Page 4 of Depraved

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RAND

My entire body strains with the need to go after Karolina. I can’t let her leave. She’s not safe without me to watch over her.

I look at my dead enemy and grimace.

The immediate threat has been handled.

Far more terrifying is the prospect that she’ll never talk to me again.

I flinch when I hear my front door slam.

She’s gone.

But not forever.

This won’t be the end of us.

We’ll never be over.

She’s mine.

I’ll figure out a way to win her back. Losing her isn’t an option. I might as well rip my own heart from my chest if she’s not in my life. Living means nothing without her.

She just needs a little space. As much as I craved to hold her after the attack, I would’ve done even more damage if I forced her into my arms.

I’ll deal with the body, and then I’ll go to her to beg forgiveness.

I walk into the bedroom and find my phone, taking a few seconds to pull on a pair of sweatpants. I feel far too naked right now, even though no one’s here to see me.

The horror in Karolina’s eyes when she saw her face tattooed all over my arms, her name emblazoned over my heart…

I grit my teeth and force the memory away before despair can overwhelm me.

I find Ghost’s contact details and connect the call.

“What now? Did you find out who sent that note to your girl?” he asks as soon as he picks up.

“I found him,” I growl. “Actually, he found me. I handled it.”

Ghost lets out a low whistle. “He snuck up on you? You must be losing your touch, Ragnar.”

“I was distracted,” I snap back, loathing myself for losing focus for even one minute when Karolina was still in danger.

“She really has you fucked up, man.”

“Karolina is none of your business,” I seethe.

“Jesus, fine. If you don’t want to talk about the girl you’ve been stalking for years, why did you call me? It sounds like you killed the guy who was threatening her?”

“He’s dead,” I confirm.

That’s one bit of relief, at least. She referred to my enemy as her stalker before she ran away from me. She thinks he’s the one who’s been following her all along. She’ll assume he’s the one who killed Rich and sent the anonymous messages to her phone.

I can work with that. As long as she never learns that I was manipulating her into my protective arms, I can repair the damage between us.

She knows I’m Bones now.