3. Eli

Chapter 3

Eli

O ver the last few months, I’d tried to be strong and leave Veronica alone, but it proved impossible. She drew me like a flame, and I’d finally given up.

I watched Veronica make her choice, peering out of the house with trepidation and then pushing the door open before stomping harder than necessary over the gravel with a toss of her pale, moon-gold hair. She picked up the crushed primrose petals, rolling them absentmindedly in her palms. The oversized hoodie covered up more of her than I’d like, but at least she was outside — that had been the goal.

I would have preferred that she come outside in the little sleep short set she wore at night. The black booty shorts and tiny crop top that showed her breasts ripe under the thin cotton. I would have liked to see her wear that under the moonlight. The thought made me hard just thinking about it.

I’d chase her through the dark until I pinned her under me like a trapped butterfly if she were a little sturdier. My Veronica was fragile, so I would have to adapt. Perhaps I could bend her over my knees and pull down her panties for a little bit of light spanking? She would look delicious with that pale skin and her pussy all rosy and a handprint on her ass.

She’d been hunched inside over the computer monitor for hours and hadn’t even stood up once. Even I knew that wasn’t good for her. The girl seemingly lived on air and the glow from her screens. Veronica hardly ate anything, eating mainly cottage cheese and blueberries. Sometimes, she’d eat that puffed corn covered with cheese dust. Her sister should take better care of her, ensuring she ate nutritious food and slept proper hours. If I lived in that house, I’d sit next to her, making her eat and feeding her from my very own hand the best pieces of food so she didn’t get sick. Veronica stayed up too late and then collapsed face-first when she was exhausted into her comforter, drooling like a basset hound.

My belly tightened just thinking about placing food between those rosy lips of hers. I allowed myself precisely thirty seconds to envision pushing my fingers into her mouth with berries and bits of cheese. Her small teeth chewing while those pale grey-blue eyes gazed at me under pale lashes.

Already, she weighed less than a cotton ball. I could pick her up with one hand. I eyed her critically as she edged around an agave plant. I faded back a few more steps. It wouldn’t do for her to catch me here — not yet. I liked her all fired up like this, though. Her cheeks flushed, and her eyes sparkling with irritation.

I watched as she heaved and coughed for a moment. That wasn’t any good, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. Watching her struggle was upsetting. I remembered what her sister had said, that she’d been sick when she’d been younger. I didn’t like it. What if something was wrong with her? Finally she got frustrated and then stomped back to the safety of her room and slid the door shut again, struggling with its weight. Veronica stood for a minute, staring like she was waiting for me. Even though I knew she couldn’t see me where I stood at this distance, with the darkness, it seemed like she knew I was out here. It felt like those marble-grey eyes were boring a hole straight into the depths of me, seeing all the worst secrets I held. Veronica probably knew them already with all her little hacking secrets, but I wasn’t sure.

Finally, I exhaled as she moved away from the slider and back into the house. The tension in my shoulders eased. My interest in her was a puzzle for me to figure out. I wasn’t sure why I found her so intriguing. She had a fire, a fierce independence that I admired and found frustrating. Most women I’d come across fell into easy categories. No, she was different — stubborn, sharp, and unafraid. I liked that.

I pushed off against the boulder, the coolness of the stone had seeped through my shirt, and I was reluctant to leave it, but I had shit to do and couldn’t stay here all night. Not to mention, I couldn’t see my angel from way over here. The night was silent again; the only sounds were the distant chirping of the crickets and the occasional rustle of the wind. I should have already left and walked away. Well, I really shouldn’t be here at all. I never should have been here in Haversboro. (That was its own horror story.) Now that I’d seen her, though … I was captivated. Veronica wasn’t like anyone I’d ever known, and that scared me as much as it excited me. She seemed untouchable in that house there with her sister and my brother. Veronica represented everything good in the world. She sc reamed innocent despite her cute little hacking hobby.

I could see that she was just as intrigued by me. It was a trait that I understood well, though it worried me a little. She was dabbling in waters that were best left alone. She didn’t realize who she was messing with, dangling her toes into the shark-infested waters of the dark web. Predators were lurking in the corners of the world that had no business sullying my moon goddess.

I circled the perimeter of the property, my eyes scanning the shadows for unexpected movement. The two men hired to watch the house sometimes came outside for a smoke or to walk the property line, but they had a regular circuit they did, and I made it my business to know it. Getting caught by the Bratva guards assigned to the property would be embarrassing. I wasn’t an amateur so that wouldn’t happen.

Veronica and Natasha Petrova were related to the pakhan of the Volkov Bratva. Maxim Volkov managed his territory across multiple states, stretching over the West Coast like a plague. He had plenty of pull even here in Haverboro and ensured that Veronica and Natasha had security. However, I thought with a wry smile that I was the one who had to save Natasha from Victor. Maxim owed me a favor .

Veronica revamped the security system in the last few months after Victor broke in. Now, she had sensors on the roof. Smart girl. I would have thought that since my brother, Pike, had moved into the house, the two Bratva guards would be dismissed, but they were still lurking around every corner. While it was inconvenient, it hadn’t stopped me from finding another way in.

Veronica lived in the daylight basement, and while she wired the entire property with top-notch security, she failed to consider that she should also have put sensors in the air ducts and the cellar adjacent to her section of the house. She was a decent little hacker but wasn’t a very good burglar.

Pulling up the app on my phone, I checked the cameras I had installed right into the vents in her rooms. Flipping between them, I zoomed in on my little angel. She was all tucked in, chatting with her trio of online friends. I had been working for a month to angle the cameras just right so I could capture everything.

Smiling, I strolled towards my bike, which I’d parked about a mile away on the next road over. Later tonight, I would allow myself some uninterrupted time to watch her. In the morning, I would meet up with my brother. He had some questions to answer for me.