Page 3 of Killian's Vengeance

Lily: This is just like you, Willa. I am offering to do something nice for you, giving you my ID, making you dinner and you’re blowing me off. You’re acting like an ungrateful bitch.

I sighed in frustration. This was classic Lily. Blaming and manipulating others by victimizing herself to get her own way. Unfortunately, the reason she used this strategy is because it worked. Dammit.

Willa: Fine. Just get here soon. I do actually have plans tonight.

Lily: I’ll be there soon.

I stood up and took a few more shots of the skyline. A part of me was dying to check out her apartment, but another part was afraid she’d come home and find me snooping. I grimaced as I imagined Lily’s outraged response and instead pulled up the pictures I just took, using various filters and editing them in ways I liked.

After at least twenty minutes, still no Lily.

Bored and still feeling the pull to investigate, I tapped my foot for a moment, then scrolled through some of my social media apps to distract myself. I winced and ignored a comment from Andy, a guy I had a class with. He was a nice enough guy, and though I’d given him every indication I wasn’t interested, he kept trying.

Closing the app, I stared at the front door, willing it to open so I could eat with Lily and get the hell out of there. Sadly, it stayed firmly closed.

Unable to bear it, I hopped off the couch and wandered down the hallway that led to the back of the apartment. I swung open the bathroom door and took a peek. It was pretty generic—toilet, shower, sink. Not much in the way of decorations, which had me wondering how long Lily had lived here.

At the end of the hall were two bedrooms, one of which was empty. The other was clearly her bedroom, but it could have passed for a hotel room with as few possessions as it contained. My brows puckered in confusion. This wasn’t Lily’s style. She was an over-the-top decorator, needing the best of everything, and wanting everyone to know she had it. This utilitarian room, which, while spacious, was barren of any style. Once again, I pondered how long she’d lived here. Even if she hadn’t been here long, Lily usually put her stamp on any place she lived the minute she set down the first moving box.

I shrugged my shoulders, figuring I could ask her about it when she got here. I had just walked back into the living room, again wondering how long I was going to have to stick around when a loud, cracking noise had my head snapping to the front door.

What the fuck?

Before I could think, the front door slammed open and a huge man dressed in all black burst into the door. His face was covered by a ski mask, but what really caught my attention was the gun in his hand.

For a moment I was paralyzed with shock, my heart nearly jumping out of my chest. Letting out a shriek, I ran back toward the bedrooms out of pure survival instinct, knowing there was no exit that way. But what was the alternative? I wasn’t going to run towards the guy with the gun.

Instead, I ran into Lily’s room and shut the door. I turned the flimsy lock, knowing it would never keep that man out.

After scanning the room, and quickly finding no magically appearing exits or credible hiding spots, I headed for the closet and hunkered down, knowing it was a stupid place to hide. I couldn’t believe how many horror movie heroines I’d harshly judged for this exact behavior. I hunkered down, unsure if I was even breathing as beads of sweat started to slide down my back, causing my tank top to stick to my skin. I was momentarily distracted at how little clothing was actually hanging in the closet. Lily had ten times this amount of clothes, easily.

My phone! I could call for help! Where was it? I checked my pockets, my shoulders slumping when I found nothing. Dammit, I must have dropped it when I ran.

The intruder kicked the door and I jumped and covered my ears as if not hearing would make this entire situation vanish from my reality. Unfortunately, I could still hear the door frame give out and the door swing open and hit the wall.

“You might as well come out,” a rough voice said. “Considering how I feel about you, you definitely won’t like how much I’ll enjoy dragging you out of here if you resist.”

I frowned at his words. Did this guy know me? I wracked my brain trying to fathom who I’d made this angry and how.

While I was lost in mental calculations, the closet door was pulled open and I yelped in surprise, which was crazy because there was really nowhere else to hide in this room.

The man stood there looking tall and ominous and terrifying. I couldn’t see his expression because of the mask but, considering his stated feelings toward me, I assumed that was probably a good thing. Scrambling for a way to escape, I stood up quickly and kicked my leg out, trying to momentarily immobilize him and get away.

He was far too fast, quickly blocking my kick and backhanding me into the side of the closet. My ears were ringing as I slid down the wall, dizzily shaking my head from the dual impact. Though a part of me was unable to believe that I’d been slapped across the face, the pain made it frighteningly clear that hurting me was not a problem for this man.

The hysterical fear that had been humming through my system since the door had been broken down, burst within me like fireworks on the fourth of July, causing me to start lashing out like a madwoman in a desperate attempt at freedom. The man only chuckled harshly, easily defending himself from my maniacal attack. Lightening fast, he restrained my wrists and used them to jerk me roughly to my feet. He used his other hand to hold my jaw in a painful grip and stare at me with cold, green eyes.

“You should really save your energy for later. You’re going to need it.”

Chapter 3

Killian

As I stared down into the face of the woman I’d fantasized about hurting, maiming, and torturing, a bolt of satisfaction shot through me at finally getting my hands on her.

Seeing Lily in person, I could understand why Mac fell for her—she was fucking gorgeous. Long, pale blonde hair flowed down her back, perfect white teeth bit into the pillowy, pink flesh of her lower lip as she stared up at me with wide, terrified, sky-blue eyes. Holding her hands above her head not only showed off the slim lines of her body, it pushed her more than ample cleavage above the neckline of her tank top. I was more than a little annoyed to feel my dick filling with blood the longer I stared.

I could see why Mac got caught up with her.

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