Page 38 of A Midnight Romance

Lux

T he barrel of Andrew’s gun pushes against my temple with every erratic movement he makes, causing my shoulder to rise with tension.

The moment I see River come down the stairs and our eyes meet, I can tell he’s filled with anger and fear. My knees almost give out with relief, and tears spill from my eyes as my insides experience every emotion all at once.

He found me.

And I know at this moment, the emotions that overcame me are life-changing, making me realize how deeply I’m in love with him.

My body pains for him, being so close but unable to touch him causes an ache in my limbs, and splits with my heart yearning for his embrace.

River’s gun points at Andrew, but this weak bastard is hiding behind me, aware River won’t take a chance and shoot him as long as he has me as a shield.

“You’re going to die,” I grit out through the tape, even though he can’t hear me. My voice trembles with fear and adrenaline, and I feel a subtle relief I’m the only one who can hear it.

“Shut the fuck up,” Andrew warns me, shouting into my ear, and I flinch.

“Do not speak to her that way,” River threatens .

“Drop the gun, Andrew.” Sebastian’s tone is hard as he comes into view, stepping down from the cellar stairs.

My shoulders fall with more relief, while Andrew’s stiffens behind me. “I told you to come alone. We could have run this entire thing together, River,” he chides, clicking his tongue. “Now, say goodbye to—”

Suddenly, River lunges at us as a bullet sounds, causing Andrew to release me and the bullet ricochets off the stone ceiling.

I cower, my arms flying up to cover my head, not sure which gun the bullet came from.

Then I’m thrown to the side. My chest falls to the mattress as my stomach hits the side metal frame of the bed.

Like being punched in the gut, the breath is knocked out of me and a cramp cripples my core, forcing me to gasp.

Frightened, I whip my head around to see River’s massive frame towering over Andrew as he has him pinned against the wall. His hand is wrapped around Andrew’s neck pressing into his windpipe as sounds of gurgles escape his throat, searching for precious air fill the quiet space.

My body hums with adrenaline from what’s occurring. It pumps through my veins like a drug. Gathering courage and strength, I straighten to a stand, my eyes bounce between Sebastian’s and River, unsure what to do.

Sebastian stands wide, his gun pointed toward Andrew. “Get him on the bed, River.”

River doesn’t move, his grip tightening around Andrew’s neck.

“We could have shared everything,” Andrew says through strained breaths. “We could still share the lieutenant’s daughter.”

“Enough, River!” Sebastian shouts.

“I don’t share what’s mine ,” River grits out .

Andrew chuckles, his face red from the pressure, his blood pocketing around his cheeks. “You and I are no different. Power hungry, murderous billionaires incapable of love.”

River applies more pressure and Andrew’s eyes roll back.

He’s killing him .

“River!” Sebastian steps forward.

I don’t know what comes over me, but my arm shoots out, effectively stopping Sebastian in his tracks.

I muster any strength I have left, and with a purposeful stride I approach River and place a hand on his tense arm.

He immediately releases Andrew, sending his body plummeting to the cement floor from lack of oxygen, but he’s still alive.

Sebastian rushes over to secure Andrew’s arm to a pipe coming down from the ceiling.

River backs away, panting, his arms hanging at his sides. I step in front of him and squat next to Andrew, making eye contact with his weak, bloodshot eyes.

River stands silently behind me, but maintains a close distance.

“I told you he’d find me,” I say.

“You fucking bitch,” Andrew spits. He is helpless, unable to raise his arms. From the corner of my eye, I catch River moving quickly forward, but my arm comes out once again to block him.

“I’ve got this,” I say, as my anger overtakes my earlier fear.

Andrew organized the entire operation. He not only helped his friends capture and torture women, he drugged, raped, and killed them.

With no plans on slowing, he attempted to rope another billionaire into his ring of terror—River.

But to his surprise, River had been hunting him all along.

He targeted my dad and raped me—all in the name of revenge .

I hear a light sigh from River standing at my side, quickly followed by a pair of heavy boots coming up, and a shiny, sharp knife appears in my peripheral vision.

Turning, my eyes fall to Sebastian holding a knife in his hand with the blade facing downward. A smile tugs at the corners of my mouth.

“He’s all yours, Lux.” Sebastian’s soft smile is accepting, comforting.

I return with a grateful expression, which I can feel inside my bones. With my eyes wide, I carefully grab the leather-bound handle from his gloved hand.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

Sebastian’s eyelids slowly blink, while he subtly nods and backs away, giving me the space to complete the project I’ve been waiting weeks for. I possess the power and it is now woven into the rubric of who I am.

I turn back to Andrew, and River steps forward, picking Andrew up by his neck, then shoves him against the wall as Sebastian slides in to assist River in keeping Andrew upright.

I tremble, buzzing anxiously. Staring at these two men who have given me my voice back while they both flank the man who raped me, pinning him against the wall.

