comprehending something so extensive.  

And fuck me, because I’m starting to feel like one. Cain’s not being straightforward with me. He’s speaking in riddles and then cutting me off with nasty remarks…like a politician having a debate with his opponent.

But I’m not Cain’s opponent. I’ve never been his opponent. We’re a team.

Before I can ask him what his problem is, the lights in the neon tank turn on. Usually, I have a divider between the regular fish and my piranha until he’s ready to eat them.

But there aren’t any regular fish. There’s only my piranha in the main part of the tank…and what appears to be a new piranha on the other side of the divider.

“For instance, take these two piranhas,” Cain states. “Your piranha has been fed today. He is calm.  Relaxed. In control. But the other one? He’s hungry, Damien. It’s been so long since he’s been fed, he’s downright desperate. It doesn’t even matter what kind of food he gets, or where it comes from…he’ll do anything for it.”

More riddles. More smoke screens. It’s all I can do not to reach over and shake the shit out of him until he gives me something real.

Something that doesn’t twist my insides like every word out of his mouth does currently.

“Is there a point—”  

He clicks a button on the remote next to him. “Watch what happens when the two piranhas meet.”

“Cain—” It’s too late. The hungry piranha is already devouring the other one.

He never saw it coming.

Cain spins around to face me. “Two hungry piranhas can never coexist in one tank, Damien. Sooner or later, one will lose.”

His expression twists. There’s so much animosity radiating from him I nearly rock back on my feet. “Much like the piranha you kept on the other side of the divider…you stalked and salivated over me for weeks, waiting for the right opportunity to feast.” He rises from the chair. “But when it didn’t come fast enough, you decided to create your own by screwing my girlfriend—and then while I was at my lowest, you used the leverage you gained to lure me into your fucked-up playground.” His eyes become tiny slits. “When I resisted, you seduced me with temptation and lust… utilizing Mrs. Miller as bait until I finally caved.” He walks toward me slowly, sizing me up. “However, me participating in your bedroom games wasn’t enough…because it wasn’t what you really wanted. Our mock friendship was merely a trap. A divider that enabled you to get a closer look at your meal…because you weren’t going to stop pursuing me until I was all yours.”

Cain’s not wrong. I needed to find out what made him tick…see if we were cut from the same cloth as I’d suspected.

But in order to find all that out, I had to invite him into my world and get under his skin like he’d gotten under mine.

I had to find out why my interest in him was becoming all-consuming. An unbearable itch that would kill me if I didn’t scratch it.

And once I realized why…he didn’t stand a chance in hell of escaping me. He was mine the moment I decided I wanted him to be.

Just like everyone else I’ve ever wanted. Only unlike them…Cain’s special.

However, if Cain didn’t want this, he could have stopped it before it spun out of control. Instead, he kept coming back for more.

Kept toying with me. Kept pushing my buttons.

Because he likes my attention. And he craves the things I do to his body.

He’s addicted to his pedestal. Same way I’m addicted to him.

“You can stand here and point fingers at me. You can even make yourself believe you were taken advantage of if that’s what helps you sleep at night.” Taking a step forward, I close the distance between us. I smirk when I feel the growing bulge along his thigh. I haven’t even touched him and he’s already hard. “But we both know my interest wasn’t one-sided. You enjoy being my prey.” Leaning in, I lick the shell of his ear. “The only thing you didn’t like? Was the idea of sharing your pedestal with someone else. Which is why you got rid of Mrs. Miller.”

“You’re right.” The sound of his zipper lowering has my own dick hardening. “It’s no secret I’ve always had a problem sharing my toys and getting along with others.”

The bitterness in his tone is unmistakable. I want to remind him this is no longer a competition because Mrs. Miller’s already dead and I’m already his—but he presses down on my shoulder, urging me on my knees. “Now why don’t you give me something to take the edge off while I finish the rest of this conversation?”

I shake my head. “Conversation is already over.” Gripping his neck, I lean my forehead against his. “And I’m not in the mood to suck your dick.” I sink my teeth into his lower lip and slip my other hand down the back of his pants. “I want to tie you up and fuck you so hard you won’t be able to walk for weeks.”

