Chapter 1

My hand trembles as I press the doorbell. I barely register the sound of it chiming inside the house, my eyes are entirely fixated on my shaking hand. Lifting the other, I stare at them both while I wait for someone to answer the door.

Cuts.

Scratches.

Stained red and smelling of copper.

Dripping with blood.

The thick crimson liquid trails down my arms and over my hands. It trickles along of my fingers and drips from the tips, falling to the leather of my shoes and to the porch beneath my feet.

Pity, it's probably staining their beautiful porch.

Looking down, I catch sight of my shirt. Once white and pristine, it is now stained a deep shade of an intense ruby-red. The deep color of death continues to seep across the fabric covering my stomach and pools at my cufflinks with every pained breath that I take.

No answer.

Fuck!

Jesus, Grant. Pull your cock out of her and answer the fucking door.

Reaching out to press the button a second time, my jaw ticks at the realization that I left a bloody print with my first push.

Fuck!

Were there others?

Or was this the only one I left?

I press it again, holding it firmly until I hear it chiming throughout their home. As it begins to echo through the door, I pull back my finger. Untucking my shirt, I use an unsoiled spot to wipe my blood from their home.

I'll deal with the porch later.

If he doesn't kill me first.

"I'm coming," a sweet, feminine voice calls from the other side of the door, her voice growing louder with every syllable.

The door opens, and I'm met with Abigail's gorgeous face; her eyes immediately widen upon the sight of me. She swallows hard and takes a small step back, looking as though she desperately needs to put distance between the two of us.

The way my cock reacts to her presence, she is making a smart decision.

But tonight, the thought of sinking into her cunt is the last thing on my mind.

Well, it was.

Until I saw her.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" I push out the words through the searing pain in my chest. Taking advantage of the small space she has left in the threshold, I nudge her out of the way as I help myself into their home.

"Grant!" Her voice trembles with fear as she calls for him.

It takes him only a second to react to the desperation in her voice, and he joins us in the foyer almost instantly. With how protective he is of her, I'm surprised he didn't come barreling into the hall to save her from me. He pauses briefly when he sees me—I knew this was the last place I should have come—and I can easily read the disdain on his face.

A blind man could fucking see it.

He wastes no time putting himself between me and Abigail. His movement is a very clear reminder that she is completely off-limits to me.

"I fucked up…" I mumble the words while stepping toward him and extending my bloodied hand before he has a chance to ask me the question we both know is on his mind.

Why did I come here?