V
STORM
“Y ou should lower that knife,’’ Micah warned in a stern tone. “I don’t want you hurting yourself.’’
My brow creased in confusion, and a snort slipped past my lips.
“How odd of you to worry about my wellbeing,’’ I drawled out. “Should’ve thought about that before abandoning me.’’
Carefully, he managed to remove the knife from my hands. With ease, he threw it to the side, and it landed perfectly on the wall, creating a crack due to the impact.
I tried not to show the sudden wave of nerves, but it was a struggle. He was in my personal bubble, locking his eyes with mine.
Oh, God.
How much I’ve missed those eyes—piercing green, probing deep into my soul. The silence was excruciating. His deep breathing, the way his chest moved up and down made something twitch in the pit of my stomach.
“I’ve always been there.’’ He glanced behind me briefly, at all the pictures of me scattered on his walls. “You just didn’t notice me.’’
“You should’ve just come to me.” I shook my head, then corrected myself. “No, you never should’ve left me.’’
His gaze softened, though it was only for a split second.
“You know that I had to leave, Bambi.’’
He brushed a strand of my hair away from my cheek and placed it behind my ear. His hand lingered, fingers intertwined with my hair for a while longer. He was unable to let go, and just stood there, seemingly embracing the tense atmosphere.
And that nickname...
Something I missed beyond comprehension. Something that had left a wound so deep that I never would have imagined the pain that came with hearing it again. It was a vivid reminder of how a man so rough was able to soften for me.
Yet, he didn’t come to me.
Not even once.
His sneaking into my apartment, lectures, and following me around meant absolutely nothing. He should’ve been by my side, not my shadow. If anything, I was the one who wanted desperately to become his shadow.
I swallowed harshly and nodded.
“You were never supposed to be gone for that long.’’ My words were barely a whisper as I took a step back, lowering my gaze. “In fact, all I’m seeing is you could’ve come back, but you didn’t want to.’’
“That’s not true.’’ With each step forward Micah took, I took two steps back.
That was the nature of our relationship, after all. One step forward, two steps back.
Realistically, this relationship had no future. There wasn’t a single doubt in my mind that if I wanted to be with him, I had to give up everything I had worked so hard for.
My job, my family, my friends and colleagues.
And it was only me who was willing to make sacrifices.
“Isn’t it?” A bitter laugh escaped me. “Three years. One letter in three years. For all I know, you’ll keep me here for a while before tossing me aside yet again.’’
He took another deep breath, closing his eyes.
The moment his eyes snapped open again, a wave of terror ran through my body.
It was as if I wasn’t looking at Micah, but someone else. The harshness, viciousness, and pure desire to put me in my place were something I’d never seen from him. I couldn’t move a single inch; his gaze completely dominated me.
Was this the last thing his victims saw? Pure terror.
How fitting.
The Terror of the Night.
As if they were two completely different people, battling for ownership of one body.
“There are so many things you don’t know, things you couldn’t even dream of.’’ His cruel tongue sent shivers down my spine, and I straightened my back. “It was beyond me. If it were up to me, I would’ve snatched you the moment you got discharged from the hospital three years ago.’’
“Then why didn’t you?” I all but screamed at him. My voice rang in my ears, my vision getting blurrier with each passing second. It took me a solid moment to realize that my eyes were filled with tears.
Gently, his thumb brushed underneath my right eye, wiping the fallen tear.
“I’ll explain everything to you, I promise,’’ he whispered. “But before I do, I want to be with you for a while, without any interruptions.’’
I chuckled, tilting my head to the side. “Who could interrupt us? It’s not like we’ll be found soon.’’
“The man you’ve been working with isn’t as dumb as the rest of them. In fact, I believe he’ll find us by the end of the week.’’
“Kyle?”
His jaw clenched, eyes narrowing at me. “Do not utter another man’s name in my presence unless you want to be bathed in his blood.’’
Something was terribly wrong with me.
Why did that make me aroused? Why did his threat of taking another person’s life make me forget the pain and suffering of the past three years and make me want to pounce on him?
“That would only bring more issues than it would resolve. Let’s not do that.’’
“Then don’t say his name anymore.’’
I ignored him. “So, what’s the plan? If they find us within a week, how should we proceed?”
Micah’s hands came to my waist, a spark erupting in my stomach. He tailed his fingers all over my hips before giving it a light squeeze.
