Page 121 of Seducer

“You saved me,” she muttered and backed against a tree. In her eyes I saw nothing but adoration.

And something else that should terrify me.

Love.

The fucker laughed and I slowly turned my head.

“You should see yourself. You love that girl.” His words were meant to sting, but they didn’t.

They simply annoyed the fuck out of me.

I punched him twice more before jerking to my feet. As soon as I hoisted him to his, he smiled as if he’d won the game.

“Were you shadowing me, Mack? Did you not think I’d figure out who was pretending to be me? You always wanted to be like me. You were a lapdog with increasing needs, following in my footsteps in college. What happened? You couldn’t handle real life, so you began working for a Russian pig?” I pushed him hard and he tumbled to the ground.

The mafia organization was brutal, known as one of the most savage in the Midwest. In St. Louis. The thought brought a smile to my face.

The fucker was still laughing.

“You were never good enough. You just thought you were.” His words made me laugh.

“You were sent to kill her.”

“Yes, but when you walked into that bar and showed her interest, I had a better idea. Why not pretend to be you? Why not crush your little empire? She’s your type. She held your interest. Just like those women did in school. I played you like a fiddle. Just like I did with her.”

I took a deep breath and allowed him to struggle to his feet.

“She’s an innocent girl,” I told him, as if that mattered to him in the least.

“She’s not innocent, Zach. She’s playing the game just like you always wanted. The perfect primal mate. You live for the hunt. I thought I’d take another taste before I finished my assignment.”

He’d used the fact Brant’s father and Offsinger had owed the mafia to his benefit. His game had been entirely different than mine.

But just as deadly.

And I’d allowed it to happen.

That would never happen again.

“Zach. He’s not worth it,” she said in a much stronger voice.

I rose to my full height, taking a few seconds to pull the mask from my back pocket. Only I realized before I placed it on my face that I didn’t need it. I wasn’t hiding behind anything.

Or who I was.

“You deserve to die, Mack.”

“I have no fear.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” I lunged forward a second time, wrapping my hand around the stick already embedded into his body. With a brutal jerk, I angled it differently, enjoying his howl of agony.

“No! You aren’t a killer,” Sara said. Her voice was imploring and she stood right behind me.

I took a deep breath. She was the only person who’d ever made me hesitate before acting out my aggressions. “You don’t need to see this.”

“Just don’t. Please. For me.”

“Zach.”

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