Page 42 of Crazy Rich Monsters (Necessary Evils 1)

I continue to scroll through the responses, and they are vicious. Nobody is actually attempting to help Nick with his query. Instead, they consistently offer the advice that he should kill me, that I deserve to die, that they don’t understand how I’m still walking the street.If that bitch hurt my family, they’d find her corpse in a million pieces inside a trash bag.

My body goes cold, chills overtaking me.

And then, “What in the fuck are you doing in my room?”

I spin to face Nick, who’s standing in the doorway. He’s naked, save a loosely fitted towel around his waist. His body is wet. Just out of the shower, I presume. He stands motionless, his gaze narrowed on me.

He closes the door behind him, and I know I’m fucked.

Just absolutely, unbelievably, completely fucked.

ChapterTwenty-Three

NICK

I always find myself in these positions where I should have the upper ground, but somehow, I don’t.

I have every reason in the world to be pissed at Addison right now, considering I just walked in on her snooping through my computer. At the same time, deep down, I know that she has every right to be equally pissed at me considering what she’s most likely seen on that damn thing.

I can’t know for certain what she’s seen until she says something, but the look on her face seems to say it all. It’s not often I get the feeling that she’s actually afraid of me, or afraid of what I could do, although sometimes she should be terrified. But right now? Her cheeks are flushed pale, her eyes narrowed on me. I take careful notice of the way the lump in her throat seems to choke her.

“Do you care to explain?” I question as I step towards the desk, my hand gripping the knotted towel around my waist. “Or are you just going to sit there like a doe stuck in the headlights?”

Though I must admit, she’s a damn sexy doe.

Must stop getting distracted.

She rises from the chair and backs away slowly. There’s a certain look of terror in her eyes. It’s unmistakable, the same exact fucking look she gave me when we first me in the bookstore, right after she found out who I really was. It’s a look that’s rooted in the fear that I might take her life.

“What did you see, Addison?” I’m firm in my inquisition. “What do youthinkyou saw?”

“Nothing.” She’s lying straight through her perfect teeth. “I just sat down because I got tired. I’ve been getting tired lately.”

“That’s the worst excuse I’ve ever heard. I hadn’t pegged you to be such a terrible liar, but I’d advise you to never pick up a career in acting.” I step closer to her, closing the distance between us. I take a quick glance at the computer screen and as expected, she’s seen too much. “You know, I kind of get the feeling that you’re lying to me.”

She opens her mouth to speak but nothing comes out. Sweet, plump, bitable lips that tremble in fear. I could get used to seeing her like this. It’s a far cry from the strong, confident woman that she sometimes likes to pretend that she is. She’s anything but. She’s damaged, broken, deranged, and sometimes she’s incredibly stupid.

“I see that I’m going to have to take the lead here,” I say with a heavy sigh and point to the computer. “Get whatever ideas you have in your head out of it. I know you’re not exactly socialized or a participating member in society, but I’m not in control of the responses people post to my inquiry.”

“Yeah, we’re going to get to that in a bit.”

“Excuse me?” I interrupt. “Do you think you’re in control of this conversation? I caught you snooping through my room.”

“Do you have a bad habit of stumbling upon the dark web?”

“The real question is, do you have any idea the amount of information available on the dark web? Do you have any idea how much free money there is, floating around? Stolen credit cards and bank account numbers. There are hitmen for hire and hackers too.”

“Is that your big idea? Are you planning on hiring someone to kill me?”

“If I wanted to do that, these hands…” I hold them up for display, “would suffice. If I wanted you dead, you’d already be dead. Given the circumstances, I think I have extended you more than enough grace.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” She bows forward as she laughs incredulously. “Once again, you’re going to try and spin this around on me.” And then her eyes are straight on me, fearful and something else. Maybe it’s venom. Maybe it’s shame. Maybe it’s an epiphany. “There are strangers on the internet threatening to kill me.”

“That’s a little bit of an exaggeration. They don’t want to kill you. They think I should kill you.”

“Astute observation, psychopath of the year.”

“Do you really want to dance this tango?”

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