Page 158 of Moth to a Flame

After all, I was the one who helped put him there. Who took the stand and pointed at him.

His last victim. The one he got careless with.

When he’d left me in Central Park that night, I bet he thought one of two things. That I’d either die from my injuries or that I’d be too scared and traumatized to give his description to the detectives and sketch artist.

I was bruised and beaten and shattered. I was bleeding heavily when the paramedics showed up to get me.

But I wasn’t afraid or disoriented.

Dad had introduced me to monsters a long time ago. Lester was just one of many.

The pain, the humiliation, the immense sense of loss, I put it all aside for a little while.

I did it so I could help them find him.

Then I helped them put him behind bars.

That meant one thing for me.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

Lester was going to get out of prison one day, and I’d be his first stop. Hell, I wasn’t even mildly surprised at his lame assassination attempt from years ago.

What I couldn’t predict isthis.

Lester, naked, gagged, and hogtied with ropes Landon brought in his duffel bag. Lying on his side on the floor. Of a cabin.

In Alaska.

Alaska!

And if that doesn’t sound surreal enough, I’m his captor. My future husband and I tower over him, arms crossed over our chests. We have a duffel full of goodies at our feet, and we’re going to put it to good use soon.

Sur. Real.

Can you blame me for feeling a little high over this victory? A little crazy with my plucked fingernails and my malnourished body?

No, you cannot.

Landon appreciates it, I think.

His large palm finds the small of my back when I start to laugh hysterically, pointing at the loser who’s been terrorizing me with tears brimming in the corners of my eyes.

“Regan.” He kisses the top of my head. The nerve endings in my entire body detonate at his touch. I feel everything. I feel him on my skin. Beneath it. Everywhere. “You see it now, don’t you?”

He isn’t talking about Lester’s severed penis or how we tied him up naked. I twist my head up and stare into the blackest eyes in the world.

The most beautiful ones.

“See what?”

He curls his fingers around my jaw. Both of his large hands hold me while Lester screams through his mouth gag.

“The things I’d do not just to you, but for you.” Landon’s grip tightens. “I’ll maim. I’ll torture. I’ll kill for you. I’ll lie, steal, and motherfucking cheat. I’ll burn the world down until there’s nothing left. For you. My queen. Anything for.” His kiss steals my breath away. His heated stare has wetness pooling between my legs. “You.”

Would you look at that. My leggings are ruined.

I would’ve said panties, but Landon didn’t have time to get me a pair.

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