“He’s all yours, Raven,” River says.

River’s approval is all I need to unleash everything that’s brewed inside me for almost two months, because Andrew was the big prize all along.

I pull in a long, heavy breath, then clamp my eyelids closed.

Tightening my right hand, I pull it back with a force manifested from every corner of my body.

“This is for my dad ,” I sneer. I drive the knife into his chest.

Andrew cries out in pain as blood spills from the wound dotting his white colored shirt.

“This is for River . ”

Andrew winces, but it’s weaker this time. A burgundy liquid sprays on my face, getting into my eyes and blocking my view, but I continue. “This is for every single fucking woman you’ve hurt.”

I yank the knife out, my arm tenses with an intense soreness. Then, with one powerful last thrust, I drive the knife back into Andrew’s chest. “And this one’s for me .”

After a few blood curdling sounds, a deafening silence transforms the room as Andrew takes his last breath.

He’s gone.

I fall to my knees—the knife hits the cement ground at my feet. River releases Andrew, and in a flash he’s crouching in front of me, his thick arms extend to embrace me. My face hits his shoulder as I let myself release everything.

“You did so good, Lux,” he praises and presses a soft kiss on my head. “I’m proud of you.”

I did this.

I took his life.

Andrew’s ring of terror is over.

“You found me.” I feel the relief in every bone in my body as I bury my face into his damp clothes.

River’s arms tighten around me and I can barely take in a breath, but I don’t care, I sink into it. “I will always find you, Raven.”

Blinking a few times, I take in my crystal clear surroundings with fresh eyes—sharper, vibrant eyes. Scanning the room from the safety of River’s arms, I catch Sebastian standing proudly beside Andrew’s stabbed body with a devilish grin on his face.

“Now this is what law enforcement calls a crime of passion ,” he comments with a chuckle.

River releases me slightly, but keeps a comfortable arm around my shoulders and looks back at Sebastian with a laugh. “Definitely. There will be no doubt they’ll theorize Andrew knew his attacker.”

I lift my head, forming an idea. “Let’s burn this fucking place down.”

“Burn it down?” Sebastian repeats with uncertainty, his mood changing.

River’s silent for a beat. He rubs his chin, contemplating my proposal. “We could.”

“It’s been a long time since we’ve burned down a crime scene with the body in it.” Sebastian shoves his hands inside the front pockets of his pants. “It was tricky not to prove arson, and we had to pull out the guy’s teeth…” He trails off, thinking out loud.

River and I rise to our feet. “You have pliers in your bag, right?” he asks, Sebastian.

Sebastian shrugs, like it’s obvious he’d have those packed and prepared. “Always.”

“Grab them,” River instructs. “So I can start plucking Andrew’s teeth.”

Sebastian’s palms hit the air between us with shock. “We’re doing this? We’re actually doing this like old times?”

Seeing River and Sebastian interacting reminds me of Stevie. “Wait, where’s my sister? Does she know I’m okay?” My hands run over my head while my legs tremble from the chill in the room. “Oh my god. She must be incredibly worried.”

River threads a calm hand through my hair, his face soft. “Stevie helped us find you.”

“She did?” My brows shot up in disbelief. It’s hard for me to imagine Stevie could keep a level head through something like this. “I’m surprised. ”

“Your sister is more capable than you think.” Sebastian smiles, tossing River the pliers. “Let’s get on burning this shithole down, because I’m starving.”

River cranes his neck as a tooth falls into a small Ziploc bag to his side. “Looks like Andrew has quite a few cavities.”

My chest rumbles through an authentic laugh, given the setting we’re in—next to a dead body of the man I stabbed to death, while my murderous boyfriend plucks out each one of the man’s teeth—and I let myself feel all of the emotions.

“I could go for a slice of Ben’s amazing avocado toast right now,” I say, trying to think of something comforting in the moment.

“Here.” River slips his hoodie off and slips it over my head

I slide both arms through the sleeves. “Thank you.”

“You’re doing better after this kill,” he observes with a prideful grin.

“He deserved every bit of what he got and then some,” I say. “I feel empowered, vindicated,” I add with attempted conviction.

But why do I still feel the foul wetness of Andrew’s saliva and the sensation of fingertips rubbing against my skin?

The churning in my stomach isn’t from taking a human life or seeing a mutilated dead body covered in blood—it’s from being touched when I didn’t want to be.

He may not have raped me this time, but being violated once again by him feels even more defeating.

“Sebastian?” River suddenly says.

“Yeah?” Sebastian asks while on the phone with Hayden.

“Leave us.”

“Are you kidding?” Sebastian’s eyes lowered, annoyance written on his face. “Hayden and the guys are on their way with gasoline for the fire.”

“Get out,” River snaps at Sebastian. “Lux and I need a minute. ”

“Fine.” Sebastian huffs, heading upstairs.

Once Sebastian is out of ear shot, River walks over to me and says, “Talk to me.”