His nostrils flare as I begin prepping him with my finger, and I can see the internal war he’s waging with himself. It’s almost cute, considering we both know I’ll be balls deep inside his ass in the next minute. He can’t resist me any more than I can resist him.

“Damien.” His voice is a low rasp, almost pleading. “Please.”

And just like that…I’m caving and dropping to my knees for him.

Cain’s out of sorts and it’s obvious he needs me. I’m willing to put my selfish needs aside momentarily and give him what he wants.

His hand goes to my head as I pull him out. “I knew you’d give in.” He groans as I proceed to tease him. “You’re so fucking obsessed you’d do anything for me, huh?”

Being submissive has never been my thing, but what’s happening in this moment is beyond that. It’s about being partners—one taking care of the other when they’re spinning out.  

If Cain needs me to relinquish control in order to get some of it back so he can feel better—I’ll do it.

He groans my name when I take him in my mouth. “I bet you’d even let me fuck you if I wanted to.”

I freeze. The idea of Cain screwing me has never appealed to me before and it doesn’t now.

He strokes my cheek. “Wouldn’t you, Damien?”

I nod in agreement.

This is what happens when you meet your match. You sacrifice the things you want…or in this case, don’t want…for the things they do.

A grin tugs at the corners of his lips. “I wonder what else you’d let me do?”

“Anything you want.”  

I mean it. Cain needs to know we’re not rivals. We never were. We’re equals. No…more than that. We’re a team.

He’s mine and I’m his.

Taking him deeper, I go back to the task at hand. Drawing out little grunts of pleasure from Cain that go straight to my own cock.

“I’d bet you’d let me tie you up,” he rasps. “Let me make you my sex slave, fulfilling my every command because you’re so desperate for me.”

I suck him harder and he trembles, thrusting his hips into my face. “Wouldn’t you, Damien?”

Releasing him, I look up. “If that’s what you wanted.”

He yanks my shirt over my head and shakes it out before he tosses it across the room. “What I want right now is to fuck you. Take off your pants.”  

“Wait,” he says when I start undoing my belt.

“What?”

His eyes darken. “I have to pee.” An evil grin spreads across his face and he runs the tip of his dick along my bottom lip. “Open.”

The organ in my chest beats so hard it hurts. I know this is nothing more than a power play. A way for Cain to see how loyal I truly am…how far I’m willing to go for him.

Not breaking eye contact, I part my lips and hold my breath. Preparing for what’s to come.

His callous laugh confuses me. “God, you’re fucking pathetic. No wonder your mother was a dope head. She needed an escape from her slow, moronic son.” He pushes my head away. “You’re so obsessed with me. So desperate for my dick…you failed to realize what was really happening between us.”

I’m trying to wrap my head around what he’s saying and what it means, but Cain’s fifty steps ahead of me in what feels like a millisecond. “Failed to realize what exactly?”

“This whole time you thought I was your prey…but you were mine.” He pulls something out of his pocket. A small black cassette tape. “It was nice being fawned over, having my dick sucked whenever I wanted, and of course—having an alibi when I needed one. But our time together is over, Damien. There’s only room for one of us in this tank.”

I open my mouth to speak, but he presses a button on the phone and my voice fills the room.

“Well, before the pills, I would have re-wired an everyday household item...something simple…maybe a coffee maker or toaster. This way, they’d blame it on faulty wiring.”

“Blame what on faulty wiring?”

“The fire that would kill him.”

His smile is as cruel as he is. “Our paths might have crossed, but my future plans don’t include you.”

I stand up, which is a bad idea because the room is spinning. I’m trying to connect the dots…no that’s wrong. I’ve already connected the dots—it wasn’t hard—but my brain is trying to make up excuses as to why he did it.

Even though my heart already knows the truth.

This isn’t a mistake or a lapse in judgment. He recorded that conversation for one reason and one reason only.

To set me up to take the fall.

And that can only mean one thing. Cain never felt the same way for me as I do for him. He just wanted me to believe he did.

My partner. The object of my fascination…the person I thought was my reward for all the bad shit I’ve been through…is a traitor.

And I was nothing more than a love-sick pawn.

This whole time I thought Cain made me a better person…but it was only because I made him a worse one.

Just like my piranha who ended up a meal just moments prior. I didn’t realize I was in danger until it was too late.

