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His lips twist in disgust. “You should really do your research before agreeing to a date with a stranger, little fox. One would think you would’ve learned your lesson after Jasper but—” Nico shakes his head. “Luckily, you have me.” He spins on his heel and marches toward the front of the café. I stand there, numb, feet rooted to the spot.
Mother trucker, what had I gotten myself into?
CHAPTER 11
TOYING WITH MY PREY
Nico
Screams echo behind me as I stalk out of the small studio in the Upper West Side, my gloved hands slick with blood. I’d spent nearly twenty-four hours toying with my prey, but now I had somewhere else to be. As soon as the door slams behind me, I scan the hallway for the trash chute. Anger still pounds through my veins, but now that I’ve slaked my thirst for revenge the monster begins to recede. Finally finding the garbage drop, I rip the latex gloves off, carefully holding the Ziploc bag with my prize.
Despite Maisy agreeing not to see Jack again, I decided a piece of shit like him deserved the full force of my wrath. I never promised I wouldn’t hurt him after all…
Jack will never have the chance to ogle my girl again.
Or any other woman for that matter.
I pat the thumb drive in my pocket, confirming it’s still there before I jab my finger at the elevator call button. I’m late for a meeting with the commissioner, and Marco’s going to be pissed, but this couldn’t wait.
The fury that scorched through my system at the sight of Maisy with another man was like nothing I’d ever felt before. Cazzo, what was this woman doing to me? I hadn’t even fucked her yet and already I was out of my mind for her.
My nostrils flare at the vivid memories of Maisy sprawled across her bed, writhing for me. Coming for me. I’ll have to pay her another visit tonight after I drop off my little gift. I lift up the clear bag, and a pair of vacant eyeballs stare back at me.
Twisted fucker.
To think he was going to film himself with my Maisy and spread it across the internet. If he would’ve succeeded there would’ve been nothing left but his eyes. Instead, I granted him a mercy. Or maybe I only rewarded him with a lifetime of torture. The ultimate punishment for a sick voyeur. Some of the girls on the videos I found were barely teenagers.
Scum like that deserves to rot in hell. But let good old Jack suffer for a bit first.
When I reach the ground floor, Max is already waiting at the curb. I slide into the backseat and find a box with a bright red bow on the seat beside me. “Thanks for grabbing this, Max.”
“No problem, boss.” He cants his head back and shoots me a lopsided grin. “Did you buy your girl a present?”
“Something like that.”
Turning back around, my driver makes his way across the quiet avenue to the West Side highway. I have to get back to Gemini Tower before the end of the meeting. Though if I’m being honest, Marco is more than equipped to handle the commissioner. He’s always been better at managing people than I have.
I crack my knuckles and sit back, leaning my head against the soft leather headrest. Keeping an eye on Maisy is proving more taxing than I’d imagined, but I can’t shake the feeling that her ex, Jasper, isn’t quite done with her. The numerous sleepless nights are getting to me. My heavy lids slide closed with the steady motion of the car, and I’m pulled into the darkness.
I shoot straight up in bed. The air is thick with acrid smoke, and the crackling flames roar like an enraged beast. “Marco?” Panic claws at my chest as I push myself out of bed and stumble through the billowing darkness, my throat tightening with each labored breath. The heat presses in on all sides, an oppressive force that wraps around me, threatening to engulf everything in its path.
Flames dance along the walls of the bedroom I share with my brother, casting eerie shadows that flicker and contort, creating a nightmarish ballet. The once-familiar surroundings blur into a disorienting haze, and the heat intensifies with every passing second. Orange and red tongues of fire lick at the edges of my vision, leaving a searing imprint on my consciousness.
“Marco, where are you?” I choke and cough around the words.
My heart pounds in my ears, a relentless drumbeat of fear. Panic sets in as the smoke obscures my path, and the crackling inferno devours everything around me. The air becomes a toxic blend of burning debris and desperation, and my eyes sting with unshed tears.
Every step feels like an eternity as I fumble through the choking darkness into the hallway, guided only by the distant glow of the front door that seems both tantalizingly close and impossibly far. The heat, the smoke, the deafening roar—it's a sensory overload that threatens to overwhelm my mind.
Where is everyone? Where are the Fosters?
A desperate sense of survival propels me forward, the instinct to find Marco and escape this fiery nightmare consuming my thoughts. In the midst of chaos, time loses its meaning, and the urgency to break free becomes the only reality. As I approach the door, a surge of cool air offers a momentary reprieve from the suffocating heat, fueling a fleeting glimmer of hope.
A familiar form catches my eye in the living room, and I abandon my trek to safety. “Marco!” I cry out. He doesn’t move. “Get up!”
Flames engulf the room, the smoke so thick I’m shocked I found him at all. Dropping to the floor, I crawl across the peeling linoleum, my chest so tight every breath is a desperate struggle. I keep moving, never stop, despite the flames licking at my pajamas.
When I finally reach him, his eyes are closed, face covered in soot. That panic rears up again, strangling my heart. “Marco!” He’s the only one I have left. “Wake up, cazzo!” I wrap my arm around his motionless form and drag him back toward the front door.
