Page 45 of Stalker

While Christopher was aware of the contestant’s real names, at this point there was no need for us to learn anything other than the answers to the limited questions asked.

“A few. That sounds promising.” He clapped me on the back. “There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a taste of what others call normal.”

“Normal. I doubt the majority of people would call our games normal, brother.”

“Perhaps not, but there are much darker proclivities than provided in the Obsidian Society.”

Yes, he wasn’t wrong. We were more tempered than the three of us would like to be.

“I’m surprised you were allowed to come out and play,” I told him. “Doesn’t Jessica frown on your nighttime activities?”

He laughed. “I’m here to supervise and make certain you don’t do anything stupid. And do you know Jessica? She’d love to join in.”

The woman was unique that way.

“And our other players?”

“I’m not worried about them. If they get themselves into trouble, they’ll need to face the consequences. Not us.”

So far, the players selected for round one included a pitcher headed from the minor leagues to the Chicago Cubs, a neurosurgeon, two politicians, a police officer, the CEO of a land development company, the owner of a restaurant, and a police officer. A fascinating group.

From what I’d heard of the women invited, they were all eager and willing to embroil themselves in the world of debauchery and sin.

But I was only interested in one.

Lady Butterfly.

What were the odds the contestant with intriguing answers was the same woman who’d enticed the darkness inside of me several months before?

Slim to none.

“And our other illustrious board members?”

Xander checked his watch. “Both had other engagements.”

“Of course they did. Women rule your lives. I want no part of it.”

He turned to me, studying my eyes more seriously than he’d done in a long time. “The first time I remember being beaten in foster care I was maybe five years old. I’d taken the last cookie without realizing it had been saved for the master of the house. Up until then, things had been okay in the house. I remember feeling as if I was fitting in. What a terrible thing for a five-year-old kid to need to think about.”

Our stories were similar and I’d always wondered why three small boys had ended up in the hands of monsters. The answer remained in learning more about our birth parents. Since the bombshell had been dropped that our biological father had been a savage serial killer, none of us had found the time or the inclination to investigate any further.

Maybe because we now lived what most would consider fantasy lives.

“The three of us have similar stories. Why bother telling me that now?”

“True,” my brother said with no emotion, “but the lesson I learned that night was that women always rule a household and I was happy that was the case. The bastard who’d tried to force me into calling him Daddy was angry, the cookie meant for him. As soon as he’d realized I’d eaten the fucking chocolate chip treat, he started to beat me. The only reason I didn’t end up in a pool of blood was that his wife came home and stopped him. She soothed the beast inside of him. Later that night, she brought me a stash of cookies she’d held back while I was crying and licking my wounds. That’s when I realized how precious women were. I’m not a decent human being, Wilder. You know that.”

“Neither am I.”

“No, you’re not. But we can’t be like our father. The need for violence and the taking of human life doesn’t manifest itself in the bloodstream or DNA.”

“Are you so certain about that?” I asked him, genuinely curious. Our father was evidently the lowest form of trash there was. Maybe that’s why I’d continued assuming the role of protector after I’d gotten my revenge on those who’d tormented me personally.

He took an exaggerated inhale of the night air. “Maybe not, but what I do know is that without Jessica, the anger inside of me would have continued to grow. She brings me peace. She’s my salvation. Perhaps it’s time for you to consider finding someone to fight the rage threatening to overtake you.”

It was my turn to laugh. “There’s no woman capable.”

“You might be surprised.”

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