Chapter 65 - She Said yes

Natalia stared at the ring and then at Hayden. He had just asked her to marry him, and she was too stunned to say anything. She wanted to be with him forever, but she didn't think he was going to propose in the middle of all the chaos they were experiencing. As she saw his smile start to fall, she realized he must think that she was unsure, so she decided to put him out of his misery.

"Yes, I'll marry you." She answered with tears running down her face.

Hayden sighed in relief. When she was quiet for so long, he thought she was having doubts, and his heart hurt thinking she would say no. He slid the ring on her finger and stood up so he could kiss her.

"You scared me." He said against her lips. She smiled and held him where he was so she could give him a deeper kiss.

"I was so shocked it took me a minute to get my bearings. I love you, Hayden. There's no way I would say no to being your wife." She rubbed her hand over his cheek, looking into his eyes lovingly.

"Thank goodness, let's go tell everyone. I think tonight we deserve a celebration. How about we order some cake?" He raised his eyebrow at her as she giggled.

"You need to rest. You were shot, so no funny business. I can't believe you're up walking around like nothing happened. This has been a long, draining day that started with Jon terrorizing us. Let's get something to eat and go to bed. After we go to the other room and tell everyone the good news, we can order dinner." Natalia smiled as he walked around her chair to push her out to the others.

When they went to the living room, Dorian, Krista, and Dennis were all crowded around the laptop. They looked serious, as though they were watching a horror movie. In a way, it was a horror movie waiting to see what evil Jon would do next.

"Any updates?" Hayden asked, trying to keep a straight face.

"We're still following him. He tried to pick up two women, but they turned him down. We're still about twenty minutes behind him because he keeps cutting through side streets and alleys, so we can't fast-forward ahead." Dorian answered without turning around. Krista, however, saw that both Natalia and Hayden were beaming. She looked at them, confused. What could they possibly be so happy about?

"We have news," Natalia announced, and the two men turned around, noticing their smiles. She nodded to Hayden, who put his arm around her.

"I asked Natalia to marry me, and she said yes," He said excitedly. Krista jumped up and ran over to them so she could hug Natalia.

"Congratulations." She said happily. She couldn't think of a better way to end their day. Dorian and Dennis came over to hug and congratulate them before returning to the computer.

"We're going to order something for dinner. Does anyone have any special requests?" Hayden asked, and everyone shook their heads.

He called and ordered five steak dinners from his favorite steak house. He asked one of the security men in the lobby of the building to pick it up. When it arrived, Dennis went downstairs to get the food. He told them the password before walking out. When he came back, he gave the same password.

They all sat down to eat while watching Jon on the laptop. He was still looking for someone, but the women had not been willing to go with him. Dennis had called Andy to tell him Jon's general location, but because they were behind, Andy didn't really know where to go. Everyone was holding their breath, waiting for the inevitable.

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Jon was whistling while he walked as though he was in no rush to be anywhere. In reality, he was screaming on the inside. He had let his guard down when that bitch Natalia kept goading him. He didn't expect Dorian to wake up so quickly and get the jump on him. He had been so close to killing them all, but instead, he was on the run again.

He thought the captain was going to help him, but once Jon was in the interrogation room, the captain acted like he had no idea what was happening. That bastard had been more than happy to take his money while feeding him information, but when it was time for him to deliver, he backed out. Jon felt he had no choice but to kill him. That was the only way for him to escape.

Now he needed someone to take his anger out on. His plan had been to torture his four hostages for days, making them declare their love for one another while he slowly carved them up. The thought of cutting Natalia into a thousand pieces made him get an almost painful erection. Jon got more turned on by murder than by sex.

He was getting frustrated. Every woman he approached brushed him off like he was no one. Well, he'd show them. He would get one and show them exactly what he was capable of. No woman would be able to sleep comfortably at night after he was done.

As it got closer to nightfall, there were fewer people out. Jon decided he wasn't going to try and warm up to a woman to go willingly with him. He would snatch someone off the street and force them. He just needed a deserted place to take them to, so he first searched for the right spot.

He walked through a few vacant alleys and finally found a boarded-up location that would be perfect. Jon went inside to make sure there were no squatters then he went to find the lucky lady. He no longer cared if they looked like Natalia. Any woman would do. Everyone would know it was him because he had a nice message to leave for them this time. He was going to put the fear of death in the whole city.

As he made his way back to the main street, he stood against a building to wait. Several women passed him, but there were too many people around them. He needed someone alone that he could snatch quickly before anyone noticed. He was willing to wait for a short time to get the right one.

Jon watched as people passed him. He started feeling a real hatred toward all humankind. Maybe after he was done killing Natalia, Krista, and their men, he would travel the world killing everyone he could. He wouldn't care if they were men or women. As long as their blood was red. His bloodlust was getting so out of control that he almost came just thinking about it.

He finally saw the woman he would kill. She was a little unsteady on her feet as though she may be intoxicated. Jon knew she would be easy to just lead down the alley to his temporary kill spot. When she got to him, he stuck his foot out to trip her and then caught her before she fell to the ground.

"Watch where you're going, sweetheart." He said with a smile. She was so drunk he could smell the booze coming from her pores. It made him angry as she laughed uncontrollably. Jon grabbed her arm and started leading her down the alley.

"Hey, I ain't no whore. Where are you taking me?" She asked as they continued walking. Jon was practically dragging her.

"I know you're not a whore. They would at least keep themselves clean enough to get the job done. Don't worry. I don't want to pay you for sex. I have something else for you." He said in disgust, but she missed the sound of his voice in her haziness. She could have been pretty at one time, but right now, she was wearing torn-up jeans and a dirty t-shirt. She was slightly overweight, with messy brown hair and make-up smeared all over her face. Jone felt he was doing the world a favor by getting rid of her.

When they got to the place he found, he pulled back the wood-covered door and shoved her inside. She fell on her knees and stayed there looking up at him.

"What did you do that for? I know you don't think I'm sucking anything for you." She said as she swayed as though she was going to fall over.

"Trust me, I don't want you to suck anything with that disgusting mouth of yours. You're no better than a roach, and I'm going to make sure no one has to be bothered by you again." He grabbed her by her hair and pulled her deeper into the empty space. She screamed but not loudly. Jon laughed as she tried to fight him, but she was too drunk to do it well. He threw her into an inner room, and she curled into a ball, crying.

"Do whatever you want, but please don't kill me." She begged weakly.

"Sorry, but that's all I do. I'm the serial killer you've heard about on the news, and it's time for you to die." Jon raised his fist to punch her when she suddenly jumped up and pulled a gun out of her waistband.

"Freeze, you son of a bitch."