Page 126 of Stalker

Just like he’d done with Drew Monahan.

“But he couldn’t manipulate your mother.”

He laughed, using the same tone as I’d done before. “No. That’s why she lost her life.”

“It still seems like you’re threatening me.” Whatever he had remembered had turned his curiosity about his past into just another vendetta. Maybe I should stop caring about the welfare and justice of a monster.

Yet which creature of the night was I referring to?

Another shiver. Another wave of desire. Another even deeper emotion that scared me to death.

“I’m warning you, Cassandra. Nothing more. Nothing less. This isn’t a situation to take lightly and can’t be played by anyone’s traditional rules, including those involving justice. The only justice possible is by ending the bastard’s life once and for all.” He stood abruptly, moving toward me and there was such a sense of purpose in his actions that I bristled. When he was only a few inches away, I thought I’d feel the desire to turn away from him.

I didn’t.

Instead, I leaned forward.

“Are you really warning me about your father or are your vehement words an indication you’re concerned about what you’ll do to me? Are you really worried you’ve fallen into the same madness as your father?”

His hand cupped my cheek and I closed my eyes. There was such warmth in his fingers touching my skin, such peace that I allowed myself to slide into the lull of being close to him.

“While the experts will argue about whether genetics or environment plays a larger role in shaping a child, what if both situations were equally as horrific?”

How was I supposed to answer that?

“However, that doesn’t mean I would ever hurt you, Lady Butterfly. You’re too important to me. I would die to protect you.”

He pulled away as quickly as he’d advanced and both my body and my mind were jarred from his abrupt departure.

“I don’t want you to die for me. I just need you to realize that you’re not your father.” I opened my eyes, watching him closely as he walked toward a bookcase.

“That’s where you’re wrong.”

“I’ll throw something back in your face you’ve told me more than once. I’m never wrong.”

He laughed as he slid a book aside and suddenly, the bookshelf moved, silently exposing a vault behind the hidden case. He was quick in his actions as he pressed a few buttons on the steel front. A small door swung open, and he grabbed something into his hand. As he turned, he cocked his head, holding out my cellphone. “I’m going to trust that you understand how dangerous the predicament we’re in. Make the call, Cassandra. Just remember I’m the only person capable of protecting you.”

His words weighed heavily on my mind as he walked closer. I placed my wine on the coffee table before taking the phone from his hand.

“I’m not doing anything stupid, Wilder. You need my help. You know that.”

“Perhaps you’re right, sweet butterfly, but not in the way that you believe.”

He had a way of unnerving me almost every time we were together. I took a few seconds before dialing the number to my office. He wanted trust, but I wasn’t certain if that was possible.

Yet as I stared into his eyes, I could see not only the fleeting images of the dark side of his being, but also a light begging to be freed.

How was it possible to help him? How could I break through the barrier he’d been forced to surround himself with since he was a small child? In my mind, there was only one way of protecting his freedom and perhaps saving his soul.

Lying to him.

But that was the tip of the iceberg. I’d need to concoct a plausible scenario to try to escape while relying on every expert in law enforcement who owned me a favor. Recapturing Cain Demarco was a long shot, but even master criminals needed to come up for air, needing an escape from the brutality of their own bloody thoughts.

I folded my arm, rubbing my hand up and down as a series of shivers prickled my skin. I’d once thought I couldn’t worm my way inside the mind of a madman, but I’d proven myself wrong time and time again. I’d managed to pick apart their insecurities and angst, anger and determination for a sole purpose.

Keeping them locked behind thick steel bars.

But that’s not what I wanted for the man who continued to entice me, body and soul.

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