Page 65 of Psycho

I was waiting between a small silver BMW and a red Mini Cooper.

Never in a million years did I think I would be here, taking time out of my day to pick someone up from school, but that was what I was doing. If Roman could see me now, he would think I had officially lost it.

Maybe I had.

I didn’t know, but I hadn't felt like myself ever since seeing the girl at the gas station.

And I wasn’t sure if I liked this version of myself or not.

One thing was certain. There was no way I would be giving her up now that I had her exactly where I wanted her.

I caught her coming out of the school. The backpack seemed to weigh her down, and she was looking down at her shoes.

She did that a lot.

Always looked down while she walked, so unaware of her surroundings.

She almost made it too easy for me to keep track of her these last few years.

She looked up when she was close, her eyes finding my truck right away. The windows were tinted, so I doubted she could actually see me sitting there, but for a moment, her gaze had been directed at me, holding for three long seconds.

I felt my heart pinch, and I didn’t know what to make of it.

She climbed into the truck without looking my way, and something about that bothered me, only I didn’t know why.

There was something off about her, and I didn’t know what.

“Why are we still here?” she asked.

I didn’t answer her. She shifted a little in her seat, and my eyes narrowed on her face.

“What the fuck?” I muttered, making her flinch. Slowly, I held out my hand and grasped it under her chin.

She pulled away from me, but I didn’t let her hide.

I gripped the bottom of her chin and turned her toward me.

Her eyes were downcast, but that didn’t fucking matter, because I was looking at the fucking mark on her face.

Someone had marked my property.

“Who the fuck touched you?” I asked, trying to keep the anger from my voice.

She pulled away from me once more. I let her go this time. “None of your business.”

“Oh, that’s where you’re wrong, girl. You are mine. You are a part of my business. Now you’re going to tell me what happened, and who put their hands on you.”

She glared at me, showing her green eyes for the first time since she climbed inside the car. “Why? So you can kill them? Isn’t that what you do? Resolve problems with violence and threats? Well, I have had enough of violence to last a lifetime. I don’t need it anymore. You want the answer? You’re going to have to beat it out of me.”

I said nothing to that.

My fists clenched.

I didn’t want to beat anything out of her. I didn’t want her scared of me, but how fucking easy would it have been had that been the case?

She turned away and pulled on her seat belt.

I waited for a beat, frustration simmering in my veins, knowing I had fucking lost this battle.

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