Page 99 of Fracture

“I never asked you to do any of this!”

“But we did it because we’re fucking animals!” Levi leans over her, his eyes dark and deep and filled with pain. “You want to love us? You want to be with us? Then this is what you get. You get two damaged and broken fucked up psychos who’d murder anyone who breathed near you.” He grabs her hand, and she struggles, but he doesn’t let her go as he presses her palm to his chest. “Here, right in here. You told me you’d never be afraid of what was in here. You told me you'd never be afraid ofme. Is that still true?”

Stella twists her arm, trying to fight Levi’s grasp. “Stop it!”

Levi yanks her closer. “Well? Do I scare you? Are you afraid of me?”

“No!”

“Do you love me for everything I am, even if it’s wrong?”

Stella gasps, pushing against him with her free hand, casting a glance over her shoulder at me. “I - I don’t…”

Levi grabs her jaw to force her to look at him, staring her down. “Do you love me?”

Stella nods. “Yes.”

“Are you scared of me?”

“N-no.”

Levi cocks an eyebrow. “No?”

“No. Never. I just… I don’t want to lose you.”

Levi strokes her hair, pressing her against him. “You won’t, baby girl. Ever. I swear it. But this is who I am, who we are. And we’re not going to stop until they’re all dead.” He smothers Stella’s protests with his mouth, kissing her ferociously, a mark of ownership. Stella stops fighting him, and wraps her arms around his neck.

“I will never hurt you, Stella,” he murmurs against her cheek, running a hand down her back. “Never. Not you.”

“I know.” She gazes up at him, steely determination etched into her face. “But you have to stop acting like I’m some pure little angel. I’m not.”

Levi’s eyes move to me, taking me in, before looking down at Stella. “Did it turn you on, knowing we’d killed for you?”

Stella’s throat bobs as she swallows, and she nods slowly. “Yes. I liked it.”

“So fucking twisted.” He buries his face in the crook of her neck, and her body arches against him, her hands moving under his shirt. “I love it.”

I leave them alone in the garage, entranced and entwined with each other, to have their moment just like Stella and I did. Desire twists my insides as I head to the bathroom and wash off all the blood, all the filth of what I just did. I know this won’t be the last time I return home to Stella, covered in darkness and sin, trying to convince myself I was smart enough not to get caught.

I collapse into bed, and after a while, I hear Stella and Levi’s footsteps on the stairs. They head for the shower, the falling of the water punctuated by their cries and moans. They don’t come and join me, instead heading for Stella’s room, where the sounds of their fucking continue, until my eyes get heavy and I fall asleep.

Iverson is dead.

And Gloria’s fucking next.

CHAPTER 23

LEVI

“You’ve managedto find gainful employment?” My parole officer, a man with round glasses and thinning grey hair called Dave, looks over the form in front of him, his voice betraying just how bored he is by his job.

“Sure have.” I stretch my legs out in front of me, hot sun spilling in through the window of the stifling office. “I’m my own boss, as a matter of fact. I bought a garage.”

Dave’s eyes widen as he pulls a face at the form. “How great for you.”

“Thanks.” I suppress a laugh. This guy has no time for a rich kid like me.

“And you’re keeping out of trouble?” He looks at me over the rims of his round glasses.

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