Page 16 of Only in the Dark (Bound By Darkness Duet #1)

Olivia Mercer

Anxiety began to take hold as the room remained silent after I finished my story.

My stalker said he supported me despite my past, but where was that support now?

I felt the Daniel situation repeating itself and knew I was stupid to have trusted a man to keep his word.

Maybe he thought he knew and accepted me as I was until he heard the story.

Maybe he decided it was too much for him, that I was too much for him.

“He hurt you unprovoked?” he questioned, a calm yet threatening edge to his voice. The kind of calm before a storm.

“I deserved it. I’m a monster,” I responded.

I never thought of myself in that way until I retold the story.

Reliving the memory reminded me of the people I had killed without warrant, and the way I had burned Mother’s body.

She had her faults, but she raised me. I should’ve cared more about her than I did.

Should’ve mourned the loss of her, but I didn’t.

“Don’t say that. You’re the furthest thing from a monster,” he spoke in a low growl, his expression tightening into a feral snarl.

“If you hadn’t killed the woman who raised you, I’d kill her for you.

She never deserved to breathe the same air as you.

And whoever your father is, we’ll get him together.

I can’t wait to watch my little serpent drenched in the blood of a fresh kill.

It’ll drive me so wild, I’ll have no choice but to fuck you right there. ”

His response surprised me. He had known me less than Daniel, but Daniel was ready to hurt me and turn me over to the police despite not knowing I had killed people beyond an abuser. My stalker knew everything; I couldn’t hide from him. It was as if he were connected directly to my mind.

“I don’t deserve the way you speak about me,” I ironically told my stalker.

“You promised to unmask yourself. Show me. I’m ready,” I told him, taking a deep breath.

This moment would change everything. Hell, what if he was ugly?

Would I still want him because he accepted me?

What if he was more deranged and dangerous than I thought, would I still take a chance?

I couldn’t know until the mask came off.

“Don’t run,” he said. “I have a present for you.” He grabbed the bottom of the mask and ripped it off, taking away the Ghostface mask that turned me on so much and fulfilled fantasies I didn’t know I had.

The beautiful face of someone I least expected filled my eyes instead, and my breath hitched as I took him in.

The man who gave me the best orgasms of my life was Kieran, my boyfriend’s brother.

Detective Harlowe accepted me as a murderer. Or was it a ploy to capture me? I wiggled my wrists, trying to loosen the handcuffs to break free. I refused to be captured and sent to prison. I’d rather die.

“Calm down, Olivia. I know I’m a cop, and the last person you expected, but I promise my intentions aren’t to turn you in.

I would kill myself before betraying you, Little Serpent.

” He leaned forward and ran his finger along my cheek and down my neck.

“Like I said, I got you a present. I’m going to uncuff you to show you.

Don’t run, or else I’ll chase you and you won’t like what I do to you,” he threatened.

I nodded. He slowly reached behind me and grabbed a key from under my pillow, then uncuffed me.

He brought my wrist to his lips, kissing the red marks left behind before I pulled them away and rubbed at them, glaring at him.

My mind told me to run from him, but I was curious what his surprise would be.

“I may get rough during sex, but I’ll always kiss it better, baby. ”

Before I could respond, he stood from the bed and walked to the door, and I covered myself under the comforter. If someone were going to walk in here, I didn’t want them to see me partially naked. Who would he possibly bring into the room, and why?

“Hey boss,” a man’s voice said from the other side.

“Bring him in,” Kieran directed. I didn’t like the idea of anyone coming into the room.

I especially didn’t like the idea of being alone with two men—one of them being a man who had stalked me for weeks.

A security guard appeared in the room seconds later, dragging Matthew into the room with his mouth taped shut, but he was attempting to scream something.

I couldn’t see his mouth, but his eyes looked at me with nothing short of hatred.

While he couldn’t have seen what happened between us, it wasn’t hard to guess, not that it was his business now.

