10. Damien

She grabs her order of drinks from one of the street vendors for the festival. I watch the guy working at his little pop-up bar, especially when his eyes fall down to her chest and the ample amount of cleavage nearly spilling out of her top.

I can already see how perfectly I could slit his throat and smear his blood all over his makeshift bar. I'd use his blood to write her name over every surface so everyone knows exactly why I've done it.

She's mine. Every last inch of her untainted flesh belongs to me. Her cunt is mine, too.

She offers him a kind smile as he hands her two styrofoam cups and my eyes narrow. I know she's naturally kind, but I only want her to be that way with me. I like having her attention and her giving that attention to other people is going to end in a lot of bloodshed.

That's my woman. It may not have been said, but she belongs to me and she knows it.

She walks from the vendor to the bench I'm waiting for her on. She takes a seat beside me, handing me the styrofoam cup with D.P. written on the side.

Double penetration? Drug poisoning? Donkey punch? Disabled person?

"You seem like a Dr. Pepper drinker," she says before taking a sip from her cup.

Oh, right. The soda.

I nod and take a slow sip from the cup, cautious of whatever that douchebag put in it. I'm parched so my paranoia only lasts for so long before I'm enjoying the soda. It's really fresh, more so than the cans that one of the nurses in the hospital would leave on my bedside table.

The deliciousness of the beverage brings me back to good days before my life went to shit, sitting in the park with my mom drinking soda and eating popcorn to pass the time. Life was way better before she died, but if she hadn't died and I didn't go through everything I did, I wouldn't have Trixie.

Double edged sword.

Rock meet hard spot.

My gaze moves up to her as she drinks whatever is in that cup and seems content with it. As long as I can have her, everything else that has happened in my life is irrelevant. At least I got to torture Samantha before I killed her. That's a plus.

"Are you new to town?" she asks, still living in de-lu-lu land, thinking that her mind was playing tricks on her when she thought she recognized me. She did. She's the only one who could. I was her primary caregiver for years. Even if she doesn't remember me consciously, the subconscious mind never forgets. She knows me. I just need to make her pull those memories to her conscious mind.

I shrug because it's been fourteen years since I've been back to Chippewa Falls. Am I new to town? No, I know this place. I was born and raised here. Have I been here for a while? No.

"Are you planning to stick around?" she asks another question as she turns toward me. Her attention is completely on me, exactly how I like it. She's hanging onto everything, even when I don't say a single word. We have other ways of communicating. She absorbs everything like an eager student and there's only so much I want her to learn from me. I want her to avoid becoming as dark as me. I want to be the one doing everything to keep her safe and mine. She doesn't need to darken herself to meet what I am. She can be the angel to my demented nature. She can balance it out with her good. I can carry this burden on my own. All I need is her.

I slowly shake my head. No, I'm not going to stick around. We won't be able to do that once I'm done with everything I need to do. People will be looking for me and they'll try to take her away from me again. That can't happen. Never fucking again.

"How long are you staying?" she asks, a frown pulling at her lips.

That's a complicated question that all depends on her. Will she need time to pack after Halloween? If so, it won't be the same night.

I'm correcting my mistakes of the past and making a better future. I should've ran with Trixie all those years ago. Instead, I let myself get caught and I lost her.

I'm not a stupid kid anymore. Trixie will be leaving Chippewa Falls with me and the bloodbath left in our wake will be talked about for decades to come. This town will be shook once again by my hands and I will truly be The Boogeyman as the kids call me.

"Not long?" she adds and I nod. Her expression becomes sadder and she bites her lips. She has no poker face. I can see the thoughts racing across her face. "That sucks," she admits.

She wants me around and she has no idea who I really am. She just wants me for me.

I smirk at her, a real smile for the first time in so long, and it feels weird on my face. I'm so used to having an unaffected expression that any emotion feels wrong. It's not though.

