Page 24 of Stalking Christmas

It’s been twenty-four hours since I fucked her into the floor in her room, and she admitted to finding me‘hot’.You would think, with that admission, and what we shared, it would have allowed us to get past the whole‘drugging and kidnapping’shit, but you’d be wrong. It seems my sweet temptation can hold a grudge like nobody’s business, and despite the fact that I could force her to be with me, I find that I don’t want to, much to my aggravation and disbelief. Chrissy hasn’t eaten or drank anything in over a day, refusing to touch anything I bring her. She also won’t speak with me, and flinches whenever I enter the room. I was losing my mind, and ready to pull out my own hair, as I watched her crying, huddled in a corner of her room, the pitiful sound breaking the heart I didn’t realize could feel anything for anyone.

“That’s a lot of treats; you must really love your furbaby!” A woman attempts to flirt with me, giving me a full body perusal, as she stops her cart and admires mine. I stare at her bleach-blonde hair in thick waves, and the pound of makeup caked on her face, as she attempts to look demure and bats her fake eyelashes at me. In the past, she would be an easy target, one I could use to soothe my bloodlust, but right now, however, only revulsion and annoyance fill me at the sound of her voice. “Unless you want to end up in his cage,fuck offand mind your business,“ I growl and keep moving, grabbing a massive bag of kibble and throwing it into the cart. I hear her gasp and the sound of her scurrying away. Goddammit, I’m losing my shit, and that’s fucking dangerous. I need to get my shit together before I end up behind bars.

My phone vibrates in my jacket pocket, and I pull it out only to see my brother’s number across the screen. Fuck, what does this asshole want now? Can’t I have more than one day without him or my father getting neck-deep in manure? “What?” I blare into the phone, and frighten another patron as they walk by.

“Wow, you’re in a very festive holiday mood. You do know tomorrow is Christmas, right? You better act right, or Santa will only leave a lump of coal in your stocking,” Micah chuckles, and I grip the phone tighter, wishing it was his neck.

I force myself to count to ten in my head before responding, and trying to calm the need to go murder my brother painfully. “What do you need, Micah? I told Dad I need a few days. I already have shit on my plate that has all my attention.”

A deep sigh sounds from his end of the line, and I hear his footsteps moving quickly across a hard surface. “Your shit wouldn’t have something to do with the pretty redheaded waitress that is missing from that diner, would it?”What the fuck? How would he know she’s missing?“What are you talking about, brother?”

“I went back to the diner yesterday, and it seems that the pretty redhead is missing, or so her crotchety coworker told me. She never showed up for work, and her roommate reported her missing to the police, not that they even took it seriously. I checked with one of Dad’s contacts at the closest police precinct to the diner, and it seems young women go missing all the time from that neighborhood, and very little is done about it. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” His smug voice relays through the phone, and I picture stabbing his eyes out in my mind.

“Why would you go back there, Micah?” Furious rage soars through me, and I clench my hands tightly around the handle of the grocery cart, until the whole thing jolts and lifts off the ground at an angle.

“I wanted to see what was so special about her to have caught your attention, and not in the way you usually fixate on something, and honestly, I wanted to know if she was alive.”Motherfucker, I’m going to kill him.He didn’t go just to scope her out. The asshole is super competitive, and he went there toseduce her, just so he could serve that knowledge to me later. I breathe through my nose, compelling myself not to give him the reaction that he wants. Micah is like a shark when he smells blood in the water, and he won’t stop until he gets what he wants. In that sense, we are much the same.

“I don’t know anything about her being missing, and I haven’t seen her since the last time I ate there. Micah, I urge you to find something else more interesting to occupy your time, unless you would like me to make body parts appear as your Christmas gift.” The fucker’s response is to laugh at me, and not just a little chuckle. It sounds like he’s laughing so hard he can’t breathe.Asshole.

“Whatever you say,brother. Dad wants you for a photo op on Christmas Day, and he says it’s not optional. Don’t decapitate the messenger, oh and Nic, have fun with your little redhead, but make sure you don’t get caught with your pants down.“ He hangs up the phone before I can even respond, and it infuriates me further. Who does this little shit think he is, warning me about bad behavior? He’s the one always getting himself into scrapes I have to clean up. Oh, how the tables have turned, and I’m not liking it one fucking bit.

I pass the junk food aisle and throw a bunch of goodies in, hoping that something will tempt Chrissy to eat. When I’m approaching the checkout line, I spy a small Christmas tree display, all lit up, and a bunch of obnoxiously bright decorations in a bin. I’ve never decorated for any holiday at my cabin; I usually avoid them and the season like the plague, only participating in whatever my father forces me to.Would Chrissy like this? Would it make her happy to have a Christmas tree and presents?A part of me can’t believe I’m even worried about what my captive would like; it’s not like she should get an option. The other part of me is busy throwing the boxed tree and abunch of ornaments into my cart, knowing I’ve completely lost my senses.

“Oh, someone is in the last-minute holiday spirit!” The elderly cashier exclaims, as he starts ringing in my items on the checkout conveyor belt. “You know what you’re missing, son?” He looks at me with excitement, and my eyebrow rises with curiosity, looking at all the useless shit I already have here. “Wine, boy, and some eggnog! You can find those in aisles four and seven. Go off and grab some, and I’ll start bagging your items while you do.”

