Page 11 of High-Priority Asset

But this had to be done.

He pushed aside the doubt gnawing at his resolve to see this through. There was too much on the line not to give it his all.

Chapter Four

Nightfall couldn’t come fast enough. It was a new moon. The sky was pitch-black perfection, the ocean roiling darkness.

An ideal time to pay his doll a visit. To keep their one-of-a-kind connection alive. To stoke the passion between them.

Wearing dark clothes and ball cap pulled low, he strolled down the private beach off the north end of Malibu Road, cloaked in the night. Found his prime spot to tuck himself in among the boulders of the rocky outcrop, where he had a bird’s eye view of her third-floor condo.

The corner one-bedroom in the small, exclusive building faced the water. There were no other balconies adjacent to hers, only above and below. Two-story houses on either side of the building sat lower than her place, giving her a false sense of security. Privacy. Large, expansive windows nearly surrounded the apartment, putting her on display in her glass cage.

Isabel, his doll. A thing of beauty and grace.

His lingering rage over her mugging and that man fondling her was a wild beast inside him, but the longer he stood there, watching her, the more the turmoil faded.

She was healthy and safe, with him now. Even if he was at a distance.

He could reach out and touch her whenever he liked and do as he pleased, caress her with care, or damage her a little. Dolls with flaws were the prettiest because they were unique.

Sometimes love had to hurt. A crazy-beautiful pain.

Not so hard it made her black-and-blue.

Just enough to bring her back to you.

He liked this game. It turned him on, whetted his appetite for her. One day soon he’d have another taste of her.

Isabel poured a glass of sparkling water and squeezed a wedge of lime in it. Six months ago, she stopped drinking wine. Probably her attempt to become her best self...for him, right along with getting fit. She’d started jogging.

So did he, even knew her favorite trails.

She took boxing once a week and Krav Maga on Tuesdays and Thursdays, always in the afternoons. He couldn’t have them growing apart. To stay in sync with her, he signed up at the exact same places. Learned what she learned, but at an accelerated rate going twice as often as she did. He stayed two steps ahead.

Nothing like the element of surprise to fan the flames.

She strutted across the room in her skimpy nightgown, parading around, wanting to be seen, to be coveted. A lace chemise clung to her breasts, a generous 38F cup, and skimmed her thighs, showing off her curvy legs.

Tease. She knew that was his favorite one. Could she feel him watching now?

Of course she did. That’s why she chose to wear it. For him. Their bond was special. Unbreakable.

She curled up on the sofa and turned on the TV with that stupid dog at her feet. Some reality show that she’d DVR’d was most likely on the screen.

Staring at her, he remembered the scent of her shampoo in her hair, the feel of her skin, the taste of her mouth.

Isabel. I’ll love you forever.

The same way he’d loved Patricia.

Until the day she died.

Chapter Five

Once Isabel had finished spilling her guts to her bestie, Brenda, about what had happened yesterday, she took a sip of her coconut-milk latte and set the cup on the front desk of the gallery.

“Oh. My. God.” Brenda sat wide-eyed. “That’s why we have the new electronic dead bolt on the door. Are you all right?” Her friend jumped up, blond curls bouncing around her shoulders as she enveloped Isabel in a tight hug.