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A tear slips from my eye, and I wipe it quickly.

He comes to lie beside me on the bed, and he scoops me up in his arms and places me on his chest. My limbs still feel heavy, but the pain is tolerable. I let my head rest on his shoulder as he skates his fingers over my back. I slowly trail my fingers over the letters he carved into his chest. Evelyn.

“Do you have any other family?”

Myquestion breaks the silence between us. He clears his throat before he responds in his raspy tone, “No.”

“I’m sorry…”

He is silent for a beat, and then opens up to me.

“I grew up with my mother, father, and my sister, Destiny. My father has always been a ruthless man, nonetheless, a protector of his family. Destiny was always there to stand up to my father. She hated the way he would treat me. I grew up knowing my place was to protect my mother and sister. My father always said my place was to do whatever the fuck he told me to do. I took care of them the best that I could, but one day I failed them. I was out late, doing a job my dad sent me on when I was 19 years old. I took longer than I should have, and it cost me my mother and sisters’ lives. I got home and found my mother on the floor with her neck slit open, and my sister had been kidnapped. I failed them. That’s the last time I failed anyone. I’ve never missed a deadline. I’ve never let anyone in my life again, because I know what they will do.”

My eyes sting from the confession.

“How old were you when your dad made you start… hurting people?”

“I was fifteen.”

I swallow, letting out a deep breath.

“Did you ever find your sister?”

“Yes. We found her four years ago. I was 19 when she was taken, and we found her when I just turned 21. She was found dead, and it looked like a rival had taken her and then used her as a sex slave. When we found her, she was bound to a bed and had been malnourished. She had been dead for maybe two weeks when we found her. I wish every day that I could go back and find her a few weeks sooner. Maybe I could have saved her.”

His eyes are glassy as he recalls the tragedy he has suffered. He feels deeply, but he doesn’t want to. He doesn’t want to be weak again. I made him weak again. He found me almost as his sister was— dead. Guilt overwhelms me.

“You did everything you could,” I reassure him as I kiss his cheek.

“That’s where you’re wrong. I avoided it. I didn’t want to look, out of fear I would never find her. I thought I would waste my life trying to find someone who was gone. I didn’t want to spend my life in a mental Hell.”

“Why did you save me?” My whisper dances across his skin, and his skin erupts in chills.

“I saved you because you saved me. When I looked at her lifeless body four years ago, I thought I would never have any purpose in life again. My purpose was to kill, until I saw you. When I looked at you, I felt something deep inside my soul come to life. Once I felt the flicker in my chest, I knew I could never let it die. You became my obsession because without you, I am nothing more than a monster.”

My heart warms at his words. He saved me because I saved him.

I crash my mouth to his, needing to taste him. He tastes of scotch and mint, my favorite flavor of Dante. His fingers drift until they intertwine in my hair, and he tugs at the strands, making my scalp tingle. If Dante is a monster, then I am the fool who dared him to bite.

I pull back and stare deep into the depths of his stormy eyes.

“Thank you for saving me…”

His face softens, and I melt into his chest.

This man has possessed me. I made a deal with the Devil, and I never want out.

36

Evelyn

One Week Later

I wake up early, with the dawn filtering in the vast window. Dante is holding me tightly to his chest. I could live with this forever—his embrace and affection.

Over the last week, I have experienced many emotions— guilt, shame, and content. Mostly content. I broke down several times, but Dante is always there to pick me back up.

My raspy voice has dissipated, and most of my physical pain is gone. I still face the lingering emotional pain sometimes, but it’s getting better.