Page 32 of The Colour of Revenge

When she's not picking my brain for 'research,' she's sending me gifs.

Earlier, I sent one of a cat trying to play the piano—each paw slamming the keys like it had no idea what it was doing. She'd responded with a gif of a penguin waddling straight into a pole, looking so stunned it could've been me after my third vodka shot.

It'sher dualitythat gets me. One second, she's clinical and detached, asking about voice modulators like she's planning a hit. Next, she sends me gifs of baby sloths in pyjamas and asks if we should get matching onesies.

She's my perfect match. Deadly, sure. But real, too.

"Would youshut up?" I snap at Declan, whose cries have risen to a pathetic crescendo.

Was it Declan?Carina’s messages have stolen so much of my focus I’m no longer sure.Something beginning with D anyway.

"I'm trying to message my girl."

My girl.

When the hell did I start thinking of her like that?

I've met her twice.Twice.Sure, the FaceTime call has been seared into my memory for two excruciating weeks, but since then, nothing but texts and my restless imagination have kept me tethered to her.

Kai's been digging and trying to findanythingon her, but she's a ghost. It’s as if she didn't exist before.

A few days ago, I cracked. Ifollowedher.

Not online. Physically.

Stalking without intent to kill felt... unnatural. Foreign. But there I was parked outside her building, watching through the window like some lovesick idiot.

She moved like she was bracing for a fight, even in her own space. Not fragile—sharp.A blade honed to perfection, dangerous in the way only something truly beautiful can be.

When she went upstairs to change, I should've left. But I stayed.

Not to watch. ... to be near her.

When the curtains stayed open, I turned away.I'm a monster, but I won't take that from her.

If she evergaveme her consent, though? That would be a different story entirely.

I grin wickedly at the thought.

As Carina's messages pull me back in, Declan's(Dylan’s?)cries fade to white noise.

Daddy Death:[link to favourite voice modulator]

Daddy Death:If anonymity's your goal, this is a good start. And these, too.

Daddy Death:[link to pink balaclava] [link to full-body pink coverall]

I can almostseeher amusement as she reads my messages. That sharp, wicked gleam in her eyes. The smirk always makes my pulse spike. It's a look that's burned into my brain, one that sends a rush of heat through me every time I imagine it.

Queen Carina:You're really into this, aren't you?

Daddy Death:I'm not the one asking for advice, Princess. I'm just giving you the tools—for your research, of course.

Ishouldfocus on Daryl(I’m really struggling here).Finish this. But Carina is like gravity—impossible to resist.

Daddy Death:Want to join me for some hands-on research?

Queen Carina:Now?