Page 46 of Hunted Obsession

Hearingthat Lucille waltzed down those stairs like there was no danger in sight, then she also made it to that that bare room just moments after the girls in bikinis probably left, makes me feel fucking nauseous. She could have been hurt—or worse. I don’t even want to imagine it.

“I need to know, Theron. I’m too deep into this to not know.”

I almost laugh in her face. Seriously, I want to burst out into a fucking belly laugh. Because, without a doubt, the last thing she would ever want to know, to understand, is me and this world.

“You are not too deep into anything,” I say, biting back my laughter. “In fact, the only thing you’ve done is tried to befriend Emmie, maybe stalked her a little bit, and then thought about but abandoned fucking around with her brother. Everything else has happened online.”

She stares up at me, her lips parted in awe and her eyes round. I would fucking love to slip my cock past her lips right about now. See her eyes widen even more. Fuck me, but I want it.

“I can’t hide you away in my apartment and lock you up for safety,” I say. “As much as I fucking want to, it’s just not an option right now.”

She snaps her lips closed, and I watch as she breathes out of her nose before she clears her throat. “I think I need to know what’s going on, Theron.”

Lucille thinks that she wants to know about my past, but she can never. Releasing my grasp on her wrists, I stand and take a step backward. Turning away from her, I walk over to her small window and peer down. I’m not seeing anything right now; I’m just trying to figure out how the fuck to get out of telling her the truth about my past.

Nobody needs to know the shit that my brothers and I survived. Those nightmares are solely ours to keep. Telling her only puts that evil into the world, and I don’t want her to ever know that.

Spinning around, I look down at her. I can’t stay away from her. My feet carry me over to the side of the bed that I just abandoned. She’s so fucking beautiful lying in bed. Her eyes slightly hooded, her lips plump and ready for my mouth… or my dick.

“You don’t need to know what’s going on, but I’ll tell you that I’m doing this for myself and my partners. This is an operation, and it is not by choice. I don’t want you in the middle of this. I’ve said it more than once. I fucking mean it, Lucille.”

She rises to her knees, her hand touching the center of my chest. Her blue eyes never leave mine, and I swear to fuck that I’m about to lose complete control. I can’t do that, though. Losing control is going to ignite a fire that I cannot put out.

It could kill people.

“Theron, something made you walk away from me ten years ago, and something is making you push me away now. It has to do with Asher and Emmie Grant. I want to know what it is. I deserve to know.”

Anger fills me. Not because she’s wrong but because she’s right. I can’t tell her that, though. If I do, I’m showing hera vulnerability that I just cannot risk showing at the moment, maybe not ever.

Taking a step backward, I clear my throat. “This is my last warning to you, Lucille. Stop looking into this. Stop obsessing over Emmie. Just stop.”

Tears instantly fill her eyes, and if I were a different kind of man, I would wrap her in my arms and hold her and tell her that everything is going to be okay before I kiss her.

But I am not that man.

And I probably never will be.

“You haven’t told me anything, Theron. Why won’t you just tell me?”

Taking half a step forward, I wrap my fingers around the front of her throat and squeeze. “It is not yours to know,” I snap. “Stop digging.”

Her eyes are wide as she gasps and wraps her fingers around my wrist, holding on to me. Her nails dig into my wrist, but I don’t stop squeezing. Leaning forward, I touch my lips to the lobe of her ear.

“Don’t ask me anything else, Lucille. Knowing too much is a hazard that I’m not willing to put on you. Stay the fuck away.”

Releasing her, my hand falls to my side, and without another word, I turn around and stomp out of her apartment, slamming then locking the door behind me. I’m so fucking pissed off right now. All I wanted to do was wake her up and fuck her when she was sleepy.

Then I wanted to tell her to burn that fucking blue dress. I don’t want any other man to ever see that shit again.

But that didn’t happen.

Instead, she tried to needle me to fucking death about my past and the Grants. I could give a fuck about the Grants, except for one thing—I want them all dead.

Leaving Lucille’s place, I head straight for the office. I should go to Emmie’s and fuck the frustration out of me, but I don’t. Instead, I decide to go to work. Hale is sitting in the office, focused on the screens in front of him. I almost don’t see Merrick in the corner, but I’m observant, so I do.

“Well, this is a lot fucking bigger than I anticipated it to be,” I state as I close the door behind me.

“No fucking shit,” Hale grunts. “What the fuck do we do now?”

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