Page 5 of Vicious Little Darling

I throw a little wave and keep going, turning the corner at the end of the next block. My apartment is only four blocks from here, and I’ll be home safe and sound before Josh even makes it halfway back to his fancy-ass apartment on the upper west side. His parents had the money to invest in his bar, while mine didn’t even have enough to help me fly home for the holidays. Josh usually tries to get the bill. But I never let him.

My footsteps echo into the night, and as I make it past another block, I suddenly realize that the streets are now devoid of people. I don’t let it bother me. However…

Something else does.

That feeling is back, and the hair on the back of my neck is standing on end again. I swallow the knot in my throat, my pulse throbbing in my temple.It’s just in your head.

But, it doesn’tfeellike it’s in my head.

I reach into my back pocket and pull out the pepper spray, clutching it so tightly that my hand cramps.Three blocks to go. That’s it.I quicken my pace, though not so much that someone would necessarily grow suspicious that I have noticed them. If someoneislurking in the shadows, I don’t want them to think I’m onto them. I just want to make it home, where I can triple lock my apartment.

As I make it past another block, I hear the thud of heavy footsteps behind me. It sounds as if someone ismarching,stomping their feet so that I can’t miss the sound. I don’t look back. I don’t give them that satisfaction. I just find the trigger on my pepper spray and prepare for somethingverybad to happen.

Then the noise stops.

I glance over my shoulder, and no one is there…

But nowsomeoneis whistling. A sick, low tune fills the air around me, and it’s enough to do me in. I break into a sprint, my feet pounding the pavement as I rush towards my apartment complex. I shoot another glance over my shoulder, and my heart stops.

A shadow of a man is standing only six or so feet away, and as the door buzzer sounds, letting me know that the door is unlocked for me to enter, he lifts his head, revealing a grinning skeleton mask.

As I reach for the handle, and whip the door open, he keeps whistling the same low, revolting tune. I pull the door closed ashe starts toward me again, and manage to get the door shut just as he presses a black gloved hand to the glass.

I back away, and then hold up my pepper spray. The door stays locked without the code, but that doesn’t stop the fear from coursing through my body. He tilts his head dramatically and then, in a sardonic, cruel, and deep tone…

He fucking laughs.

Chapter Three

JAXTON

My God, she was terrified.I tip my head back and continue to laugh, unable to stop it as the sound pierces the night. This girl isn’t my type in the slightest, but fuck, I’m so hard right now. I could explode in my jeans. This is the first time I’ve felt like this in years. She hadpepper spray.I continue to cackle as I slide away down the alley, watching for any light to kick on in the building. I know that there are only six apartments in this old, run-down building. I saw that as she slammed the door shut in front of me.

Come on,I think as I circle the building, watching and waiting, my cock so goddamn ready to blow it aches.Where are you, baby?

I don’t know why I followed her and her friend—or boyfriend—out of the bar. I don’t know why the fact that she turned me down turned meonso much. And what’s the story with that rich-bitch boy she was with? What woman, in her state, turns down a man who so obviously has money? It was strangely satisfying, the way she patted his arm and left him standing in rejection.

It was somethingIwould’ve done.

Grinding my teeth, I circle around to the back of the building, peering upwards. Ineedto know where she is. I could break in tonight, fuck her, and snuff the life right out of her—or I could indulge in new fantasies and put off the satisfaction for a while. As my mind toys with the idea, a sliver of light catches my attention.

I peer up and see the blinds parting slightly on the back, west-facing apartment. A face is peering into the night, searching for someone… As I take in the features, I know who it is. I creep backward into the shadows as she gives me a view of her full face.

There you are, baby. There you are.

My cock throbs for my attention, and I slide my hand beneath my jeans, grabbing hold of it. I take my time stroking as she bites down on her bottom lip, and then disappears from my sight, but it doesn’t stop me from continuing.

“Gotcha,”I imagine myself saying, threading my fingers around her pretty little neck. I squeeze my shaft like I’d like to squeeze her throat, stifling a groan as I start to pump my hand again. I come hard and fast as I imagine her lips turning a shade of blue with death written all over her. Cum fills my hand, and I wipe it away on the T-shirt beneath my hoodie.

Looks like I’ve found my next victim, and she promises to be far more entertaining than the others.

Now that my head is clear of lust, I creep back around the building to the entrance. There’s a keypad with a code to enter the old building, which is a surprise in this shitty part of town. I’ll have to lurk nearby to figure out the code, although I doubt it’ll be anything difficult. I could jimmy the lock, but I don’t know if there’s an alarm—and I don’t want to go setting that off just yet.

She already knows I’m here. I don’t want to up her fear too much. Not yet, anyway. As I wander up to the keypad, I hear footsteps coming from behind me, and I quickly drop my mask, shoving it into my pocket.

“You don’t live here,” I hear a scratchy female voice say from behind me. “You need to get the hell away.”

I turn around to see a short, African American woman with white hair and mean eyes. She is holding a taser.You’ve got to be kidding me.

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