Page 4 of Hunted Temptation
Keeping the tears from falling, I let myself disappear into the recesses of my mind. Hopefully, I can escape and won’t be brought back to this reality until after it’s finished, untilhe’sfinished.
“Yes, you do. You’re a whore just like your mother. You love it. Otherwise, you wouldn’t try so fucking hard to piss me off so much.”
My mind goes blank. Darkness surrounds my vision. If he’s hurting my body, I wouldn’t even know. There is a void of nothingness. I’m in the void, surrounded by darkness. Standing in the middle of the void and looking around.
I’m not sure what I’m looking for. Help maybe? Serenity? Whatever it is, I won’t find it here. I’ll never find it here. This is about survival. And soon, so soon, I’ll be able to leave it all behind me.
Far, far behind.
I’m not sure how long I am in the void when I feel his mouth against the shell of my ear before he whispers, sending chills down my spine.
“You’re not going anywhere, Elodie.”
Chapter One
VAUGHN
Rentingthe house across the street from the chief of police’s home wasn’t easy. I had to wait three months for availability. I had planned on an in-and-out situation. Maybe be in town for a day or two, kill the fuck and be gone.
But I’ve been watching her for three months.
Her.
Elodie Scoggins.
It’s wrong. I know it is, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her. She’s eighteen years old as of yesterday. Maybe that’s why I chose to rent the house and come here instead of moving in and out the way I typically do on one of these missions.
I would be a liar if I said that I didn’t want to get a closer look at her, at least. And I’m lying to myself if I don’t admit I want to get not only a closer look, but I want to actually be inside her.
But she’s thirteen years my junior, far too fucking young for me, so I’m going to keep my distance. I’m going to watch her, though, to ensure that once her dad is dead, she’s safe. As muchas I want to admit it’s because I’m being a nice person, my hard cock tells a different story.
Once I was able to get past her beauty, I started studying her closely. Realizing there’s something hiding behind her eyes. Something I don’t like. Something I need to know more about.
I’m not sure what I see there in her gaze, but if it’s what I initially thought… I shake my head. I don’t think like that. And I’m not so sure I can just turn away from her. This is Scoggins’s daughter. He’s a sick fuck, but could he be that sick?
Instead of unpacking my bags, after settling into the house and ensuring that all the host’s cameras are disabled, I open my suitcase and set it on a chair. I never get too comfortable, whether I’m at a hotel or an Airbnb. I am always ready to bounce at the drop of a hat.
I walk over to the window in the bedroom. I’m on the second floor, looking down at the front of the house. This is an unassuming neighborhood, nice but not too nice. Every house is on a quarter to half an acre of land. Some have pools, others don’t.
The lawns are all manicured, and the flowers are all blooming. If I didn’t know better, I would guess that it’s fake. It’s all very upper-middle-class without being too much of anything. It’s suburbia, and the perfect place for an unassuming chief of police to live.
A sick-as-fuck chief of police who is attempting to hide in plain sight.
But I’ve found him.
And he’s not getting away from me. He will never hurt another person again. Not a single fucking soul. The position he’s in seems important, but compared to some of the other men I’ve taken out, he ain’t shit. Which means he may have some deeper connections to some of the people whoareshit.
I may not want to end him from across the street. I may need to have a discussion with him. I think I’m going to attempt to gather some information. And I tell myself it’s all because of who he is and what connections he may have, denying that it’s actually because I want to fuck his daughter.
The front door opens, and I watch as the chief walks out. He makes his way to his car, turning his head to look over his shoulder at the door. He calls out something, but I can’t make it out from where I am.
I can’t put cameras up either, at least not yet. Not until I know what the full situation is. He’s got the outside of his house covered in them. But I can hack into their system and join the feed until I put in a little more work. I start to turn toward the small desk in the bedroom, where my computer is set up, when movement out of the corner of my eye causes me to pause.
It’s her.
Elodie climbs over the side corner of the fence from the backyard. Interesting. That must be a weakness in the camera surveillance system. At least I know where the weak point is for future reference.
I watch as she walks down the street, wrapping her arms around her middle. Her head is dipped, and her gait is quick. I want to follow her, but don’t, resisting only barely. I need to get set up on that surveillance system so I can start following.
