Chapter Five
Ty
“What can I get for you, handsome?” The barmaid asks as I slide onto a stool opposite her.
My eyes drag away from Raven, from the hypnotic way her body moves to the music, and they settle briefly on the bartender. She thinks I’m interested, leaning over the bar, her big tits perched on it, practically inviting me to ruin her by the end of the night, but all she’s getting is a flicker of my attention—a look that’s more like a warning than anything close to attention.
“Whiskey,” I say, my voice low, laced with a sharpness that probably cuts her a little deeper than she expected.
I’m not fucking here for her. This shithole, this drink, the people—they’re all just distractions. My real focus is my Kitten, caught in the haze of music and dim light, completely unaware of the hungry storm brewing just a few feet away.
The bartender places the drink down in front of me, but I barely glance at it. I let my gaze find Raven again, narrowing in on the way she laughs, so easy, so unaware. It’s an intoxicating pull. She’s out there with strangers who have no idea that she belongs to something darker.
Me.
Lifting the glass, I feel the weight of it, the way it fits in my hand. The burn of the whiskey against my lips is new, something I haven’t tasted before, a bite I don’t need, but tonight it feels wanted.
I’ve never seen her like this—so carefree, every guarded look and careful distance she usually keeps is stripped the fuck away. It’s powerful, yet somehow terrifying…for her, at least, but she doesn’t know that, yet. I can see that she thinks she’s safe, believing those walls she’s built up are still protecting her. But they’re not. Not from me anymore. I’m fucking here, hiding in the shadows, stalking her like a bloodhungry animal craving to tear my prey to shreds.
I hyper fixate on her, gradually losing the grasp on my restraint, on what little sanity I actually have, and I realize—there’s nothing fucking stopping me now. Nothing holding me back from taking what I want, no matter what anyone says. This new freedom, to be able to claim her as mine is fucking dangerous, yet it’s a danger I’m willing to drown us both in.
I’ll destroy her, just to keep her.
Suddenly her and the blonde girl stop dancing and head in this direction. I drop my head, concealing myself with my hood, slowly sliding my black ski mask over my nose and mouth, shadowing myself. They settle at the end of the bar, laughing away and I peek around my hood, the smell of her evading my senses already even beyond the overpowering stench of alcohol and my mask.
So sweet and pretty.
“Damn it!” The woman she’s with mutters, clutching her phone in one hand, already gathering her coat and bag in the other. “I’ve got to go,” she says, leaning in to give her boyfriend a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be back in about an hour.”
She hurries out, leaving my kitten alone with this weird dude, whose gaze has been all over her the entire night. The two of them watch her leave, and then Raven turns, slipping into easy conversation with him. It’s light-hearted, friendly enough on her behalf—but the fury inside me starts to burn the more I watch. How he’s looking at her, his hungry eyes dropping down to her tits every time she looks away.
When he presses her little nose with the tip of his finger, my blood runs cold. I’ll murder the cunt. I’ll chop him into tiny fucking pieces and send him home to his little girlfriend in pretty packaged boxes.
My fingers squeeze around the glass, every ounce of control barely holding me back from shattering it right here in my hand. She gets up again, sensing something, maybe feeling his sleazy fucking stare creeping up her spine as she heads to the jukebox, away from him. I track her with a side-eye as she passes, then lock my hooded gaze on him, watching through narrowed eyes as he makes his move. The cunt waits, scanning the room like he’s being discreet, before pulling a small packet from his pocket and tipping it into her drink.
Anger coils inside me, winding tighter until I’m on the verge of snapping. The thought of that glass touching her lips forces every nerve in my body to the edge. I pull my mask down, and drag out a long sip of my drink, setting it down with a controlled calm that’s purely for show. My gaze barely leaves him as he taps his foot, his face smug with anticipation until he finally stands, heading toward the restroom, like he thinks he has it all planned out.
I look back at her glass, then at Raven by the jukebox, completely unaware. Sliding off my stool, I pass by her drink and with a sharp flick of my finger, I send it crashing to the floor, the shattering glass echoing through the bar.
“Hey!” the barmaid barks, but I don’t even glance at her. My eyes are fixed on that restroom door as I push it open, stepping into the dim, stale-smelling room.
He’s at the urinal with his back to me, whistling like he’s already fucking won. I walk forward slowly, lifting my mask over my nose and stopping just a few steps behind him, my gaze darkening as I picture all the ways this is about to end for him.
I observe him with a strange happiness as he finishes zipping up and finally turns, his eyes barely registering my presence before he tries to brush past me.
But he doesn’t get far.
My hand shoots out, clamping around his throat in a hold so tight his windpipe closes, his oxygen instantly choked off. His face turns a sickly purple as he claws at my arm, eyes widening in pure terror as he realizes he can’t break free. I lean in close, the grinding of my teeth almost audible, my murderous gaze boring into him, letting him feel every ounce of the temper boiling beneath the surface.
Just as he starts to put up a fight, I twist my hand tighter, then pull back and drive my other fist into his face with a sickening crunch. His head snaps back, but I keep him locked in place, tightening my hold, and then land another punch. And another. Each blow lands with brutal force, blood splattering my knuckles and his skin splitting under the relentless pounding. His skull gives way under my power, and when I finally release him, he slumps to the floor, groaning in a half-conscious, bloody heap.
But I’m nowhere near fucking done.
Grabbing him by the collar, I drag his heavy body to a nearby stall, tossing him into the filthy cubicle. He lands against the toilet, but I don’t waste a second. I grab a fistful of his blood-soaked hair and slam his face down into the shitty toilet bowl.He thrashes, spluttering as the rancid water fills his nose and mouth, but I’m beyond caring. I press my boot against the back of his neck, pinning him down with all my weight. His body convulses under me, desperate for air, but I hold him firmly, enjoying the way he struggles.
Reaching into my pocket, I slide out my knife, letting the blade gleam under the dim restroom light. I catch his waving hand, holding it in an iron grip, then raise the knife as he gurgles below me, the monster inside me fully unleashed.
I press the edge of the blade to the base of the finger that dared touch her little nose and with a swift flick, it’s severed, hitting the filthy floor with a wet smack. He screams into the toilet water, his voice muffled and helpless. As I position the blade under the next finger, the door creaks open before closing again. My hand freezes mid-slice, and I turn my head slightly to see who it is.