I lowered my comforter to expose my lace top, wanting Matthew to know exactly what happened.

The security guard shut the door, locking the three of us in here.

Kieran fisted the back of Matthew’s head, shoving him down onto the bed until he was seated at the edge of the bed while I remained near the top.

“What the fuck is my ex, aka your brother, doing here?” I asked, looking Matthew up and down and realizing his hands were also tied with rope.

There was something poetic about seeing him weak and controlled.

I had been working on a plan to steal proof from his computer and turn him in, but maybe Kieran had something else in mind.

Just seeing him vulnerable like this made my inner darkness bubble to the surface.

“I think it’s time we killed him for what he did to you,” Kieran answered, shrugging as if what he said wasn’t a big deal. Like he didn’t just suggest murdering his brother.

“What he did to me?” I questioned. There was no way he knew what had happened weeks ago; he wasn’t there. We were alone at my place, and I hadn’t had a known stalker at the time. I would’ve known if he was there before from the scent of his cologne filling my senses every time I woke up.

Remembering what happened the night I discovered the truth about Matthew made the bile rise in my throat.

Knowing I had willingly slept with a man who preferred young girls brought a new level of hatred to my core—for myself and him.

I owed Kieran for showing me the truth, but part of me was angry he couldn’t tell me himself.

“And what he did to you. It was his first offense—forcing you that night. I followed him to your place, wanting to see what your dynamic was like. I was drawn to you immediately. It was how I knew you didn’t want it before you asked him to stop.

He didn’t, and I saw the lights go out when you gave in.

Just because you stopped fighting doesn’t mean it was consensual. ”

My heart hammered in my chest at his explanation. I hadn’t thought about it that way until an outside eye gave me the perspective I needed. My muscles clenched at the anger filling my bones.

Kieran grabbed a knife from the nightstand, brandishing it for a moment before handing it to me.

“You could poison him and let him go. Or, we could stab him and make him watch us again. He could die knowing we’re going to grow old together, and you’re going to have my baby.

” Kieran was getting a little overboard with his future demands, but I let him have it for the moment.

I wanted Matthew to die believing these things, and I wanted to be the one to kill him.

“Again?” I questioned. I hadn’t known we were being watched before.

Kieran looked at the dark window across the room. “Steven, the security guard in this hallway, placed him in there and forced him to watch us. Even if he tried to close his eyes, he could hear us.”

I thought about it for a moment. “Get him on the hooks first,” I demanded, getting off the bed so Kieran could handle him.

There was something incredibly fucking hot about watching Kieran manhandle his whiny little brother, handcuffing him to the wall like I had been several minutes prior.

It was more satisfying watching it be him, because I hated losing control and being tied up in any way.

I’d get my revenge on Kieran one day, except he’d probably enjoy it.

I approached from Matthew’s right side, knowing exactly where I planned to stab him to keep him alive while he watched us.

He wouldn’t bleed enough to die before we were done…

I didn’t think. Suddenly, I felt Kieran’s muscular arms wrap around my waist, and he pulled my body against his.

“Stab him, baby. I can’t wait to watch you make him bleed,” Kieran whispered near my ear, the warmth of his breath sending chills down my spine.

I stepped out of Kieran’s arms, walking to Matthew with the most sinister smile I could muster.

“I hope it hurts,” I said before jabbing the knife into his side, intentionally missing any vital organs.

He screamed into the tape, tears falling from his eyes.

I didn’t leave it in there because I needed it to keep him in line.

He wouldn’t bleed out though. If he thought he could look away from us, he was wrong.

I placed the knife at his throat. “If you scream, I’ll slit your throat.

Don’t test me, Matthew. I’ve killed people before.

After all, I believe the media named me the Cocktail Killer. ”

Matthew’s eyes widened, and he nodded his understanding. I removed the tape from his mouth. I wanted to hear him beg and plead, knowing it wouldn’t change my mind. “I loved you. I took care of you. And this is how you repay me? You fucked my brother while we’re together?”