Page 19 of Their Stolen Obsession (Phantoms and Obsession Duet #2)

Her Predator

Sin

F uck me. Another dream. But my little obsession wasn’t there, and it made the nightmare even more excruciating.

Pure agony.

Another week had gone by since we found the lead we had been searching for all this time. Evidence that would help us find our missing piece. But seven more days without her was even harder to bear, knowing how close we had come to getting an answer.

Who took Liv?

Saint and I had watched everyone entering our nightclub. We made Sinful Saints lit every damn night. Hell, we even extended our hours of operation and were open twenty-four fucking seven. That was how desperate we were to find her. We’d do absolutely anything at this point to get Liv back.

We would keep our eyes on everyone in the club, not only because we needed Liv back for ourselves, but her parents were counting on us.

This was our chance to win them over one hundred fucking percent, but Saint thought we had already won.

I needed to be certain. Their approval of us being with their daughter meant more to us than breathing because Liv was worth everything on this damn earth.

No new lead stabbed into the soul I didn’t even think existed inside of me, but that was what Liv did to me.

She made me realize I was more whole of a man than I had ever been.

Our little obsession seared life back inside of me.

But make no mistake, I was still deadly.

Lethal to the core, and I’d kick ass when any harm came to her.

The life that she gave me back made me a force to be reckoned with.

Fuck with our girl and find out.

Slowly, I made my way through our nightclub while Saint lurked behind the walls.

We had reconstructed this fortress, and we knew the place held the dead.

This building would give anyone the creeps, but not us because we had experienced death.

Lived through the darkest days of our lives and were one with the other side .

Ghosts got us because we understood them.

Their need to remain invisible, hidden with the shadows of the night and creeping around the places they had lived.

Desperately, they attempted to relive their memories and reclaim their losses.

Unable to pass on, seeking lost goodbyes and wanting a second chance.

Every damn night on replay, the same shit show with one outcome. Death.

We used to walk in the afterlife until Liv became our obsession. Our new life to live, the absolution we breathed, and God, she made all our suffering worth it. From her curvaceous body, her goddamn gorgeous face, her striking eyes, and the way she molded perfectly sandwiched between us.

I could almost taste Liv’s lips from her kiss, hear her scream our names through that pretty mouth and my cock throbbed at the memory of her pussy tightening around me.

Jesus Christ. I yearned for her so fucking badly, craved her, and sought her.

I wouldn’t stop until she was back in my arms, no matter what I had to do.

My hand tightened around my whiskey glass, and I gulped back the rest. I wanted to numb the pain I had been experiencing without Liv, but the nothingness never came. My emotions were overwhelming. I knew love could be this hard, but I never fucking thought my affection for her would be this bad .

My damn heart had been ripped out of my chest, stomped on repeatedly, and this shit would continue until we got Liv back.

I wanted the pain to stop so goddamn much, and the constant ache made for a miserable life.

Fuck. I missed her an unspeakable amount, and I wanted to cry, but what good would that do?

Diving into a pit of self-pity won’t bring Liv back, only vengeance would. Retribution drove me like a motherfucker, and it brought me right to this exact moment. The precise second I saw a lanky asshole enter our club wearing a ring.

The exact gold band from Liv’s kidnapper with the letter P on it. Fuck me sideways. It was showtime.

I peered to my left. Saint was there. He watched and waited right along with me for the exact moment to strike. Our time had come.

I tilted my chin downward, preparing after I gave Max the command and my eyes swirled at Saint with excitement. A big fucking grin spread out across my lips, and my best friend flashed me a smile, too. We got him, buddy.

Without hesitation, I headed toward a young thug in his late twenties with brown hair, but he had made a mistake when he waltzed into Sinful Saints, not dressed to code.

Fuck with me and find out would suffice, but take part in having our girl stolen?

Heads would roll. Particularly, this scumbag who fought against Max’s hold.

“What the fuck, man?” he cried out as Max held him still. “What did I do?”

