Page 71 of Left in the Dark

Luca’s voice is full of excitement. “The new ones I’m testing? With sound.”

Smirking, I nod.

“Jesus Christ.” Jaxson paces around. “Delaney has no idea you live about two hours?—”

“An hour and forty-five minutes. And no.”

Luca raises his brows. “Her dickhead father is gonna have eyes all over her.”

“You don’t think I know that? Hence, the extra cameras and security measures.” My gaze moves to Jaxson. “Dick Warner is running for governor of the state.”

“Oh, fuck.” Jaxson has murder flashing in his eyes. “All hell is about to break loose.”

“Don’t worry your pretty little head, Jaxson. I have everything under control.” I beam at him, knowing his blood pressure is rising. “You better calm down before you have a heart attack, ole man.”

Jaxson is downright seething, pacing back and forth like a caged animal. “Don’t worry?” He throws his arms out to the side, shaking his head. “You? Have everything under control? Laughable.”

I watch his meltdown with barely concealed amusement.

He runs his hands through his hair and sighs, his aggravation increasing. “Step one. Stalk Delaney and sneak inside her cabin. Step two. Touch her while she sleeps. Then she wakes up and calls the cops.” Sarcasm drips from every syllable.

“Step three. Get her to choke on your cock, and then throw her in your vehicle before the police arrive. Hey… does she have a mask kink?” The wide smile on Luca’s face makes me love the kid even more.

The vein throbs angrily in Jaxson’s forehead. I wish it were daylight to see his facial reactions more clearly. Hopefully,Luca’s cameras are catching all this so I can watch this again later.

“You’re not fucking helping, Luca. I was being sarcastic. Stop giving this asshole more ideas than he already has.”

Luca shrugs. “Just trying to help.”

I chuckle, giving him a high-five. “You’re helping, Luca. Don’t worry about Jaxson. He perpetually has his panties in a bunch.”

“Listen to college boy using the big words.” Jaxson rolls his eyes. “This is serious shit, Zayne. I know what it’s like to have an abusive fucking father. In my case, he was a drunk asshole who beat the shit outta my mom because he blamed her for his shitty choices. He turned his rage on me when I tried to defend and protect her.” Jaxson’s chest heaves from his words before he turns away.

I raise my brows at Luca, who looks as perplexed as I feel. I’ve never seen Jaxson in this state. I’m not quite sure how to handle him.

“First of all, college boy, we were roommates. Graduated from Caltech together.” My tone lowers, and all trace of my earlier sarcasm is gone. “Second, we’re not making light of your situation. Nor Delaney’s. But damn it, if I don’t release steam, I’ll do it in the wrong way, which will be bad for everyone involved.”

Jaxson turns to face me, a smirk on his face. “Well, I’ll be damned. Zayne Morine has a heart. He’s not just a hot-headed asshole who acts first and thinks later.”

“Smart ass.” I shake my head, looking up at the sky so he can’t analyze my face. I have a lot of sensitivity inside me, but I’ve kept it hidden ever since Delaney broke my fucking heart into pieces.

She’s my weakness. Always has been and will be until the day I die.

But I don’t share this with anyone. Not even my best friends. It makes me too vulnerable.

I let my guard down once and nearly got destroyed. Now, my heart is trapped inside a steel cage.

“Are we done with the pussy shit?” My mask is firmly in place again. “Listen, I know this is risky as fuck. Luca gave me a great idea.”

Luca pumps his fist in the air. “The blow job?”

I smirk.That’s part of my plan, but not right now.“The mask.”

Luca rubs his hands together. “Oh, I like that idea.”

“Halloween is next month. I’ll study her to learn her habits and patterns.”Seeing her naked body anytime she changes her clothing or showers.“No one will know it’s me beneath the mask.”

“What mask?”

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