Page 57 of Their Stolen Obsession

“On it,” Saint said as he stalked toward Preston and loomed over top of him.

Preston couldn’t see with his eyes swollen shut. All the blood had rushed to his injuries, and he’d require cuts to let the blood drain, but he wouldn’t get off so lucky. Let the bastard swell. I’d allow him to bloat into the fucking sick pig he had proved he was.

“Zane. Bring me to the kitchen,” I commanded.

“But I thought—”

“Change of plans. I want to give the mutt’s a treat before they have a feast,” I interrupted with a grin.

Saint grabbed Preston by his hair and yanked him by the strands. He spun him around in a circle while Preston tried to claw at his grip. He was panicking, scratching at Saint, hitting his forearm, but he wouldn’t stop. Along the floor, he dragged him,kicking and screaming in pain. The sound of pure agony was bittersweet, but Liv didn’t need to hear it. Instead, I hummed her a tune on the way to the kitchen, and she rested her pretty head on my shoulder.

Thirty-One

Her Predator

Sin

We came to a split in the hallway where Zane gave Saint brief directions to the pit. Go left, walk three doors down and the room was on the right. Preston’s pit bulls were in the opposite direction of the kitchen, and we split up.

Saint went in the other direction and pulled Preston’s limp body behind him. He had given up the fight and passed out from the unbearable pain. My best friend dragged him through his fallen men’s blood, guts, and brains. The stench of death was everywhere, mixed with the smell of smoke. The true smell of hell.

“Here ya go…” Zane announced as he headed for the fridge once we made it to the kitchen, and he pulled at the handle. “I’m going to grab a beer. You want one?”

Zane cracked a beer bottle lid off with his teeth. He took a long swig and made a satisfied sound.

I shook my head. “Nah. I’m good.”

“Oh, come on… We blew shit up, took Preston Pitrone off his throne.” Zane stomped down on a decaying head and the skull shattered. “Saved the girl and killed the bad guys.”

“I’ll celebrate when the Pitrone brothers are dead,” I muttered and sat Liv down in a chair. “Liv. You should eat before we deal with Preston. What do you want?”

“Anything. I’m starving,” Liv answered.

Liv needed nourishment. Her weeks of captivity left her weak. I went to the cabinets and pulled out some dry food. Chocolate chip cookies, chips of different flavors, candies, and some sweet pastries. I bunched everything up in my arms and brought it to the table.

“We got a bit of everything to choose from, sweetheart.” I cracked a smile. “Dig in.”

While Liv opened a bag of Doritos along with a pack of gummy bears, I put on a pot of coffee. She loved her hot cup of java, and she probably missed the taste. Our girl deserved all that we could give her, and I only wished she didn’t have to deal with any of this.

Liv locked eyes with me. She was uneasy. Her eyes kept darting to Zane, and I didn’t like it. Only I was supposed to make her squirm.

I came closer.

“What did Zane do?” I asked in a low tone only Liv could hear.

“Nothing.” Liv shrugged. “He fed me, helped me, and put me on edge.”

“Did he hurt you?” I questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“He pushed me around, but he killed some assholes when they…” Her voice trailed off, and she bit off the head of a gummy bear. “Never mind.”

Liv closed up. Clamped up like a clam, shutting me out.

Our little obsession needed time to open up, and when she did, I’d be there to listen.

I changed the subject.

“Zane is harmless. He wouldn’t hurt a fly.” I shrugged as I watched my friend pluck eyeballs out of a skull and shoot them into a garbage can.