Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

Damien

I inhale deeply as I step out of the car, the crisp Los Angeles air filling my lungs. Refreshed and ready. The time away with Frankie was a strategic investment, and it's already paying off.

She's falling harder for me with every passing second. I can see it in the way she looks at me, feel it in the way she melts under my touch. The beautiful detective doesn't stand a chance against my charms. Our bond grows stronger, tighter, like a noose around her slender neck.

And when the time comes to reveal my true self, to watch her world shatter into a million jagged pieces? I can already taste her devastation on my tongue, sweet and intoxicating.

I'm so close to having Frankie exactly where I want her. Helpless. Betrayed. Mine. But first, I need to smooth over my reaction to her little love confession. Those three words hit me like a sucker punch to the gut, leaving me reeling in a way I haven't felt in decades.

Shocking, really. I can't remember the last time someone said they loved me. Hell, I can barely conjure up the sound of Olivia's voice from our childhood. But Frankie's declaration ripped through me, dragging me back in time as repressed memories clawed their way to the surface.

Wait, I remember now. The last time I heard those words was from my mother's lips, right before she and Dad left for their weekly date night. A night they never returned from because some worthless scumbags robbed and killed them in cold blood. Her love was the final flicker of warmth I felt before the ice consumed me.

That's when they took us to that shithole. That's when the monsters on The List stole my sister's innocence and shattered her dreams into dust.

But I can't dwell on the past. Not when there's work to be done.

I zero in on my newest target, studying his every move with meticulous precision. I already have enough dirt on him to warrant his place on The List, but I'm thorough.

I watch as he stumbles out of the office building, making his way to the same seedy bar he always frequents. He slugs back beers with his so-called friends, all smiles and bravado. Hits on anything in a skirt, his wedding ring glinting mockingly under the city lights. The poor bastard has no idea he's being watched.

An account manager for some mid-tier insurance racket, clocking in dutifully ever since he said I do three years ago. But no vow can tame his wandering eye or his greedy hands. A skirt-chasing sleazebag, betraying his bride with every batting lash, every accidental brush of the hip.

Another black mark etched next to his name.

I retreat to my office, unwilling to risk Frankie stumbling upon my research. I dig deeper into every facet of his life—the carefully curated image he projects on social media, the sordid secrets he hides in private messages to women who aren't his wife.

Hours slip by as I gather every scrap of information, piecing together the perfect moment to strike. Some things never change, and men like him? They see women as objects to conquer, use, and discard at will. Maybe that's who he's always been. Or maybe that fateful day years ago twisted him into the monster he is now.

Not that it matters. Vengeance is the only thing on my mind, and his patterns prove he's the same piece of shit he's always been. Hurting the good people in his life to satisfy his own wicked urges.

I'm going to savor every second I spend making this asshole suffer.

Tonight, I choose to stay at the office, content to watch Frankie through the cameras hidden throughout the penthouse. She tosses and turns, restless without me beside her. A telling sign of how deep our connection runs.

I lean back in my chair, eyes glued to the screen as I observe her every movement. The way her hair spills across the pillow, a dark chestnut river against the silk. The rise and fall of her chest, her breaths coming quick and shallow. Even in sleep, she yearns for me.

A smirk tugs at the corner of my mouth. I've gotten under her skin, burrowed deep into her heart and mind. She's consumed by thoughts of me, just as I intended. It's almost too easy, the way she's fallen for me. Hook, line, and sinker.

But as I watch her, a strange sensation stirs in my chest. A flicker of something I can't quite name. Is it affection? Desire? No, it's more than that. It's a connection, a bond that goes beyond the physical. Beyond the game I'm playing.

I shake my head, pushing the feeling aside. I can't afford to get attached. Not now, not ever. Frankie is a means to an end, a pawn in my grand scheme. Nothing more.

And yet, as she whispers my name in her sleep, a shiver runs down my spine. I can't deny the effect she has on me, the way she makes me feel alive in a way I haven't felt in years. It's intoxicating and addictive.

Dangerous.

I force myself to look away from the screen, to focus on the task at hand. I have work to do, plans to make. I can't let myself get distracted by a pair of pretty brown eyes and a few whispered words of love.

But even as I delve back into my research, my mind wanders back to Frankie. To the way she looks at me, the way she feels in my arms. The way she makes me question everything I thought I knew about myself.

I take a deep breath, pushing the thoughts aside once more. I have a mission, a purpose. And I won't let anyone, not even the beautiful detective who's stealing my heart, stand in my way.