The sound of the gun cocking is loud in the now quiet room. Cain’s not even shaking as he points it at me. If anything, he’s calm and collected.

He’s in total control. Blowing me off the face of this earth doesn’t impact him in the least.

And why should it…his body count is already up to three. What’s one more to a psychopath?

“You have three choices.” His eyes flash. “Option one—I can kill you and make it look like you took your own life because your guilt about being a murderer was starting to eat you alive.” He shrugs. “It’s not a bad way to go. People will still hate you, but at least they’ll know you felt remorse for your sins at the end.”

A surge of anger rushes through me and I press my forehead into the gun he’s holding against it. “What are you waiting for? Pull the fucking trigger.”

He’s already stripped me of everything I’ve ever cared about in the last five minutes…including my power and control. He might as well finish me off.

He clicks his tongue. “Option two—I could call Detective Trejo and tell him I stumbled upon a certain recording that I found in my brother’s car…and you can go to jail for the rest of your life.” He winks. “Come to think of it, you might like it there. It’s not all that different from your life now. Minus the fish tank of course. You’ll still have plenty of time to work out and fuck.”

I stay silent, the rage inside me waging war with the sharp pain of Cain’s betrayal.

“What’s option three?”

It doesn’t make sense why he’d give me another option when it’s clear there are only two.

His expression doesn’t change. “I’ll let you live…but it will be in torment. If you choose option three—you will walk out your front door in the next minute and never step foot in this town again, or even think about contacting me for the rest of your miserable life. Because if you do? I’m picking option one or two.”

Option three is the worst one of them all.

My throat burns. “Ca—

The sound of the gun firing makes my ears ring and for a moment, I’m thankful he shot me.

Only he didn’t. He shot the wall behind me. “Get the fuck out, Damien.”

I don’t move a muscle. If he’s going to break my heart and screw up my life, the least he can do is have the guts to end it on my terms.

Because I don’t want to live in the four walls of a prison cell without my freedom like one of my mother’s fish in captivity.

And I sure as fuck don’t want to live in a world where I can’t have him.

“Option one.”

For a second, I see something pass in his gaze, but then it’s gone when he reaches in his pocket with his free hand and pulls out his cell.

I watch in outrage as he brings it to his ear. “Hey, Detective Trejo. It’s Cain Carter. Listen—”

“I’ll leave.”

As usual. I’m at his mercy. He’s making the choice for me.

He hangs up the phone. “You have twenty seconds.”

Bending down, I pick up my shirt, holding out hope that he’ll tell me this is nothing more than a stupid joke and he just wanted to see how far I’d go for him.

“Cain.” Despite the gun he’s holding, I edge forward. As close as I can get to him. Maybe he needs to hear someone say it. Just like I do.

“I love—”

A stream of warm liquid saturates my clothes before a faint ammonia smell fills my nostrils. I look down in shock.

Cain’s peeing on me…like he’s a dog and I’m a goddamn fire hydrant.

“You have two seconds to leave me the fuck alone forever, or I’ll call Detective Trejo back.” The gun in his hand shakes as he continues urinating, aiming for my pants and shoes. “I never wanted you, and I sure as hell never loved you, you fucking faggot. I never will.”

The heart I wasn’t sure I had until Cain, shatters as I run out of my bedroom. Leaving nothing but a gaping hole in my chest.

A gaping hole now filled with a venomous wrath so strong, I start shaking with the force of it.

If Cain thought I was obsessed before, he has no idea what kind of poison his hurt and betrayal has unleashed inside of me.

Sometimes the only difference between love and obsession is a broken heart.

And unfortunately for Cain…there’s no longer love.  

There’s only darkness. A need for vengeance.

But it’s not enough to idly threaten him. It’s not enough to screw with his head.

No…I’m going to bide my time and let Cain lead his perfect life.

I’m going to let him forget about me.

And then…when he’s content and happy. When he’s close to getting everything he ever wanted.

When he finally falls in love…or at the very least, a lust so powerful it drives him crazy with obsession.

That’s when I’ll appear.

Because the best way to hurt someone, the only way to make them truly pay and suffer for their sins…is to strike when they least expect it.

And then destroy everything they ever wanted…everything they ever cared about.

Until they have nothing.