Page 37 of To Love a Monster (Oaths & Obsessions #1)

“But who says your mouth’s the only way I can pass the time?” His hand drifts toward my waistband, slow and deliberate, savoring the fear that rolls off me in thick, choking waves. “There are so many options, Lila. Different holes. Angles I think you’d quite like.”

His voice dips lower. “You remember, don’t you?

” His fingers toy with the fabric at my hip, just enough to make me flinch.

“When I had you moaning like a little whore.” My stomach twists as he leans in, lips brushing the shell of my ear.

“Tell me...” A beat of silence. “Do you want me to finish what we started?” He slides a hand between my thighs, hovering like a threat.

“We could pick up right where we left off. You on top of my hand, riding every curl of my fingers like it was your goddamn lifeline.”

His breath grows heavier. “You were so close, weren’t you?

Clenching like you needed it.” He laughs softly, wickedly.

“Why don’t you give me that look again. That dazed little stare you get right before you’re about to come.

” His hand presses just a little firmer against the inside of my thigh. And then—

Boom!

A sharp, thunderous crack erupts from above, punching through the silence like it doesn’t belong and Carl freezes, the confidence in his eyes flickers. “What the—”

Crash!

The door behind him explodes inward. Smoke and splinters flood the air as men in black pour in.

Tactical, masked, and armed to the fucking teeth.

One of them drops a flashbang and the room goes white-hot with light and sound.

Carl stumbles, shielding his face with a curse, and then the first bullet hits.

Carl screams as he spins, clutching the wound in his shoulder, his eyes wide with fury and disbelief.

“You motherf—” he starts but he doesn’t get to finish. A second man, taller and bulkier, rushes him. He tackles Carl to the ground with bone-breaking force and the two of them crash into the concrete, fists flying.

Blood hits the wall in thick, wet splatters, painting the concrete as the crack of bone snapping fills the air, followed by a strangled grunt that barely sounds human. Carl’s head slams against the floor once, twice, before he manages to twist, snarling like a cornered animal.

But it’s too late, a brutal fist crashes into his jaw and something shatters.

A tooth skitters across the floor like a marble, catching the light before vanishing under a rusted pipe.

He tries to roll and fight back, one arm lashing upward, wild and clumsy, but the second man’s knee slams down onto his forearm with a crunch as Carl’s bone buckles and he screams.

He thrashes, gasping through blood-choked breaths and clawing at the floor with trembling fingers. But all he finds is another boot, this one crashing down into his ribs with a hollow thud that echoes through the room.

He coughs, chokes, and spits blood that splatters across the cement in a smear of red and foam. His face is already swelling, one eye near shut and the other wild with panic. He’s losing. And this time he’s the one to know what it feels like knowing no one’s coming to save him.

I can’t move, can barely breathe. I’m just watching through a haze of smoke and fear with my wrists still bound and my heart pounding like it’s trying to shatter through my chest.

Carl’s still alive somehow. Crawling and groaning, blood pouring from his mouth and nose. His good eye is darting around in wild panic as he drags himself forward an inch, then another, his legs barely moving beneath him, slick with blood and defeat.

Then the man looming over him lifts his weapon. Carl looks up at him and for a second, there’s no arrogance left. Just the pale, hollow look of a man who’s finally realized that he’s at his end.

Bang.

The sound is final. No drama, no last words. The bullet hits Carl between the eyes and his body jerks once then slumps, his head hitting the floor with a dull thud. When I look again, I see his eyes still open, staring at nothing. Just gone.

I don’t even realize I’m crying until the salt hits my lips. Not for him but because it’s over. I’ve been saved yet I still don’t know what comes next. Then I see him, one of the men without a mask.

He steps over Carl’s corpse like it’s just another piece of debris. His movements are fluid and purposeful, like controlled chaos wrapped in flesh. His features are sharp, his jaw tight and his eyes cold enough to freeze the room around him.

There’s something about him that pulls at a memory. And that’s when I realize that I have seen him before. In the photo Nikolai showed me in the cabin. This must be Matteo. My breath catches and my thoughts split. Why is he here? Why isn’t Nikolai?

“Get her out of here,” Matteo barks to the two men near the door. “Now.” And they move, fast, focused, and trained. One drops to his knees beside me, flicking out a blade to slice through the ropes at my wrists. The other hovers, scanning me for injuries, brown eyes sharp beneath his gear.

My body recoils on instinct and I flinch hard.

I don’t know them. I don’t know him. Where is he?

Where’s Nikolai? I try to scream his name, but the gag chokes it out, allowing only for a broken sound that comes out strangled.

My throat aches and my chest heaves as Matteo crouches beside me, his movements smooth and measured.

His hand reaches up and he gently unfastens the gag.

It falls away with a wet snap as he speaks. “You’re okay,” he says, his voice low and calm. “You’re safe now.”

I shake my head, violent and desperate. “No. No, where is he? Where’s Nikolai ?” For a split second something flickers in Matteo’s eyes, but it’s gone before I can grasp it.

“He’s not here,” he says softly. “But I promise you, we’re getting out of here. Once I have you somewhere safe, I’ll go find him myself.” His tone doesn’t waver, doesn’t offer false comfort. It’s just filled with pure certainty. And I want to believe him, I need to, So I nod, barely.

Matteo rises to his feet. Behind him, Carl’s body lies still, bloody, broken, and lifeless. Matteo steps over him without a word. “We’ve got to go,” he says to the men, but his eyes are locked with mine.

And even though every cell in my body is screaming for Nikolai, I let Matteo pull me to my feet and lead me out of the basement.