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KLAUS

T he nanny is going to be the death of me.

Something about her keeps drawing me in. Maybe it’s the way she’s not afraid to stand up to me. Somehow, she’s both shy and feisty at the same time, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t turn me on.

I never thought I’d ever let a woman get in my head like this.

She’s a complication.

Usually, I get rid of complications.

Instead, I make her the queen of my fantasies.

It’s been three days since I found her with Sera’s diary. I should have fired her on the spot, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Later today, I have a meeting with all of the shareholders of my company.I’m supposed to be preparing my notes right now, but I can’t stop thinking about her in that little black nightgown.

Her eyes were wide with innocence as I palmed her breast. She didn’t tell me to stop. If anything, it seemed like she was waiting in anticipation of what I would do next.

She liked being touched by me.

She liked that I took what I wanted from her.

I wonder how far she’d let me go. The vines of possession curl around my heart, squeezing hard until it’s all I can feel.

Fuck this.

I’m not getting any work done, so I might as well get a workout in.

I leave my study and head to my home gym.

I have systems in place.When I feel like my mind is turning against me, I get back into my body.

I lift weights and do high-intensity training until my frozen heart starts beating again.When all of my muscles are shaking from exertion, I dip into the cold plunge pool.

Every cell inside my body is electrified now. But the second I close my eyes, she’s back.

I can see her as if she’s really here.

Only one thing that can put me out of my misery now.

I call Alaric.

“I need a case,” I say as soon as he picks up.

“Good morning to you too, sunshine,” Alaric says. “What’s going on?”

“I just told you what’s going on,” I say. “Give me a case. I need something to do.”

“Are you having nightmares again?” Alaric asks. “Because I was talking to an old buddy of mine, and he said that he found the answer to every problem in the universe.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. It’s always a whole song and dance with Alaric.

He always wants to talk .

“You’ll never guess what it is,” he says. “But go on, guess.”

I sigh.

“I don’t know, is it getting a therapy dog?” I ask.

“No, but can you imagine how cute that would be? I know what I’m getting you for Christmas this year.”

“Please don’t get me a dog, Alaric.”

“You don’t know what you want,” he says. “But don’t fret because that’s what friends are for.”

I rest my head against the cool marble headrest. As vexing as he can be, talking to Alaric is the only thing that helps sometimes.

“Anyway, I was going to tell you about mushrooms,” he says.

“Mushrooms?”

“Dan said that microdosing?—”

“Who’s Dan?”

“Dan is the friend I was telling you about. Pay attention, man.”

“Okay, what did Dan say?”

“He said that microdosing on mushrooms solved all of his problems,” Alaric says.

“You know how I feel about that kind of hippie bullshit, Alaric,” I reply.

“Fine. I was just trying to help.”

“You can help,” I say. “Give me a task.”

“I don’t like how much you enjoy this,” he says. “Torturing other people shouldn’t be a source of joy for you.”

“It doesn’t give me joy. It gives me peace. There’s a difference.”

“That doesn’t sound any better, dude,” Alaric says. “But to answer your question, there is actually something you can help with. It could get a little messy, however.”

“The messier, the better,” I say. “You have no clue how much I need a distraction.”

“I’ll send you the details shortly, my beloved sociopath.”

He hangs up. A few seconds later, I receive confidential files from the Resistance.

Alaric works full-time for the organization, so he has access to things I don’t. My Bang & Olufsen speakers read out the details of the case to me, turning text to audio.

To my surprise, it’s related to the dark web case discussed in New Orleans.

There’s a new lead. The Resistance found a small-time gang in New York City exploiting children to make pornography for the black market. They’re suspected to be one of the many players in this sick operation.

My blood starts to simmer as I listen to the details.

Alaric calls me right as I get to the end of the file.

“Did you go through the report?” he asks.

“Yeah, I just finished reading it,” I say. “Tell me that this gang is mine to handle.”

“I need to get approvals from a few people, but I don’t think they’ll object,” Alaric says. “You’ve done good work in the past, so they should be happy to hand over the case to you.”

During my military training, I learned that I’m an expertinterrogator. And since the Resistance doesn’t shy away from extreme measures, I have complete freedom in how I choose to get the job done.

It’s just what I need right now.

“When are we leaving?” I ask.

“For the record, I want to say that I’m completely against how you use these cases as a substitute for therapy,” Alaric says.

“Save your judgment for later. You have no idea how much I need this,” I say.

“That’s the fucking problem.” He sighs. “But fine, I’ll go easy on you.”

“Come over for dinner tonight,” I say. “If it’s alright with you, I want to leave right away.”

“Fine,” he says. “But can you ask Helena to make those fried dumplings I like?”

“Done,” I say, feeling some sense of relief for the first time today.

“You’re the best. Toodles.”

After we hang up, the grim reality of the case settles over me again. There’s a lot of evil in this world. People like Alaric work for the Resistance because they want to make the world a better place.

I joined for other reasons.

Selfish reasons.

Over the course of my life, I learned something about myself—violence soothes something depraved inside me.

I belong in the darkness.