Page 105 of Their Reckless Thief
I stood, towering over him as the shadows curled around his legs and crawled up his torso. He gasped as they constricted, like invisible bands wrapping around his ribs, squeezing tighter with every breath he took.
“No! No, please—” The shadows coiled around his neck, cutting off his words in a strangled gasp.
I watched him struggle, his body jerking against the restraints, but it was no use. The shadows were an extension of my will, and right now, my will was to make him suffer. He choked, his face turning red, then purple, veins bulging in his forehead as he gasped for breath.
I took a step closer, my face inches from his. “You fucked with the wrong girl.”
His eyes bulged as the shadows tightened more, his breaths turning into desperate, gurgling noises. I waited, watching the life drain from his eyes, savoring the fear that turned to panic and then to nothing.
With barely a thought, I instructed the shadows to snap his neck.
His body went limp, slumping forward, his head lolling to the side like a broken puppet. The room was eerily silent, save for the buzz of the lightbulb overhead.
I stood there for a moment, staring down at the corpse. Normally, I’d feel satisfaction after ending someone like him, but tonight? Tonight, it felt empty.
It didn’t change the fact that Celeste had been hurt. It didn’t take away the image of her in Vincenzo’s arms, unconscious, fragile in a way I wasn’t used to seeing. It didn’t erase the gnawing guilt that clawed at my insides, the thought that I had been too caught up in feeling her up on the dance floor to stop it from happening in the first place.
I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling sharply. The shadows around me retreated, slinking back into the corners of the room like obedient pets.
Pulling out my phone, I dialed my cleanup crew. They knew what to do: dispose of the body, erase any trace of what had happened here, and don’t ask any questions. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with the details tonight.
“I’ve got a mess in the basement. Take care of it.”
I ended the call before they could respond, shoving the phone into my pocket. The adrenaline from the torture session was wearing off, leaving me with a hollow feeling in my chest.
As I walked out of the basement, leaving the body behind, one thought echoed in my mind.
I could never allow myself to be so caught up again.
For now, I needed to regroup. I had to report to Vincenzo, and more importantly, I needed to make sure Celeste was okay.
I found Celeste in the living area, curled up on the leather couch with some trashy reality show playing on the TV. The TV that, until today, hadn’t even existed in this house. Of course, Dorian had brought it in and set it up for her. It wasn’t like any of us ever cared much for television, but apparently, when Celeste wanted something, she got it.
She looked better. That was all that mattered. The color had returned to her face, and there was a strength in her bearing that hadn’t been there several hours ago. After what she’d gone through, seeing her like this, sitting there with a blanket wrapped around her, looking so normal… It made me feelsomething. Something I didn’t want to feel. Couldn’t feel.
I told myself not to care. That I didn’t need to check on her. That I didn’t need to see her like this. Yet here I was. And now that I was in the room with her, I didn’t want to leave her side.
She glanced over at me as I entered. “How’d the poor bastard who drugged me fare?” she asked, the corner of her mouthquirking up in a half-smile. She was trying to make light of it, but I knew better.
I kept my expression cold and distant, the way I needed it to be. “Not well,” I said flatly. “He’s not your problem anymore.”
She nodded and turned her gaze back to the screen, but I could tell she wasn’t watching it. There was something else behind those eyes, something weighing on her.
I wasn’t going to let it get under my skin.
“Feeling better?” I asked, more out of obligation than actual concern. Even now, I could feel my own walls coming up, reinforcing themselves. I couldn’t let her get too close again. Not after last night. Not after I’d let my guard down for a second. One fucking second was all it had taken for her to get hurt.
She shrugged, pulling the blanket tighter around her. “Much better. Thanks.” She didn’t say more after that, and I felt a heaviness settle between us. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, though. It was just there.
I nodded toward the laptop on the end table. “You should see the footage.”
I’d already watched it. Over and over. Replaying every moment, every move that bastard made before he’d dropped the drugs into her drink. I’d watched it until the anger inside me twisted into something so dark that I couldn’t contain it.
It was her turn to see it.
She hesitated, then she nodded. Grabbing the remote, she turned off the TV and took the laptop. I watched her face as I loaded the footage.
The club was dark, loud, and filled with bodies moving to the beat. She’d been in the middle of it all, dancing with me, with Dorian, with Vincenzo. She didn’t say a word, but I saw the brief glimmer of lust on her face as she watched us all dancing together. She’d been so vulnerable, right there in the middle of us. And we’d all missed it.
