Page 50 of Their Stolen Obsession (Phantoms and Obsession Duet #2)

Her Predator

Sin

S omething was off with Liv, and she wasn’t acting like herself.

Anytime a damn dog was around, or she heard a bark in the distance, she freaked out.

She’d scurry away resembling a frightened cat, and we’d shield her from the fear, but there was only so much we could do.

Dogs were everywhere in the city because people loved to have them as pets. But not Liv.

I did a brief Google search and found out she was experiencing cynophobia. A fear of dogs. The trauma from Preston’s pit bulls had bitten in and took hold of Liv. We couldn’t help her, and we needed a professional to fix her.

Shit .

I hated the idea of exposing Liv to others, a damn shrink getting into her head and fucking shit up for us.

She was ours. No one would stand in the way of what we had claimed, but she needed help, and we couldn’t patch up the invisible scars.

We required a therapist to heal her mind and some kind of cognitive bullshit we couldn’t give to her.

I loathed the plan, despised the thought of Liv sitting down for a fucking therapeutic session we couldn’t be there for and some quack using his mind-fuck mojo on her. The proposition was ridiculous. Completely off the table, but Saint had a great alternative.

We’d go . Sit down for a fucking therapy session with the shrink, and we’d see how it’d go. Much better than persuading Liv to go, and we could remain in full control.

Liv didn’t need captain obvious in her fucking head, reaching around inside of there and botching our plans.

We only needed professional help to get through this unexpected hurdle we didn’t want to screw around with.

One wrong move, and our little obsession could crack at the seams over goddamn animals with a furry coat, beady eyes, a powerful bark, slobbery kisses, and playful paws.

“Dr. Stevens will be in shortly.” The secretary smiled at me and Saint. “Help yourselves to a snack. ”

I could crack her fucking neck. I found her cheerfulness excessive while I felt as if I were in a car precariously balanced on a cliff, ready to tilt over and crash. A shrink’s office gave me the goddamn jeepers creepers.

“Fuck no.” I shook my head.

A chill ran down my spine while Saint helped himself to a Sour Patch Kids pack and chewed on some bubble gum. Fuck me. My best friend always thought about his damn stomach.

Jesus. This was a terrible plan.

“On second thought…” I grabbed Saint by the arm and pulled him toward the door. “I think we’ll get out of here. This was a mistake.”

Saint resisted. “No. We’ll stay. My friend here is suffering from a case of jitters. I’m sure the shrink will have a solution for that.”

“Of course, Dr. Stevens can help.” She smiled.

I wanted to bash her teeth in.

“I’m sure he will.” I bared my teeth.

Her smile faded, and she fled the room.

When the door closed, I grabbed a piece of chewing gum and tore the packet open with my teeth.

I spit the wrapper across the room and plopped down on the couch while chomping on the juicy taste in my mouth.

I had to calm my nervous twitch and get through this for Liv.

She was worth all the sessions with Dr. Feelgood, even when everything about this situation was crappy.

“I can’t stand this place,” I grumbled.

“Neither can I.” Saint sighed as he sat down beside me, and the cushion bounced. “But we need to do this for her .”

“Fuck.” I ran a hand down my face and sat back against the squeaky leather.

I cracked my knuckles while Saint cracked his neck, and he pressed his gum underneath the table.

He ate two more candies while I blew a bubble.

A loud pop followed with the tasteless chewing gum stuck on my lips.

Shit. I got the stickiness off, and I stuck it beside Saint’s discarded piece.

Enough of that bullshit. I was prepared to get this mind-fuck session over with.

A knock sounded at the door.

“Hello, I’m Dr. Stevens.” A young fuck with glasses walked in.

Immediately, I stood up and wanted to display my power like a mammal protecting its clan, but this spring chicken was laughable. Stevens was old enough to be my damn son if I had one. No way would I take orders from this Gen Z.

I lightheartedly chuckled. “Listen, kid, I think you’re too young to take on our case. ”

“No, I’m not. I have all the credentials needed.” Dr. Stevens pointed to his many diplomas littering the walls. “Are you Mr. Cruz or Mr. Sullivan?”

“Cruz…” I shook his hand with a tight grip.

Saint crossed his arms in front of his chest. “That paperwork has got to be forged.”

“Smart, Mr. Sullivan, but they aren’t.” He took off his glasses and pointed at my best friend. “I see I have some skeptical patients, but I want to know how I can help you. Please gentlemen, have a seat.”

We didn’t listen, and Saint glanced at me.

“We’d prefer to stand,” Saint grumbled as he locked eyes on the shrink.

“Very well.” Dr. Stevens took a seat on a leather chair.

I clenched my hands at my sides while Saint kept his tucked away, and I bet he wanted to quiz this Gen Z on his qualifications, but we knew jack shit about the brain.

