Page 89 of Stalking Ginevra

The corner of my lips lifts into a smile. She no longer sees Brisket as a savior.

My hand falls away, and I step back.

Her screams weaken to breathless sobs, leaving only revulsion and fear. With a sudden burst of panic, she tries to dart past me toward the bathroom door. I pull her into my chest.

“Where’s the appreciation, little Ginny?” I growl into her ear.

She wriggles in my grasp. “Let go of me... Please.”

“Are you an ungrateful little cunt? Or are you ashamed to admit your pussy is wet? I killed at your command, and I will do it again. Say the word, and I’ll deliver you another heart.”

She stiffens.

“Now, get on your knees and thank me.”

Ginevra hesitates, her features flickering with realization. The man she once thought would save her is bent on tearing away the last shred of her dignity. She opens her mouth but fails to produce words. What can she say when her nighttime hero has turned into a monster?

“What’s wrong, little Ginny? Have you forgotten how to play?”

She falls to her knees and bows her head, as if submitting might shield her from more cruelty. I thread my bloody fingers through her hair and yank her head back so I can look her full in the face. Tears stream down her cheeks, her pretty features contorted with agony.

She clamps her mouth shut as if holding back a scream, but I tighten my grip on her hair until she hisses. “Please... Stop.”

I release her with a shove hard enough to make her sprawl across the floor. “Next time I see you...” I pause, letting her anticipate the threat. “I’m taking that pussy.”

She crumples into herself, hugging her knees in a tight ball of sobs.

Satisfaction thrums through my insides, and I nod. My message is clear. She’s seen what Brisket can do, and the terror in her eyes confirms that this masked man is no longer hersavior. Now that I’ve shattered that illusion, she’ll have no choice but to come to me.

Without a word, I step over her, out of the bathroom, and down the hallway leading to where I left Riva’s corpse. I exit through the roof garden and head toward the service elevator.

My work is done. If this isn’t enough to have her running into my arms, then the loan sharks I’ve stationed outside her house will do the job.

Soon, Ginevra will be mine.

THIRTY-NINE

GINEVRA

This is a nightmare.

A hell of my own making.

The marble floor feels cold against my flesh, but it’s nothing compared to the chill seeping through my bones. Brisket’s touch crawls under my skin, making my muscles tighten, as though trying to shake off the memory of ever enjoying anything about him. I clutch my knees to my chest, squeezing my eyes shut as if that will erase the memory of him forcing that organ into my hands.

I never want to see that black-hearted bastard again.

The silence in the bathroom is suffocating. I edge toward the door, straining to listen for any signs he might be lurking outside. But all I hear is the rapid thud of my heart. It pounds through my eardrums, barely drowning out his final words.

Time loses meaning. Minutes or hours, I can’t tell—every second drags out, my limbs frozen in place while his words echo in my mind. I’m still trembling, still fucked up from being the cause of a man’s brutal death. Common sense reminds me thatI can’t stay here forever. What if Terranova unlocks the elevator and finds a corpse? I’ll be suspect number one.

With a shuddering breath, I uncurl my muscles, pull the door open a crack, and peer down the corridor. It’s empty, save for a few bloody footprints.

Each step down the hallway feels like dragging myself through mud. My legs grow heavy, and my lungs tighten, struggling to pull in air. I round the corner, finding Julian’s lifeless body sprawled by the elevators. The sight of his intestines spilling into a pool of congealed blood makes me heave.

I force myself to walk around the corpse, careful not to look too closely, not to let the horror seep into my bones. Hell will turn to a holiday camp before I grieve a man who tried to assault me in my own Dad’s penthouse.

My gaze lands on the dossier he tossed aside. I reach down and pick it up with trembling fingers, only to find the papers all blank. I huff a bitter laugh. The offshore accounts, the promise of hidden money—it was all bullshit he made up to steal my attention.

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