“Well, for starters, what’s your name, kid?” I asked.

He answered, “Johnny.”

“Well, Johnny…” my gaze briefly roamed over Johnny boy, and I caught his dilated pupils. High as a mother fucking kite. “You’re in a goddamn T-shirt, shorts, and—”

“Fuck, dude. Who gives a shit?” he interrupted.

“We do,” Saint roared behind me and grabbed him by his nose piercing. “Come with us. We have some unfinished business to discuss.”

Saint yanked on Johnny’s silver hoop. He yelped in pain, and I gave the signal for the DJ to turn up the beat.

Drown out the awful sound from this dumb bastard who became our target on a mission near and dear to us.

Anyone who got in our way would pay the ultimate price and poor Johnny boy would only be the start.

Once we got to the hallway leading to the room where all the fun happened, I stopped Mad Max. “Guard the hallway. No one comes down here until we get back. Understood? ”

“Got it, boss.” Max crossed his enormous arms, and he blocked the hall.

I followed Saint’s lead, but glanced back at Max. Jesus, my damn eyes hurt. The shine from his baldness reflected off the light over his head and was bright. Shit. If I ever needed bald head advice, I knew who to turn to.

Saint got to the doorway first, leading to our favorite place, and I held the door for him.

“After you.” I grinned.

Saint only groaned, and the sound made Johnny jump.

Petrified fuck. He should be damn scared.

I bet he’d shit his pants, but I hated it when our victims do that.

The body’s need to empty itself out of fear of death was like it sensed the end was near and gave off an overwhelming stench.

I hated to clean the mess, but it was necessary to see our girl again.

I still made a wish for Johnny to keep his shit together.

Selfish, I know, but I could always fantasize for the best.

Saint heaved Johnny down into the metal chair. The light above swung back and forth. I couldn’t help laughing at the sight of Johnny trembling against the metal, his ring clanking against the armrest.

“Why the hell are you laughing? What’s so funny about this?” Johnny asked as his teeth chattered and fear lit up in his brown eyes.

Johnny’s resemblance to a girl was uncannily startling, almost to the point I was sorry for him.

His eyes were big, resembling a poor doe about to be slaughtered, except the bastard hadn’t accepted his undeniable fate yet.

I’d give him a helping hand, or better yet, a finger, to lead him on his way to the afterlife.

But I secretly prayed for him to burn in hell.

Slowly, I moved toward Johnny and took off my suit jacket. I let the expensive coat fall to the floor. I wanted to get down to business, and I rolled up the sleeves of my white dress shirt.

I unclasped my necklace, removed the skull pendant, and told my best friend, “Move aside.”

Saint listened.

Saint knew my plan and welcomed the sped-up version because our clock was ticking. Our girl was running out of time, and every moment she wasn’t with us, the devil only knew what happened to her. We couldn’t have that. Satan only danced with us.

“Liv Valencia is missing,” I explained as I grabbed his finger from the armrest and wrapped the wire of my necklace around his teeny tiny limb. “We need your help to find her.”

Johnny thrashed in his seat, trying to escape, but Saint held him down by the shoulders.

“I know nothing about that! I don’t—” his pointless explanation ended with a painful scream as I pulled the wire tight and severed his finger with the ring on it.

Our evidence. The gold band now belonged to us instead of this stupid excuse for a man.

I wiped Johnny’s bodily fluid from the wire of my necklace onto his shirt. I carefully attached the skull pendant back into place and dangled the piece back where it belonged. Another slice well-done.

Blood dripped from Johnny’s wound as he cried and yelled for help. Pure panic had now set in, and he knew his life was in danger. One step closer to acceptance, but truth be told, I didn’t give a fuck.

“Johnny, Johnny, Johnny… This ring led you to us…” I whispered as I held his finger up to his face as the redness slowed its trickle, and he looked like he’d be sick. “Where did you get this from?”

“I… I—” He puked.

