Javi is grinning again. He shakes his head, but there is no mistaking the glint in his eyes. We D’Angelis have always liked the rush; the thrill. Danger is fucking addictive.
“I’ll see you later tonight.” I head out to my wing.
I settle in my surveillance room and watch the camera feeds. Nicole is back home from work. It's past seven and it seems like she's preparing to go out for dinner with her best friend. They chat leisurely as Nicole grabs her keys, puts the cluttered coffee mugs on her kitchen table away in the sink, and checks the back door. She is wearing a plaid skirt, a V-neck blouse and brown boots. Her red hair is in a loose knot behind her, held by a bow. Like a present waiting for me to unwrap it. Fucking beautiful.
I am just feasting on all her exposed skin that is in my gaze: her smooth and creamy neck and collar, her arms, the lower thighs of her long legs. She is a fucking vision right now.
She acts jumpy as she carries out these tasks, her body stiff. I know, baby, I whisper under my breath. You can't wait.
I can't wait, either.
And I know she will be coming tonight. She is scared, granted, but I know she will be damned before she admits that to me. Aside from the answers about what is currently going on that she so desperately needs, she wants to prove a point to me. She wants to prove that I do not hold any power over her life. That I am and will be nothing to her. She doesn't care about me enough to even be afraid of me.
And that is what this exercise is about. To give her a sense of her power. Make her think she's in control, because I want her to be in control for once. I imagine these last few days have made her feel very powerless.
I'm letting her lead now. It was her decision to come see me. I'm not sneaking around anymore. I want her to come face to face with me. She should feel this surge of agency, because after tonight, she will hate me for a really long while.
But she won't be able to escape me.
And she will learn to love me. Soon, she will breathe me. And she will do it gladly.
So I know she will show up tonight. She will. My baby likes to prove a point, and I like to humor her.
I grab my phone and send her a text.
Me: You're looking very beautiful tonight. I hope you haven't grown cold feet. I need to see that V-neck up close.
I know exactly when she gets the text because I'm watching her on my screen. I see her grab her phone from the kitchen table as it blinks on. She abandons her task of washing the mugs in the sink and sits on a chair. I watch her stare at her phone. She sends me a text soon after.
Nicole: I will show up. You think I'm scared of you?
She rises to her feet and looks out the window. She doesn't see what she's looking for. But soon, she’s drawing the curtains tightly over the windows of the kitchen and living room as she bolts them. There are about four of them in the living room and just one in the kitchen and she doesn't stop until she’s locked them all. And then she excuses herself to go upstairs. When she's back, she's wearing a black turtle neck with fucking long sleeves.
She likes to test me.
Me: The turtle neck suits you even better. How long have you been a C-cup?
As she receives the text, the look on her face is priceless. As if her skin is not white enough, she grows even paler. Her creamy skin just beckons on me to come mark it, to scar it, to eat her whole. I watch her and I want to mar that smooth skin with bites that would send her temperature skyrocketing. The beauty marks just below her eyes are even more prominent and as her lashes flutter as she watches her phone, they shade those stunning marks.
She glances across the living room furtively, suddenly not trusting the house anymore. Her friend asks her something but she shrugs it off, slipping her phone hurriedly inside her purse.
Me: Are you scared now?
Her phone vibrates and she can't resist the temptation. She pulls it out and glances at the text. Soon, she's leading her best friend out of the house and snapping the door shut after glancing back at her house one more time.
And I laugh. Long and hard.
I cannot wait.
I'm staring at her empty house when she sends a reply text, having grown the nerve. I assume she's already in a taxi heading for the dinner place with her friend.
Nicole: You can have your fun now. Soon you'll be behind bars.
I smile when I see her text.
Me: Maybe. But you won't be putting me there. I asked you to come alone, baby. If you call anyone else, they will suffer. You know I will never hurt you.
She replies in seconds.
Nicole: You think I trust you?
Lies, baby.
Me: But you will be in King's Park at nine. Are you sure you don't trust me?