Instead, we understood how to make the organ die in one too many ways, and this was our only advantage.

To torture him for all the information he had, but that method would only produce cops with a search warrant, and we weren’t here for trouble.

Well, maybe a little. If this youngster didn’t help and only stood in our way for a resolution to our problem. Liv .

“Dr. Stevens, can I call you shrink?” I stared down at the doctor.

“I’d prefer Stevens, but this is your session, and you have the floor, Mr. Cruz.” The doctor huffed on the lens of his glasses and wiped them off. “We have less than a half an hour.”

Dr. Stevens placed his glasses back on the bridge of his nose and acted all professional. Too pristine, and I wanted to punch his face in and make him bleed. But we had less than thirty minutes to solve our little obsession’s dilemma.

“You see, shrink, we aren’t here for ourselves…” I sat down on the couch, but kept my eyes on him. “We’re here for someone else.”

“Who?” Dr. Stevens raised an eyebrow.

“Our little obsession,” Saint answered.

Our shrink asked, “And what might this obsession’s name be?”

“Her name is Liv,” I replied with my head tilted and my jaw clenched tight. “She went through something traumatic…”

My voice trailed off. I was unsure of how much I should confess because we wanted this matter to remain private. No one else should come into this goddamn mess since no one came back out. Once one was in the thick, dark smog, that person was trapped, and they’d never make it out .

“Something goddamn life changing,” Saint added.

I asked, “Does everything we tell you stay within these four walls?”

Dr. Stevens nodded his head. “Yes. Anything you tell me remains private.”

“Someone kidnapped Liv. We’d prefer not to go into details of how, when, or where, but she was in captivity for weeks.

Alone. Fighting for her life with her body eating away at her,” Saint admitted while my heart sank, and I was a failure all over again.

“While she was there, a fucking dog bit her, scared her, and we don’t know how to fix her. ”

I put my pride aside. “We need your help.”

“What are your occupations?” the shrink asked.

I answered, “We’re both retired veterans who served for years in the armed forces.”

“We’re best friends who own a nightclub together,” Saint added.

Dr. Stevens jotted down some notes and glanced up from his notepad. “How old is Liv?”

“She’s twenty-four,” I answered.

He asked another question, “When is her birthday?”

“August eighth,” Saint replied with a crack of a knuckle. “Why?”

“I need to know who I’m dealing with…” Dr. Stevens moved his pen. “She’s a water sign, a Leo. Co nfident, charismatic and loyal. She’s probably full of playful energy and extremely spunky.”

Bang on. I almost laughed out loud at how on point the shrink was. He didn’t even know half of her sassy attitude and her stubborn will to have her way. She was so defiant sometimes she made me rock hard thinking about it.

I shifted in my seat. “Okay. Enough of the twenty questions. How do we help her?”

Captain obvious shot back, “Why do you think she needs your assistance? She could’ve come here herself.”

“No, she can’t. We don’t want someone else screwing with her head after those motherfuckers did their worst. She’s not supposed to fear anyone or anything but us.” My hands shook and I had to wipe them on my pants to steady them.

Dr. Feelgood, who didn’t make me feel great at all, asked another damn question, “Why not?”

The shrink irritated me.

I snapped, “Why all these fucking questions with no proper answers?”

Saint sensed my unease.

My best friend sat down and patted my knee. “What my friend meant to say is fear heightens a body’s reactions, and we replace her fright with pleasure, and she feels good. When someone or something else makes her scared, it’s harder for us to navigate.”

“I see…” The shrink rubbed a hand on his chin. “But Liv’s response doesn’t always have to involve a sexual experience. She can receive help from you both in other ways.”

“How?” Saint and I asked in unison.

“The answer is simple. Unfortunately, Liv has a fear of dogs called cynophobia…” Fuck.

I already knew this shit. Come on, shrink, spit out what we need to know.

“She needs to experience dogs in a safe environment with gradual exposure where she can learn more about the animal, which helps her reduce her fear responses. Visiting an animal rescue to pet, bathe, walk, play, and feed them could be a good option. She can even buy items for dogs such as toys, bedding and food to drop off at an animal shelter.”

“Well, shit, shrink, that seems like a hell of a lot of work,” I admitted.

Dr. Stevens glanced at me and Saint. “Do you both love Liv?”

We looked at each other.

“With all of our fucking hearts and tortured souls,” Saint responded without hesitation.

“Then, gentleman…” The shrink stood up and saluted us. “You have work to do. ”

Finally, this Gen Z was speaking our language! Fuck. I might just like this kiddo, after all.

Immediately, we stood up and returned our respect.

The badge of honor we wore with pride anywhere we went.

A coat of arms full of blood, boots on the battlefield, and carnage we had survived through, but we had a new mission at hand.

We had to heal Liv’s mind before her fear took over and there was no way for us to make her horrific phobia end.