Page 2 of Cruel Possession

Logan tries to get to his feet.

I sweep his leg out from under him, wincing when his head cracks against the edge of my desk.

That had to have hurt, but there’s nothing I can do about it.

It’s time he learns a lesson that’s been a long time in the making.

I straddle his chest, keeping his arms pinned to his side, my knife finding his throat before he has the chance to get up. “Did you know that my older brother liked to brand people?”

Logan’s eyes widen. “You don’t have to do that.”

I roll my eyes. “I don’thaveto do anything, but you seem to forget that. You’re the one who made a deal with the devil, and now you think I owe you something.”

I press the edge of the knife against his pulse.

His breath hitches. “I’m a cop.”

“I’ve killed them before.” I smile, breaking the skin just a little. “I wouldn’t breathe too deep if I were you. I might have shaky hands. I could accidentally cut your throat. It would be a real shame.”

“If you kill me, you’re going to have the police knocking down your door.”

I lean closer to him, dragging the edge of the knife up the side of his face lightly.

If I wanted to right now, I could separate his skin from his muscles. I could skin him alive and there would be little he could do about it.

Of course, he might fight back at first, but once the pain became too much to bear, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.

Logan looks at me like he’s trying to figure out my next move, but that’s part of the fun.

I like keeping people on their toes, trying to figure out if the moment they live or die. Knowing that they’re entirely at my mercy and there’s nothing they can do about it.

He swallows hard. “Whatever you’re thinking of doing, please don’t.”

“I learned how to sever an optic nerve by the time I was seven.” I press the tip of the blade against his lower eyelid. “Although, I could just carve out the entire thing instead. Quicker, though not cleaner. I’d leave you one, of course, it’s no good to torture you if I can’t see the panic and terror in your eyes. Well, eye.”

When he thrashes beneath me, I’m not surprised, but I’m stronger than he is.

I have the advantage right now. One wrong move from him, and the blade sinks into his eye.

His breathing turns shallow as he stops moving.

The tip of the blade dips into his skin. Not enough to cut out his eye. Not yet. Just enough to break the skin, to allow warm blood to trickle down the side of his face to the ground.

Enough to let him know that I’m done fucking around.

Hopefully, it will leave a mark. A permanent reminder.

“Now, I still want you alive.” I trace a thin line following the contour of his eye. “That doesn’t mean that Ineedyou alive, though. So, it would be in your best interest to stop pissing me off. Your brother was weak and wouldn’t kill you, but make no mistake. He and I are not the same.”

Logan lets out a shaky breath. “Understood.”

“It better be.” I smile down at him, trailing the knife down his cheek and to the side of his neck. “But just in case, let this be a reminder.”

Before he can react, I plunge the knife deep into his shoulder and twist it.

Logan’s scream echoes through the building.

It’s a perfectly placed stab wound. One that will hurt like a bitch but won’t truly hinder him if I need him to do anything.