Page 16 of Caught in His Sights

Caleb carries me back to the front room and settles onto the couch with me cradled in his lap.

A rumble rises from his chest, his pheromones surrounding me, calming me as he strokes my back. “Is it finally settling in?”

“I could have died tonight,” I whisper against his throat, vulnerable in a way I haven’t allowed myself to feel in years.

Caleb’s hand pauses on my back, and then he resumes his soothing pets down my spine. “It’s good to see you’re not completely crazy and do feel fear.”

At the hint of a smile in his voice, I straighten in his lap, my fingers gripping his shirt. “It’s not so much dying… it’s realizing no one would have noticed.”

Pity flickers across his face.

Unable to handle that, I slip from the cradle of Caleb’s arms to sit beside him instead, the warmth of his body dissipating as I put some distance between us.

“What about the death threats?” Caleb asks, breaking the silence.

Grabbing my satchel, I unzip it and pull out my laptop, the folder I grabbed slipping out in the process. I shove it back into the pocket and set it on the coffee table before opening my computer.

The screen flickers to life, and I navigate to my blog, pulling up the disturbing emails I saved.

Anxiety bubbles inside me as I open the first one. When I started receiving these, I thought I was being trolled, but now I realize I shouldn’t have ignored them. A cold sweat breaks out all over my body, and I focus on keeping my breaths steady.

Caleb takes the laptop, skimming through the dozen or so threats.

“I tried blocking them, but they used different email addresses.” I rub my damp palms on my thighs. “I should call the cops and report the shooting. They’ll investigate this now that I’ve been attacked.”

Caleb opens more messages. “No.”

“But insurance will require a police statement before they’ll pay for the repairs.” My anxiety gives way to frustration.

He closes the computer and sets it on his far side, out of my reach. “Don’t worry about any of that.”

“Look, my savings can’t cover paying for repairs out of pocket.” Shame warms my cheeks to admit that while surrounded by such luxury. “And winter’s coming soon. I can’t live there with the slider broken.”

Caleb’s jaw hardens. “You’re not going back to your apartment until we have answers.”

My muscles tense at his words. The idea of abandoning my home, the only place I’d ever shared with Dylan, is unbearable. I’ve held on to that shitty living space for one reason only, and I won’t give up on it now.

I stand, my foot protesting with a spike of pain.

Caleb catches my hand, stopping me. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I appreciate you patching me up, and I promise I’ll leave your name out when I file the police report,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady. “But I need to go home.”

“Your life belongs to me now, Oliver,” Caleb reminds me, his words sending a terrifying thrill through me.

Every fiber of my being wants to give in. I’ve spent so long struggling to take care of myself that I yearn to let someone else take control. But it’s difficult to stop fighting.

Caleb’s hold on my wrist tightens. “Don’t forget, I have the video of you masturbating. You don’t want the entire world to see you like that, do you?”

The reminder of the blackmail material brings with it a sense of relief so intense it leaves my legs shaking. I have no choice but to obey him, and that knowledge eases the burden I’ve carried since my parents died.

With a gentle tug, Caleb draws me back onto his lap. “You’ll be a good, obedient boy, right, Oliver? Just for me?”

A whine escapes as I melt against him, burying my nose in my assassin’s neck.

6

Caleb’s heat sinks through me, my head spinning and my body melting with the heady mixture of leather and gun oil.

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