I tuck the silver strands behind her ear and her eyes find mine. It's like I can see straight into her soul and I hope she can read my thoughts as well as I can hers. It will all be okay, baby. I'll make sure it is. No one will ever take you from me.

A small smile rises across her angelic face as she stares at me. Leaning into her, I feel the way she stops breathing. A smugness swells inside me as my nose brushes against hers and her fingers find my hair, begging me with her touch to give her what she craves.

Me. Nothing more. Nothing less.

I want you, too, baby.

Pressing my lips to hers, she gasps into my mouth before returning the kiss with the passion she has been holding back. That's my girl. Her stiletto nails dig into my scalp and draw blood, but I crave the pain. My fingers grip her thigh harshly as her tongue connects with mine. She moans like she can't get enough of my kisses and every cell in my body begs for me to pull her into my lap and fuck her right now. I don't give a shit if we have an audience because everyone would know this sexy queen is all mine and all the wandering eyes would look away, especially if they knew exactly whose tongue is in her mouth.

Everyone who took her from me and tried to hide her are running scared. They know I'm coming and I'll show no mercy. There are no second chances, no pleas that will work. When it comes to this woman, I take no hostages. The streets of Chippewa Falls will be flooded with blood and bones and the sight itself will be fantastic.

"Aurora!"

Suddenly, she pulls back and presses her hand against my chest before snapping her head around. Gazing down the sidewalk, I barely hold back a groan.

Lieutenant fucking Sullivan. I'd recognize his face anywhere. Every night, I dream of peeling the flesh from his skull and scooping out his eyeballs before cutting out his tongue and pulling teeth. And that was even before I found out he adopted my girl. He's the one who pulled her out of my arms that night and, for that, he deserves to die.

I don't move even as Trixie jumps to her feet, seeming quite frazzled. I barely rein in my anger at the interruption and the rage building from him upsetting her.

"Dad! What's up?" she asks awkwardly and he stops in front of us. He looks at me for a moment and I wonder if he'll recognize me since he was one of the last people from this town who saw my face. On the contrary, he assesses me only for a moment before he looks back at her, his expression full of displeasure.

"You need to go home now," he demands.

"But, why? The festival just–"

"I mean it," he warns. "This isn't about the damn festival, Aurora. You lied to me. You said you had a history paper just to get information from me about a case, one I shouldn't be talking about considering recent events. You're grounded, effective immediately." My eyes narrow as I listen to their conversation and my fists ball in my lap. I'm not sure if this case has anything to do with me, but whatever it is, it can't be bad enough to warrant this sort of reaction. Even if it did, I would not be okay with him talking to her like this. If I didn't already have my plan in place, I'd kill him right where he stands.

"Dad, I'm not a child and I'm sorry for lying, but you wouldn't tell me anything and the things you did tell me weren't making sense."

"That's because we are operating under a need-to-know basis and you don't need to know anything having to do with Damien King. I got a call from Mrs. Rolon. She says you have an unhealthy obsession and thinks you need professional help. Now, go get in my damn car. I'm taking you home." His tone leaves no room for argument. Still, my fingers are leaving bruises on my palms from how far I'm squeezing to keep from curb stomping him in front of everyone here.

"Dad–"

"Right fucking now, Aurora Page Sullivan. Grab your shit and get in the car." He scowls down at her and red teases my vision as I try like hell to keep it together. I'll deal with him soon enough. He won't ever make her feel like a child again. No one will.

Asking questions about me isn't childish. Lying to get said information isn't either. Saying she needs professional help and refusing to tell her the truth is what's truly childish. Is he afraid she'll be angry with him when she finds out what he did to keep us apart? I really hope so. I hope she is filled with so much rage she can't see straight, much like me. I'll take care of it though. Everyone who wronged us is going down and the clock is ticking.

She turns to me, grabs her wallet and phone from the bench, and offers me a sad smile. She mouths the word sorry before she turns and follows the Lieutenant down the sidewalk to his cruiser.

This night is not over, not by a long shot.