Moments of Malevolence (The Hunters Book 1)

HE DOESN’T LET me go home until the following day, though I can’t say I put up much of a fight either. It was nice to have someone care for me. I can’t remember the last time I had that kind of treatment. Or if I have ever had it, for that matter.

Zuko is standing at my door, one of my bags that Louise brought over clutched in his hand.

“I’ll bring the TV over,” he offers. I fight the smirk on my lips. He brought me the television yesterday from his house so I wasn’t bored.

“It’s yours. Leave it in there.”

“I don’t watch TV.”

“You did.” I saw him watching the shows I had on.

“That’s because if I sat there and watched you, you would think I’m a stalker.”

I laugh, and he raises a brow. “What?”

“A stalker. That’s all you’re worried about being perceived as? I think of a lot worse when it comes to you.”

Just as he opens his mouth to respond, my phone starts ringing—my other phone.

I freeze and lock eyes with him.

“You have two phones?” he asks, confused, knowing full well Louise brought my phone over yesterday, and it’s in the bag he is currently holding.

“Yes. Now give me my bag and leave. I don’t need you to babysit me anymore.” I hold out my hand to take the bag, but he doesn’t pass it to me.

“Tell me where you want it, and I’ll carry it in.”

“It’s not that heavy.” I give him my best eye roll.

He steps closer until our toes are almost touching.

My phone rings again, and I groan.

“You can get that.” He nods inside.

“No, it can wait.”

“Why do you have two phones?” Zuko asks.

I reach for the bag and pull it from his grasp. “That’s none of your business. Now, please go.” His eyes flick to the bag I’m currently holding, then back to me.

“I’ll be back to check on you.”

“No, you won’t. Go away.”

“I either come back to check on you, or I find Sarah. Pick one.”

Arghh. Really?

“You’re bluffing.”

“I am not a man who bluffs. Tell me now, or I will find that bitch and show her exactly how to use a knife.” His words send a shiver over my body. He lifts a hand to my shoulder, and I’m not going to lie, I will miss his touch. It’s soothed me more than he knows. And that’s saying something coming from me.

It’s not my love language. And the older I get, I’m starting to understand myself a little more. I tried to pinpoint a time in my life where I could work out why I hated it. But I can’t; maybe it’s because I never received much of it. Or maybe it’s’ because I simply hate it.

“You can come back if you bring me dinner. And then you can go.”

“I can help you sleep,” he offers.

“I slept fine last night,” I remind him.

“Yeah, that’s because I was touching you the whole time.”

“I’ve gone my whole life without you, Zuko. I’ll be fine.” I grip the door, and my phone starts ringing again. “Goodbye.” He steps back, and I shut the door in his face. Dropping the bag to the floor, I hurry over to the phone and switch it off.

“It’s a nice place you have here.” My body freezes at that voice. “I’m glad you got rid of him. He was quite the unpleasant man. Threatening to stab me.” I turn to find Sarah leaning against my bedroom door with an ugly twist to her lips. Her eyes scan me up and down. “Jeff told me about what happened. Poor you. But you seem to be doing fine.”

She glances at her nails and then back to me. “This is going to be fun. You really thought you had the upper hand, didn’t you? That you, of all people, would win. Tell me, Alaska, when does someone like you ever win?” She chuckles as feet carry her to me until she is standing directly in front of me. I go to pull my hand back to hit her, but she punches me at the same time, straight in my stomach where the stitches are.

That hurt—a lot.

I double over in pain.

But as I do, I swing my arm up and hit her right between the legs. She screams and stumbles back.

“Fucking hell, I should have brought the gun.” I see her white shoes step closer to me, but I run straight to my kitchen, where I know all my cutlery is located, including the knives. Ripping open the drawer, I find one straight away and wrap my fingers around the handle. When I spin back toward her, she’s at the door.

“Toodles, bitch.” She pulls the door open and runs. As soon as I know she’s gone, I stumble to the door, knife still clutched in my hand, and check outside. With no sign of her, I shut and lock the door.

Sarah has never been one to scare me—I’m pretty sure I could beat her ass—but what I didn’t expect from her was that she plays dirty.

Collapsing onto the floor in front of the door, I lay my head on my bag, and somehow, I fall back asleep.

Something is pushing me.

I jolt awake, and the knife I was holding clangs onto the floor.

“Alaska.”

Relief washes over me at the sound of Zuko’s deep voice saying my name.

“Why are you against the fucking door?”

I manage to move just a little, and he squeezes his way in. His black shoes come into view, and he notices me cradling my stomach, so he crouches down and removes my hand. “Fucking hell.” He shakes his head. “I leave you for a few hours to run some errands and get you food, and I come back to this.”

