Page 58 of The Psychopaths

“If that were true, if you really believed that, then you wouldn’t still be standing here.” The little minx is testing my patience and resolve. I should tell her to fuck off, but I don’t want to and that’s increasingly frustrating me. “If you don’t want to make a deal with me, then why are you still standing here?”

Because you’re a fascinatingly beautiful creature.

Because you’ve transformed from prey to monster.

Because the darkness in your eyes matches mine.

That’s what I really want to say.

Instead, I growl out a response. “What do you want?”

“No innocent victims. No killing.” Her breath catches as my thumb traces her lip. “Focus on the real monsters—Mother, your father, the board members who helped cover everything up.”

“What about Aries?” I press closer, using my body to remind her of her stepbrother’s imprisonment. “Is he an innocent victim in this scenario?”

“You know he’s not. Not totally.” One of her hands slides across my shirt, and I can feel the heat of her touch through the fabric, not pushing me away but anchoring herself. “But torturing him won’t give you the revenge you seek.”

“What will give me the revenge I seek, Lilian?”

“To destroy them all, and by working together, we can make sure that happens.” Tilting her head, she looks up at me, and our lips nearly touch. “There will be nothing more satisfying than watching them realize the perfect world they built on the bones of others is nothing more than an illusion. That their secrets and lies won’t be buried forever. Making all the evidence I have public knowledge, exposing them for the monsters they are.”

A dark, hungry need for revenge coats every word she speaks. This isn’t the fragile girl I threatened days ago. No, Lilian has transformed right before my eyes. I wonder what otherinformation she’s discovered, what other secrets she’s holding hostage. Fuck, even if she is resourceful, even if she wants revenge, bringing her into the fold would complicate things.

The reality is just because she’s strong today doesn’t mean she will be when shit hits the fan. I look down at her, staring into her eyes, seeing the same darkness there that I carry.

How can I say no to that?

“I’m not sure you understand what you’re offering me,” I warn, but my voice is rough with something darker than anger. “The things I plan to do to them will traumatize you for the rest of your life…hell, the things I might do to you.”

“I’m not afraid of you anymore.” Her fingers curl into my shirt. “I’m not afraid of anything. They made sure of that when they turned my condition into a weapon that they could use against me.”

The admission hangs between us, charged with shared understanding. We’re both products of their manipulation—me through violence, her through velvet-covered control.

“I wonder what precious Aries would think of his stepsister plotting revenge? Of working with the villain?” I drag my nose along her jaw, inhaling the sugar scent of vanilla. She’s so sweet I’m tempted to take a fucking bite. “His innocent Lilian, dipped in darkness and corrupted by evil.”

“I’m not his,” she whispers breathlessly. “I was never his. He made sure of that when he chose to keep me at a safe distance.”

Possession roars inside my chest. She’s right—she’s not his, but she could be mine.

This darker version of her, born of secrets and suppressed rage, calls to the primal beast inside me.

“I don’t think you understand how fucking dangerous this is, how dangerous I am to you,” I murmur against her skin. “Are you sure you want to make a deal with the devil?”

Her answering smile is sharp enough to draw blood. “Who says I’m not the devil, too?”

For half a second I consider that… perhaps she is the devil as well?

“Last chance to walk away,” I whisper, my hands betraying me, sliding possessively down her sides. “Once you’re in, there’s no going back. No claiming innocence.”

“You’re not listening.” Her tiny body arches under my touch. “I don’t want innocence. I want revenge. I want to help you destroy them, but methodically. Completely. Not through physical torture—or death. I want to dismantle everything they’ve built. Burn it down and watch them squirm while trying to escape the flames of their own demise.”

She means it. She fucking means it, and I don’t know if I should kill her right here to save her from my darkness or drop to my knees and worship her.

I sink my fingers into her silky blond hair, sifting the strands through my fingers. How is it possible for someone to be so fucking fragile, so fucking perfectly beautiful, yet sinister and beastly? After a moment, I fist her silky blond hair, yanking her head back to study every inch of her face. Soft peachy-pink pale skin and big cornflower blue eyes, that are far too innocent for all the things I want to do to her. As I inspect her features I hunt for any trace of manipulation or deceit.Nothing. She wants this. She wants to help.

“And if I decide to punish you anyway?” My grip tightens, and she winces. “For interfering with my plans? For discovering things you shouldn’t know?”

“Then you better make it count.” Even as pain shimmers in her blue eyes, the challenge in her voice refuses to waver. “Just remember—hurt me or kill me, and you lose access to everything I have. Every dirty secret, every hidden grave, every piece of evidence that could bring them down disappears with me.”

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