Page 30 of Killer Attraction

Sure, I didn’t remember the actual events that happened during the time I’d disappeared, but I wasn’t stupid. There was the scar and the questions from the cops, not to mention the reporters and their news stories. I knew I had somehow escaped death.

My heart raced as I watched him stand and start to pace. There was nothing I could do but sit there and wait for him to seal my fate.

“You still—” he started but cut himself off. “Fuck.” Nate spun away from me and shoved his hands through his hair, tugging on the strands. When he turned back and looked at me, his eyes were full of sorrow, and my heart sank.

He shook his head as he slowly made his way back over to the bed, but he didn’t kneel or get on it with me. Instead, he looked down at me as though I’d just broken his heart.

“Little bird…” His voice cracked. “I could never kill you. Don’t you see?” He let out a resigned sigh. “Because it might have taken me a long time to figure it out, but I was finally able to put words to how you made me feel. And those words were that I love you. Or, at least, in the only way I can.”

A shudder ran through my body, but it wasn’t one of fear or disgust.

The worst part was I believed him. But we could never be together. I was a cop, and he was a serial killer. We could never work.

“Right.” His mask started to slide back in place, his voice going cold and distant as he took a step away from me. “Well, I suppose this is the part where you tell me you have no choice but to turn me in and ask me not to do anything stupid.”

Confusion clouded my thoughts. He was right. It should be what I did next. So why hadn’t I thought about it before he mentioned it?

“No,” I said, shaking my head. My heart raced, and there was a lump in my throat that was damn near impossible to swallow.

My limbs felt like rubber as I slid off the bed and my heart gave a triumphant fist pump at Nate’s instinctual reaction to make sure I was able to stand without falling over.

“Stop.” I had no idea what I was saying, but I didn’t want the mask, only the real Nate. “Just stop, Nate.” My hand reached out to the nightstand at my side to steady myself.

Nate’s shoulders slumped, and he looked defeated. He looked around, but from the look on his face, he couldn’t find what he was looking for. With a sigh, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

“Here,” he said, holding out the phone to me. “I don’t know where yours is, but I guess you can use mine to call whoever you need to. And don’t worry, I won’t do anything stupid.”

Shocked, I stood there not moving. Even when he took a tentative step towards me and placed his phone in my hand before he turned and walked out of the room.

“What the fuck?” There was no one left in the room to answer me, though. I looked down at the phone in my hand and frowned.

He really thought I was going to turn him in.

Fuck, he was an idiot.

I threw the phone on my bed and walked as quickly as my throbbing body would let me. I let out a relieved huff when I found him sitting on the couch, where I had been earlier.

“You’re a real stupid sonofabitch, you know that?” I practically yelled, making him jump, his eyes wide as he stared up at me. “Why didn’t you kill me? You had my unconscious body bleeding out in your arms. Instead, you took care of me, brought me home, and tucked me into bed. Why?”

Tears pricked my eyes and blurred my vision as I stood my ground.

Nate cocked his head, confused. “I told you why. I said I couldn’t.”

“Exactly!” I threw my hands up, well, as best I could before I winced and wrapped my arms around myself instead. “You couldn’t do it. You couldn’t kill me. And you didn’t think, that in the four days I sat here, alone and confused, that I didn’t come to the same fucking conclusion?” I stared at him as though he were missing a few marbles. “Dumbass,” I muttered.

“Wait. What?” His eyes were wide as he stared at me and tried to make sense of what I said.

I shook my head and let out a brittle chuckle. “I couldn’t do it any more than you could.” My eyes closed, and I took a deep breath. “Believe me, I thought about it plenty. Hell, even now, I know it’s the right thing to do.” I bit my lip, looked down at him, and shook my head.

Nate slowly reached up and tugged at my hands, which still gripped my upper arms, and pulled me gently, just enough so I took the couple of steps needed to close the distance between us. His hands rubbed up and down my arms, a look of wonder on his face as he stared up at me.

I knew what he was thinking, because I’d been thinking the same thing ever since I woke up alone in my bed after our confrontation.

That we’d never have this again.

Never touch, never kiss, never love.

But there we were, and it was right there for us, if we were brave, or stupid, enough to reach out and take it.