Page 26 of No Mercy In Red

I cringed at the thought of my boss simpering over me, “Ugh, please. That is not something I want to imagine at all”

I sat back in my chair, my fingers absentmindedly running over the bruises that marred my throat, my thoughts once again drifting to Connor’s hands.

Lara smirked, eying my hands, then my throat as she leaned forward, slamming her eyes on the desk. “Who the hell are you fucking, Miss Pochon?”

I rolled my eyes, “Nobody.”

“Oh, please,” she scoffed. “The ignoring my phone calls, those little bruises on your neck?” She pointed her finger towards me. “Yeah, I see those. If you’re trying to hide it, you suck.”

“You have no idea.” I mumbled, glancing down at my desk.

“Oh shit. You’re not just fucking some rando are you? Was it Dave?” She squealed.

I felt heat crawl up my neck, betraying me instantly. “Can you not broadcast it to the entire fucking office? And no, it wasn’t Dave.”

Lara laughed, covering her mouth dramatically. “Oh my god Max, you scandalous little minx. And you didn’t tell me?”

“It just happened, okay? And I’m still… processing.”

She sobered slightly, eyes squinting at me in suspicion, “Good or bad?”

“Both,” I admitted honestly. “He’s… complicated.”

“Good complicated or stalker-level complicated?” She asked warily.

I stiffened, forcing a laugh. “Uhhh, probably both.”

She eyed me closely. “Well, if you’re already complicating your sex life, you definitely need this break.”

“You’re not wrong,” I said, huffing out a breath.

She stood, her mood shifting abruptly as she frowned. “Oh, and speaking of complicated, did you hear there might be a serial killer around here?” She whispered, “A friend of a friend told my cousin that the cops are looking into someone targeting men or something. It’s all super hush-hush.”

I froze, heart thudding violently against my ribs. “Seriously?”

She nodded, pulling a scrunched-up face. “Apparently some messed-up vigilante shit. But whatever, probably just some small-town gossip, right?”

“Yeah,” I whispered faintly, forcing myself to smile. “Probably.”

But my pulse was already pounding, my palms slick with sweat. Paranoia was setting in. If Lara knew, if rumours were already spreading this far…Fuck.

“Anyway!” She chirped, oblivious to my turmoil. “Forget the psycho-killer talk see you Friday! Pack slutty outfits, slutty bikinis, alcohol, and absolutely zero self-control bitch.”

I forced a laugh as she walked away, her little pink dress swaying as she bounced away, giving a wink to one of the older guys as she passed. Fucking flirt. My mind began racing in a thousand different directions. Maybe this lake house trip was exactly what I needed – to get away, clear my head, and stop thinking about Connor. Stop obsessing over the way he’d consumed my entire fucking world. And to stop looking over my shoulder, listening out for little whispers around me about a serial killer. I needed to forget everything in my life that was consuming me.

At least for a little while.

Chapter 22

Connor

Ihadn’t been able to make it to the café since our run in Tuesday morning. Some big major security breech that needed all hands-on deck at work, making me have to start earlier than usual. At first I’d told my boss that I was in no way starting or finishing at any other time than my usual times, but he’d threatened my position. He sat there telling me that my temper tantrum last week had already put me at risk, so refusing to be a team player would have him questioning my loyalty to my job. I didn’t have any fucking loyalties, but I also didn’t need to be jobless in todays economy. I had a decent sized saving account, but it would quickly be burned through without my job. And then Joe started to demand more of my time on the evenings I wasn’t super late at work. I was dying to be at the café, to see her, torment her. But Joe was growing restless, word was starting to spread through town about the serial killer, making his boss an even more demanding bastard than usual. I needed to him to believe I was working my ass off trying to find the person behind the murders, whilst also making sure he was nowhere near even considering Maxine. I’d listen to his theories, occasionally throwing in my own that I’d come up with before discovering Max. I ignored the guilt that ate at me every time I saw Joe, every time I saw the exhaustion in his eyes. I pushed it deep down, as far as I possibly could.

I’d sent a bunch of flowers to Max’s apartment on Thursday with a little card placed inside the black bouquet of roses reading ‘Life is a little hectic at the moment, but I’ll be there for our date on Friday afternoon. Don’t be late little fox – Connor.’

I’d watched her on the cameras reading the card, the way the corner of her mouth kicked up just a little. I was furious that life was getting in the way of me seeing her in person, but the cameras kept me as sane as I could be without being near her. She placed the bouquet in a vase on her coffee table, re-reading the note again before going and sliding it into her bedside drawer. Cute.

By the time Friday morning rolled around, I was sat at work vibrating with excitement at the thought of being back in the same room as her again. My cock aching at the thought of dragging her home from Melinda’s and fucking her against every god damn surface of that apartment. The day dragged so painfully slow, it was if satan himself was slowing time, purely to torture me. But as the time rolled round, I stared at the empty seat at Melinda’s, a sense of unease creeping up my spine. The way she had smiled at my note, there was no way she was going to stand me up – probably because she knew damn well that I would hunt her down anyway. Yet still, she hadn’t shown.

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