Page 33 of Their Stolen Obsession (Phantoms and Obsession Duet #2)

Her Predator

Sin

W e 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 be er. 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.

Liv giggled but made a disgusted face. The sound was a symphony. She played the chords on my heart and directed the rhythm. I could listen to her music all damn day.

Liv reached up and trailed her fingertip over my old wound. “He has your scar. Saint’s too. Why? ”

God, Liv was damn beautiful. Bruised up, scabbed, and scarred. I wouldn’t have her any other way because she was breathing.

Goddamn it. We had done it. Our girl was alive.

“Zane was held prisoner with us in Iraq,” I explained as I took Liv’s hand in mine and the pad of my thumb caressed her dry skin. “He endured the same torture, brutality, and received the same scar as us. We share a bond no one else can understand.”

“I do,” Liv whispered. Her eyes watered, and she blinked back the tears in an instant.

Our girl was tough. Thick skinned and brave as fuck. Liv had survived through horrific circumstances that no one should have to go through, especially a woman. I feared she had suffered far worse than us, and the very thought had me on the verge of tears.

Fuck. Toughen up, Cruz. If Liv could get through the darkest days of her life, then I would too.

I pushed away from Liv, afraid she’d seen me crack. My hands were clenched at my sides as I cracked my knuckles to ease some tension, and my nails bit into the palms of my hands. Nothing helped, but Preston’s upcoming death might ease the twitch.

I poured Liv a cup of coffee as the smell of roasted hazelnut filled the kitchen and eased the scent of death.

She smiled up at me as I brought the mug toward her, the sweetener in my other hand.

The pleasure I experienced at her joy made my stomach ache.

I wanted to hate the twinge, but I couldn’t.

She was content within this moment with the brew she loved, and seeing her like that made me…

grateful. Goddamn it. I was happy. So fucking joyful I wanted to hurl.

“You remembered,” Liv whispered.

I brushed the hair away from her eyes and sat down next to her. “I could never forget.”

Liv’s smile brightened, and her cheeks turned pink.

The color stood out over all the dirtiness and made her glow.

I couldn’t turn away. Her beauty, breathtaking for a woman rescued from captivity, wasn’t the only thing that made my stomach flutter like a damn butterfly.

It was her stubborn will to survive and come back to us.

“You’re staring.” Liv nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“I can’t help it,” I whispered and grinned like a goddamn buffoon.

Liv blushed brighter. Crimson. Heat rose to my cheeks, and I didn’t know what the hell had come over me.

Was I fucking blushing like a schoolboy?

Crap. I was .

This was what Liv Valencia had turned me into. A giddy cinnamon roll. A dark man with a touch of light who enjoyed torturing and killing anyone who touched the woman I loved. My entire universe. My little obsession.

Holy fuck.

I cleared my throat and turned my attention back to the plan.

The need for a distraction was important to keep me in line with what I had to do next because this was all for Liv.

She needed an ending to all the mayhem she had lived through because this was her story.

Not ours. We had hunted, tortured, and killed all those who led us to her, but it wasn’t only our revenge.

She had her own too, and it was time for Liv to take her life back.

I peered around the kitchen, and I saw a table trolley.

Bingo.

I’d get some snacks for the doggies and load them up on the trolley for transport. Piece of cake. In this case, the food of choice was steak.

I crammed all the raw meat I could find onto the table with wheels. Those damn mutt’s would view me as their new master in no time, or that was the idea at least. A true ruler who wasn’t stingy with their next meal, but I had to be careful, or I could be their next bite .

Zane took the trolley from me and wheeled it down the hallway. He whistled a cheerful tune as he went and ran over body parts with the wheels. A fucking delightful sound that had me humming along until he disappeared.

We were alone. Finally, fuck. Took Zane long enough.

“Should we follow him?” Liv questioned with narrowed eyes.

“No. Zane’s a big boy.”

I watched over Liv, and I wanted to ensure her faint state had diminished. She ate in silence and sipped on her coffee. I tried not to stare, but my eyes ended up glancing at her.

I was afraid she’d vanish. Poof . Gone into thin air. But she didn’t.

Liv was still there.

“Do you feel any better?” I asked.

“Kinda.” She stood up and walked to the countertop.

“Kinda isn’t good enough.” I trailed in close behind her, scared she might collapse. “Is there anything else I can do?”

The weak spell had passed, and Liv could walk on her own. The sugar rush provided her with energy, almost like a second wind. She also had a newfound strength from the caffeine after it had kicked in .

Liv surprised me and yanked a knife from a butcher’s block. The blade glistened as she twisted it from side to side. She examined its sharpness, and I almost ejaculated in my pants. Fuck. She was sexy as hell when she took charge, and I was digging this new side to my girl.

“You can help me kill Preston.” Liv touched the tip of the blade. “Take me to him.”

Preston. Liv was ready to deal with that motherfucker. I was more than willing to grant her wish.

I grinned. “Atta girl.”