All over my fucking brand new Dior Timeless shoes. Fuck!

“Now why’d you have to go do that, Johnny boy?” I exclaimed as I kicked his bile off the left shoe, but it was all over the string. I grabbed him with one hand, puckering his cheeks. “These are expensive, man!”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’ll pay you back,” Johnny pleaded pitifully.

I stared him straight in the eyes. “But there’s no time for that, I’m afraid. ”

I let go of Johnny’s face as Saint wrapped his arm around his neck and placed him in a headlock.

Slowly, I grinned, tilting my head back and forth as I watched his face turn blue.

His mouth opened and closed as I admired his need for air.

Those doe eyes turned red as they bulged from their sockets, ready for death.

Saint asked, “Where did the ring come from?”

“You better answer, my friend.” I raised an eyebrow at Johnny, who clenched Saint’s forearm, and I glanced up at my best friend. “Loosen up.”

Saint listened.

“Pit—” Johnny coughed out as he gasped for breath and Saint released him completely.

“Who?” I asked.

Johnny went into a coughing fit, doubled over in the seat we had kindly given to him, and he gagged. He spit at the ground. Blood was on his neck and ran down his crisp white T-shirt from his severed finger. Jesus. He was a mess.

After Johnny calmed down, he said, “The Pitrone family.”

Sebastian Chamberlain was involved with the fucking cartel.

Shit. This situation had escalated. Fast. We needed to find Liv.

Now. The Pitrone Mafia was a well-known criminal organization that had gone under the radar for years in the city.

They had gotten away with too much shit and everyone knew it, but they remained untouchable. Until the motherfuckers took Liv.

I glanced at Saint, and we knew what we needed to do. I took out my switchblade from my pocket, held the sharp blade against Johnny’s jugular and let it nick the skin. Blood oozed from the wound, and he tried not to move a muscle as Saint held his hands behind his back in the chair.

I whispered in Johnny’s face, “Time to die.”

“No! Wait!” Johnny screamed with wide eyes, and he rambled on to save his miserable life. “There’s going to be a deal tomorrow at noon. Extra cash the boss wants to make besides the usual shipment through Cuppabeans.”

Bingo. We had the Pitrone’s right where we wanted them. All we needed was one last piece of information.

“The address, Johnny, please!” Saint pleaded sarcastically. “Before he takes your life!”

I pressed the blade into Johnny’s delicate flesh. The wound opened more, and the gratification was intense. I was ready to break a vein wide open and watch the blood pour from it until he was limp. Dead.

“Okay! Okay! Give me your cell phone, and I’ll show you the address!” Johnny exclaimed, panicked .

I released the knife from Johnny’s neck, and he eagerly pressed his hand against the scratch. Pussy . I only nicked him, for fuck’s sake.

“Hurry, Johnny, before I change my mind and end you where you sit!” I roared at him and handed him my device.

I watched Johnny’s hands tremble as he made his last act before it was time for him to leave this earth. Poor man was about to meet his maker, and I had a feeling he wasn’t about to go to the gates of heaven. Hell would welcome him with torture for an eternity.

“There. I did it.” Johnny breathed heavily and gazed up at me. “Can I go now?”

I took my phone back and checked out the address on the screen. It was a warehouse outside of the city. The perfect place for an illegal deal to go down.

Thatta boy, Johnny!

“Sorry. No can do,” I said before I snapped Johnny’s neck.

I closed Johnny’s wide eyes and knew he had accepted his fate right when he took his last breath. No need for words, only the sound of a crack. Quick. Easy. Almost effortless.

The bonus ?

Johnny was good. He didn’t piss or shit himself before his tragic end. I must have a fucking horseshoe up my ass.

There was only a limp body to discard, blood to mop up off the floor with some bleach, and new shoes to purchase. We had a job to do before we crashed the deal, but poor Johnny wouldn’t be able to attend. We would. Along with a finger and the Pitrone family ring.