Before I can say anything, his arms circle around me, and he lifts and carries me to my couch. After gently putting me down, he pulls my shirt up without even asking and removes the bandage. “I need to rebandage it. Stay still.” I didn’t realize I was moving until he said the words. Taking a deep breath, I nod and tip my head back. “Do you plan to tell me who did this? Or are you going to make me guess?” he asks.

“Who do you think did it?” I bite back.

“Why did you let her in?”

I shake my head. “She was in here already.”

“So she waited for you.”

“It appears so,” I say dully. “This is all your fault, you know that, right? You got her fired, and now I have to deal with the damn consequences of that. Thanks very much!”

“I know where she lives.” My eyes find him at his declaration. “Did you forget what I do, Trouble?” He smirks. “I know where she is.” I go to sit up, but he pushes me back down. “And you aren’t going fucking anywhere.”

“Well, bring her to me, then,” I snap.

“That can’t happen either. I would be a fool to put someone in front of you who wants to hurt you.”

A knock at the door has Zuko pulling my shirt down and standing. “Stay there. I’ll get it.” He walks with determination to the door and pulls it open.

Kyson enters, and his eyes find mine before they quickly go back to his brother. He leans in and whispers something to Zuko. Then Zuko nods and comes back to me, where I’m lying on the couch. “You’ll stay there. You can’t risk tearing those stitches open again. You’ve already almost succeeded.”

“That wasn’t my fault,” I argue.

“That’s fair. But stay here… Kyson will sit with you until I return.”

Kyson is still standing near the door, seeming bored and checking his phone.

“I don’t need a babysitter.”

“I beg to differ.” Zuko leans down and kisses the top of my head. “Stay here, and don’t move.” My gaze follows him as he approaches his brother and says something to him, then walks out the door.

I drop my head back onto the couch pillow and pick up the other one and scream into it.

I was meant to have a normal life.

Eventually, at least.

Or whatever is considered normal.

Instead, I have a complete and utter bitch after me, I’m fucking a serial killer, and now I’m being babysat by someone who probably wants to kill me as well.

I scream again, and the pillow is torn from my grasp. My eyes fly open to find Kyson staring down at me.

I growl at him. “Give me back my pillow.”

“I can’t let you suffocate yourself. My brother would kill me. And trust me, he knows several ways to make it hurt a lot more than it should.” He moves to the single recliner and sits, pulling out his phone again and playing a noisy game. I give him my best fuck-you glare, which doesn’t even phase him.

Attempting to get up, I manage to get to my feet. But when I lift my head, Kyson is now in front of me.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

He’s stopping me from even moving one inch.

“You aren’t allowed to walk, so sit back down. If you need something, ask.”

“Why are you all so bossy?” I groan. “I can walk to my own kitchen and get my own shit.”

“No, you can’t. Now… What. Do. You. Need?”

“I’m not telling you.” I cross my arms over my chest.

“Well, you aren’t moving either,” he says, still blocking my path. We stand there, eye-to-eye, and I know he isn’t going to give in. He clearly has orders from his brother, and he doesn’t seem like one to go against Zuko.

I wonder why.

“Do you always take orders?”

“I don’t take orders.”

“But you do, from your brother,” I push.

“That’s not the same. He’s blood. It’s not an order from him. It’s a suggestion. But he will fuck you up if you don’t listen.” He winks. “Do you plan to get fucked-up today?” I check my clothes, running my eyes down my body.

“I’m already fucked-up,” I whine.

“Touché. I guess you are.” He laughs. “Now, what do you need? And sit down like a well-behaved woman and tell me.”

“I need painkillers.” He nods and locks eyes with me, and I notice he and Zuko have the same color eyes, except Kyson’s seem a little darker. “And water.”

“Okay. Now sit.”

I do as he says and slowly lower myself back on the couch. Sliding the pillow behind my back so I’m not bent over, he watches me do it before he heads into the kitchen.

“Am I the first girl he’s instructed you to watch?” I yell.

“No.”

Hmm…

“What was the last one’s name?” I ask. “Is it a pattern for him?” He comes back with a glass of water and pills in one hand. After he offers them to me, I place them in my mouth and take the water.

“There was one other. Actually, I think she died from an overdose of pills that I may have given her.” My eyes go wide. “Joking. Zuko doesn’t keep nor care about women. Like most bachelors, he fucks ‘em and leaves ‘em.”

“Or fucks them to kill them,” I add.

“Oh, yes, he does like some fucked-up shit.” He smirks. “But you’re still alive and still here, so it can’t be that bad for you.”

“It’s fucked-up.”

“I bet you enjoyed it.”

I don’t bother replying to that, and he sits back down and picks up his phone.

“When are you leaving?” I ask after a few silent minutes.

“Once Zuko has hunted his prey.” He smirks, and the twinkle in his eye tells me he is one fucked-up son of a bitch. “Sometimes, he likes to play with them a little longer than necessary.”

Jesus! A shiver breaks over me at his words.