“You shouldn’t worry about that.’’
How in the world was I supposed not to worry about that?
Worst-case scenario: we got caught and he was sent to prison.
Worst-case scenario number two: Kyle connected the dots and I got imprisoned with Micah.
Micah could potentially escape again, but me? I wouldn’t survive a day in prison.
“How am I supposed to trust you, Micah? You couldn’t even keep your promise to come back to me.’’
“I came back, didn’t I? And I promise, I’m never leaving your side again.’’
I started protesting and giving him the silent treatment.
For two hours straight, I tried getting answers out of him. Half about his whereabouts in the past years, alongside what he’d been doing, and the other half about what the fuck he was planning to do?
In the end, he told me he had a job due at midnight, and he left me alone.
There wasn’t an inch of this house I hadn’t turned upside down. I didn’t care about putting things back the way they were, since I noticed two cameras covering the living space.
He was bound to figure out one way or the other that I’d been snooping.
It was beyond frustrating.
Back in the cabin, he left the box with information about his sister under the bed, so I was able to figure out at least some parts of his past. It wasn’t everything, but it was enough for me to at least grasp why he did what he did.
This time around, there wasn’t anything.
Not a single piece of paper, not a single news article I deemed useful. Aside from the pictures of me, and all things related to me, he had nothing personal around here. Not even a notepad.
I was unable to find any electronic devices.
It was too plain.
However, it was lived in.
It took time and effort to put my pictures on the wall in chronological order. He has been here for the past three years.
Cups, plates, glasses, and sheets were all used.
But this wasn’t the place he had prepared for me, that much I was sure of.
It was sloppy and easily destroyed.
He didn’t count on the team making that statement.
A sly grin tugged on the corner of my lips.
I actually managed to force his hand.
He’d been coming by the bedroom door all the time, leaving food for me. He either forgot, or it was another mind game, but the door had a key on the inside, hence how I was able to lock myself in.
I didn’t speak to him, no matter how much he wanted me to.
He promised he’d tell me everything soon, but I couldn’t allow myself to fall for his cheap tricks.
There was a lot of frustration in his voice. He tried to mask it, and be the usual stoic self, but his voice cracked more often than not. It gave me a sense of satisfaction I never thought was possible.
Secretly, I was grinning the whole time as he asked me repeatedly to open the door.
And that was how I was able to start my plan.
Over the time we spent apart, I fantasized about how I’d act once he was within my reach again. There were too many brilliant ideas that popped up, but one stood out.
A while ago, I was thinking about getting a dog. I always loved big, dangerous dog breeds, so I read books and articles about how to tame them.
And the similarities in behavior were too great for me to ignore.
At the time, it could’ve been my delusion, my desire to meet him again. But now that I was finally with him, I couldn’t ignore the golden opportunity.
It was time for me to tame the mad dog, put a collar on him, and ensure he could never escape from me.
After all, it was his fault.
Everything was his fault.
I never would’ve indulged in the dark and twisted, almost sadistic fantasies. They were just that — fantasies. They served as a way for me to be creative in my writing. Never in a million years would I have thought that the things I was writing about would become my reality.
And I loved it.
His cold approach, dominant aura, and unwavering eyes brought out a monster. The monster that was supposed to be asleep for as long as I was alive.
With a sigh, I unlocked the door.
Micah was sitting on the cold floor, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed.
I crouched down and put my chin on my knees, a mere inch away from his face. I couldn’t stop staring at the beauty in front of me.
Thick lashes, plump lips.
His heartbeat was steady, as he was asleep on the floor outside of my door. He was patiently waiting for my response, and this was it.
With a soft touch, I brushed a fallen strand of his hair off his forehead, revealing the entirety of his gorgeous face.
“Now, what should I do with you?”
Before I could stop myself, my fingertips traced along his jaw. His brow furrowed again before relaxing, and I didn’t stop the movements. Butterflies erupted in my stomach at the sight of his peaceful face, the softness of his skin under my touch.
My voice was barely above a whisper, but his eyes twitched. He was still soundly asleep, but he sensed I was there.
Or so I thought.
As his eyes opened, my heart fluttered. He blinked the sleep away, but didn’t move from his position. Instead, he smiled brightly. There wasn’t anything dangerous in his eyes, just pure bliss that he saw me by his side.
Let the taming of a wild beast begin.