Page 33 of All Your Hate

“Don’t act like you know shit about me, Bones. You’re just as bad as him. Maybe even worse. So either tell me why I’m really here or shut the hell up!” I know I’m pushing my luck.

“Because I want you. But I won’t rape you.”

I dig my nails into my palms. “That’s what it will be though. I’m never going to want you.”

“You may not want me, but you want your freedom. You can have that with me. If you let me in.”

That will never happen. Even if I have to put on a new mask to make him think I want him, it’ll never be real. I’ll never fall for him.

“I can help you kill them. Tommaso Abato, the man who wanted you pregnant is already dead, but I can help you get to the rest of them.”

Tommaso Abato?All the things he did to me and I didn’t know his name until now.

I have to blink and steady my breathing before I say anything. “I don’t understand. You killed him?” I should feel relieved that the monster is gone, but I can’t let my guard down just like that. This man could be lying to get me to trust him.

“Well, technically Dean did, but he’s dead all the same.”

“The friend that was shot?”

He nods his confirmation.

Why don’t I feel happy about that?

Of course, I wished him dead, I fantasized about doing it myself. In the dark, my mind would go to even darker places and I conjured up so many morbid ways of getting rid of all the men in that house. I’ve not got it in me to actually kill a person though. All I want is to bury the past and move on.

“Why not let me go? Am I some sort of prize to you?” It feels like I am and it makes sense what with all the other collections he has around the house. He’s like a dragon hoarding treasure away in his fancy cave.

He runs his finger along my jaw and his lips curve up in a cat-like grin. “Thebestprize.”

I’m not a trophy to be passed around, but I can’t tell him that. He’s made me lose my words.

His touch is disarming. One stroke of his finger breaks down the walls I’ve built so high to protect myself from people just like him.

“Did he suffer?” I ask.

“Not as much as he should have, but yes, it was hardly quick and pain-free.”

Good.I hope he’s still suffering down in hell.

I feel slightly better knowing that he’s gone. As long as none of the other men come looking for me or try to hurt Summer then maybe I can be content with what I’m stuck with. Or who I’m stuck with more like.

“I’m not going to be like him, but I’m also not going to be able to wait forever,” Bones' tone is serious now.

“Well, you’re going to die from a nasty case of blue balls before you get anywhere near me.”

“God, you’re vicious. I love it.” He sits back in his chair and stares at me. I’m not about to go another day without food so I purposefully ignore him and eat.

He was right about being a good cook. His food actually tastes delicious, but I’d never admit that to him.

After a while, the questions in my head become too loud to go unanswered and as much as I’d love to wait for him to break the tension first I can’t hold them back anymore.

“Why were you in his house?”

“For my job.”

“Your job was to kill a man?”

He nods like it’s the most ordinary profession in the world.