I don’t even realize I’m following his instructions, and heading in that direction, until I’m entering the wine aisle and I come to a complete stop in front of the red section. I drag my hands down my exhausted face. I have no idea what kind of wine Chrissy likes, or even if she likes wine. What am I doing? Where is the psychotic killer that lives inside of me? Have I lost him somehow in all this mess, along with my mind?

Fuck it.I grab bottles of red and white wine, and head to grab the stupid eggnog. At this point, I may as well go entirely overboard into the realm of my insanity, where I play house with my kidnap victim.

Chapter 31

The Gift

It’s Christmas Eve, and I’m sitting in the dark, utterly exhausted from crying, feeling lost and terrified about my fate. My mind is still grappling with the reality that the man I found incredibly sexy, and alluring, at the diner, is the asshole who drugged and kidnapped me. Let’s not even talk about what he did to me with my vibrator, and in the glory hole. The truth is I’m sitting here wrestling with myself; a part of me wants to escape and bludgeon him, and the other part desires to climb him like a thick tree, and fuck him silly.

A shiver races down my spine at the memory of him fisting me, and then yesterday when he fucked me ruthlessly into the floor. My traitorous, sore pussy tingles and weeps with thoughts of those piercings, which adorn his massive cock, and the pleasure that they bring. “Fuck, get it together, bitch, he’s a serial killer,” I mumble out loud. Ah yes, that seems to be my biggest hardship to get past, not the fact that he lied, stalked, and took me, or that he has my neck in a metal collar, and has me chained to a wall once again, but the fact that the psycho enjoys killing people. That’s the part I can’t get my mind to wrap around. He looks so ordinary, pretentious, and snobby as hell, but I would have never guessed he could have killed thirty-plus people. Jesus, I really do know how to pick them, don’t I?

My eyes slide across to the surface of the bed, at the tray that is laden with food he left hours ago, when he once again tried to speak with me. My stomach thunders with hunger, but I hold back, refusing to take anything from him. It’s the principle of it, I tell myself, as the bowl of fruit tries to seduce me from my spot on the floor.

I lower my head on my drawn knees, pulling the sheet I’m wrapped in closer to me, to prevent looking in that direction anymore, and think over his words before he left, frustrated and furious with me.

“You can’t keep doing this, temptation. I don’t want to have to force you to eat, but I will. I’m not above shoving a fucking tube down your throat, and a needle in your veins. Just try me; you won’t like the results.”

“Be reasonable, woman! So what if I kidnapped you? Can you sit there and tell me you were enjoying your life? I can give you anything you desire. Anything you dream about, I can make happen for you. You don’t have to struggle anymore; give in to me.”

“Sweet temptation, you’re really pissing me off with this silent treatment. You don’t want me to have to get creative to hear you speak. I would much rather have a civilized conversation with you, than torture you to hear you scream, but I’m taking nothing off the table until you act like a grown-up.”

“Please, Chrissy. I just want to know if you’re okay. Are you in pain? Do you need something?”

That last interaction almost had me caving. His voice was so soft and distraught, and his dark gray eyes were lined with sorrow. He looked like he hadn’t slept any more than I had. His broad shoulders were rounded, and a look of utter defeat graced his handsome face. Despite the need to go to him and comfort him, I held firm and refused to speak, or take anything from him, and after a few hours of just sitting there across from me, he left without a word. I wonder if he’ll kill me, now that he has no use for me.

Is he right? Did I have nothing to look forward to?Yes, my life was hard, but there were happy times too; it wasn’t all hardship. Memories of when I first met Daisy at a bus stop enter my mind. She was a runaway living on the streets, who had stolen a bag of chips from a local grocery store, and was hiding as the manager searched the street for her, with a bat in his hands. I saw how her tiny body trembled with fear, and how she attempted to make herself disappear, contorting her tiny body into a corner behind a metal bench. Her soft blues looked up at me and pleaded for help, and in that moment, I found a kindred spirit, and knew I would never let anything happen to her.Did she sometimes drive me insane, with her outrageous and reckless behavior?Sure, but she was my family, her and Toothless. Found family, rather than blood.

Toothless, my poor baby, is out there, not knowing where I am. He counts on me for his survival. Daisy is a scatterbrain. Ilove her dearly, but she is, and I wonder if she’s even noticed I’m missing yet. Is she feeding him and letting him out to potty? Does he have his favorite toy, and has he gone for walks? My chest tightens with the fear that I will never see the sweet pup that I rescued from a dog fight again. The memory of his beautiful large eyes begging me to save him from the monsters hurting him ripples through my mind. That was the first time I ever came close to murdering someone. Watching that horrible man beat on a small black dog, and allowing other dogs to attack him. I don’t know what came over me, but before I could stop myself, I grabbed a discarded piece of wood from the ground, and bashed it against the back of his skull. Then I grabbed Toothless, and ran from that alleyway and never looked back. We have been inseparable ever since, except for now.

Deep in my heart, I know I could have killed that man, and that makes me wonder if I’m really any different than Nic. We all have those moments where rage takes over, and our predatory senses come to the forefront; his just seem more extreme. Maybe the people he killed were all bad, perhaps they weren’t, but all I know is, at any point, he could have killed me or Daisy, and he didn’t.

Does that mean I can put aside what he’s done to me? I don’t know; my mind and heart are warring against each other. There is something about him that draws me to him, and has from the very beginning. I remember the devastating sensations I felt, when he was interested in Daisy rather than me.Holy shit!Is he actually interested in Daisy, or was that a way to string me along, and make me not suspect him as the creep sending me the text messages? I need answers, and I need them now. One thing is for sure: I have no intention of letting that slide.

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