Chapter 74: REGRETS?
Arianna
“You seriously drugged me. Your girlfriend,” I retorted, the word tasting like ash in my mouth. The betrayal stung. How could he violate my trust so easily? The casualness of his admission makes it all more cruel. As if discussing the weather.
His smile doesn’t waver, but his eyes soften slightly, the amusement replaced by something akin to a strange, dark affection,” And yet, you’re still here, darling,” he murmured, his voice low and seductive, laced with a smoky timbre that vibrated against my skin.
It was always a trap, a carefully woven web designed to ensnare me, and despite the fear, the anger, the hurt, I knew I was already caught. I was his, and he knew it.
The darkness that surrounded him, the darkness that I both feared and craved, was where I belonged. I knew in my heart that I wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon. Maybe ever. I was addicted to danger, to the thrill of existing on the edge with him, a dangerous dance that could ultimately be my undoing.
With another shiver down my spine, not of fear this time, but of a twisted, undeniable desire for the man who just confessed to drugging me. He had taken my trust many times, my consent, and yet, I found myself drawn to him even more deeply.
Taking this risk, I was a moth drawn to his flame, knowing that it would likely consume me in the end.
I was lost, willingly lost within the beautiful, terrifying labyrinth of his twisted love.
“None of this is normal,” I said, my voice tight with suppressed emotion,” You have no right to make decisions for me if I have my own opinions. You drugged me so you can go kill them all, didn’t you?”
He watched me, without blinking, his gaze intense and unwavering, like a hawk assessing its prey. His silence was more chilling than his admission. I could sense the calculations behind those stormy eyes, the gears turning. He wasn’t going to deny it.
“You know me so well,” he finally said, a low tone, a rumbling purr that sent a shiver dancing down my spine. Averting his gaze to the road in front, he tapped his finger against the steering wheel again, playing a tune, I don’t recognize,” I wouldn’t want you to get blood on you so thank me for sparing you from the horrors. One was enough for your pretty eyes.”
The lump in my throat stuck like a wired noose, trapping my breath, once he refocused on me,” They were sent by the man who hurt you and they were going to kill us both. I just defended myself. Is that a crime?” The words were logical but a twisted form of manipulation, a dark attempt to justify his actions.
“You didn’t have to kill them. You could have sent them to the station or something. Give them a sentence like you usually do with the criminals. You promised me no more killings,” I whispered.
Vincent’s lips curled into a wry smile, a flash of teeth in the dim light, like a predator’s grin in the shadows,” Sentimentality doesn’t belong in this world where you are concerned. Those who seek to harm us deserve what they get,” his voice was soft, yet firm, leaving no room for argument.
“But that doesn’t make you the judge or the executioner. Those people have families, Vincent. Wives, sons and daughters. They have a chance to see them in prison if they deserve to rot in there. I don’t need you to kill anyone because of me,” I tried to reason him, the words a small act of defiance.
His expression shifted, a shadow crossing his face,” And still I couldn’t protect you from that bastard. The man who almost raped you, walked out of sentenced life with the help of his wealth and status. If he had a child, I doubt they would like to go see him, knowing he abducts young vulnerable women and rapes them against their will. I did you a favor, the whole world, to get rid of these kind of people. They will just keep doing it. They spread like virus. Sometimes the line between judge and executioner blurs, especially when your own life is on the line. I can’t afford to hesitate when it comes to protecting what’s mine, and you’re mine, Arianna,” he reached out and traced a knuckle along my cheek, the touch sending shivers of both terror and a strange, addictive heat through my veins.
“That’s madness and you know it. At least don’t drug your loved ones if you’re so inclined to protect me.”
He laughed, a low, dangerous sound that echoed in the confined space of the car. Eyes like a sandstorm, fixed on me, holding me captive,” Then I suppose I am mad, sweetheart. But have you ever considered that madness and love are but two sides of the same coin?”
I didn’t answer. Too tired to argue with a killer who had no morals.
Staring out the window, the abandoned, empty streets in the capital city of Indiana started to wake up with the first streaks of pale gold painting the sky, shining through the glass windows of the car but even the beauty of the dawn couldn’t wash away the dread that had settled in my heart.
He admitted that he was mad. Always saying, he is no Saint but a Devil, taking corrupted souls. I knew it but still tried to deny the fact that he is a killer.
All that blood…I couldn’t even imagine what his victims thought when they were being tortured. It made my stomach churn. Did they scream? Did they beg? Like Brian Wilson did when Vincent put a bullet between his eyes? While I stood there and watched it happen?
“Arianna, eyes,” his voice was soft but sharp enough to cut through the fog of my thoughts. I turned my head, my gaze catching his and it felt like he was looking through me, peeling back the layers of my heart like the skin of an orange.
“You’re…quiet,” he stated and broke the stare to look at the road, both hands gripping the steering wheel, white knuckles giving me a sign that he was as tightly wound as I was,” What’s going on in that gorgeous head of yours?”
I swallowed, the lump in my throat refusing to recede,” I…I was thinking about Brian,” I hated myself for admitting it, hated that he had this power over me, this ability to draw the truth out like a poisoned dagger.
His jaw tightened, a muscle twitching in his cheek,” Brian was a nuisance. an obstacle,” his voice was calm, but the words were laced with a chilling undertone,” You shouldn’t waste your time thinking about scums like him. He was a threat to you so I eliminated it to protect us.”
“But…” I wanted to say that he had a family who probably were looking for him but he didn’t deserve my compassion or sympathy and deep down I knew it,” You promised to take him away, not kill him.”