Page 68 of Hunted Obsession

I want to be the one to get answers. I want to be the one who tortures and shows these men the same nightmares that they give to the boys they purchase. The nothing orphans, according to Emmie. I can’t do that, though. I need to deal with Lucille.

I make my way over to her and stop in front of her pale, almost seemingly lifeless body. She’s standing, but her eyes are wide and filled with fear. Her hand is still covering her mouth as she stares straight ahead.

“Sweetheart,” I murmur. “Where are the boys?”

She shakes her head, her mouth moving, but no words come out. “Grayson has them,” Vaughn calls out when Lucille doesn’t answer me.

I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her against my chest. Dipping my chin down, I look into her eyes, just inches from her face. I want to kiss her, then fuck her right here—right now.

“You’re covered in blood,” she whispers. “You killed Emmie,” she unnecessarily adds.

“I did,” I state.

“You said you were one of those boys,” she exhales.

“That’s a topic of conversation for another day.”

Lucille shakes her head. Looking over my shoulder, I glance back at Vaughn. “You got this?”

He clears his throat before he answers me. “Take your woman and get your shit sorted.”

As I bend down and slide my arm beneath her knees, Lucille’s legs give out. I pick her up, carry her upstairs, and head toward my car. She slides her arms around my shoulders before resting her head against me, nuzzling her face into my blood-soaked neck.

I don’t tell her that she probably doesn’t want other people’s blood on her, but I don’t give a fuck right now. I need her close to me, and she needs me close to her. I’m not going to pretend that I don’t.

Chapter Thirty

LUCILLE

I’m trembling sohard that I think my bones might actually rattle apart. Theron drives back to the condo, picking me up out of the car and carrying me upstairs. Doing it all without saying a single word.

Only when we’re in the condo does he lower me to my feet. Stumbling a step backward, I look into his eyes. His face is covered with what is now dried blood. Dark, dried blood. Emmie’s blood and others’ because he was covered before I walked into that room.

“I think it’s time you tell me exactly what’s going on, Theron. You don’t just own a security company, do you?”

His lips twitch into a smirk, and he lets out a snort. I can see his white teeth in stark contrast to his dark, blood-covered face.

“I do just own a security company, Lucille.”

Opening her mouth, I watch him for a moment. He doesn’t say anything more right away. Instead, he closes the distance between us. He lifts his hands, his fingers curling around the side of my throat before he inches his face forward.

“You do more than just that,” I whisper.

He hums, and his lips touch mine. He doesn’t deepen the kiss, even though I want him to. I need to feel his whole body against my own. I need to feel alive. Arching my back, I press my body against his. He grips my waist, then pushes me away slightly as he takes a step backward.

“I don’t. This was different.”

His gaze searches mine silently. I need to know what I heard him say to Emmie. There is something more. Has been since the moment I met him, but he isn’t telling me. Reaching between us, I grip his shirt with my fingers and hold him tightly so he can’t get away.

“Tell me, Theron. Tell me right now.”

I’m not sure I’ve ever been this desperate in my entire life. If I don’t find out what this big secret is, then I might actually lose my mind. I’m also ignoring the fact that he killed two people in front of me. I have to compartmentalize everything right now. And at this moment, I am focused on the past, on Theron’s past.

I’ll deal with the present later.

Something shifts in his expression. He releases me and takes a step backward, and then he clears his throat and turns around, so I am looking at his back. I watch as he moves toward the window and looks down at the street.

“The boys today,” I whisper.

---