“Go back to bed. I was hoping to finish up without disturbing you.” Another half-truth. I was hoping to kill them without her witnessing all the steps I took to get there. Only after I was done cleaning myself of the pigs’ blood would I wake her so we could drive into the night, pretending I hadn’t just killed her foster dad and brother or that I had “left” her for years.

Bella’s expression turns seething, and she finally looks at me. “Fuck you, Roman. I hate you.”

No, this is wrong.

This is all wrong.

This isn’t how any of this is meant to go.

Shocked. She’s just shocked.

Bella just needs a couple more minutes, and then she’ll run into my arms and ask me to take her away.

“You don’t mean that—"

“Leave. I don’t want you here. I don’t want you here. You’re a monster,” she hisses, not a single doubt in her voice.

I rear back, but I’m never going anywhere again, regardless of what she says. Cupping her cheeks in my hands, I wipe away her tears. “It’s me, Bella. It’s your Mickey.”

Say my name, Bella. Just say my name. I need to hear you say it.

She doesn’t say anything, keeping up her futile attempts at fighting me off, throwing weak punches and kicking her legs like she has every intention of injuring me. “I don’t know who you are anymore,” she growls.

“Bella—Bella, please. It’s me. Mickey. I’m back. I’m going to get you out of here.” My lungs contract, and it’s getting harder to breathe.

No, no, no. She doesn’t mean it. She doesn’t mean it.

“You abandoned me!”

I didn’t. I didn’t. I didn’t.

Those fucking letters. If they gave her the letters like they should have, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. This is their fault. Marcus and Greg, the fucking pricks. I wish Greg was still alive so I could kill him all over again, bloodier this time. “I know. And I’m sorry, I—"

“Sorry,” Bella echoes breathily. “Sorry? You’re sorry? Sorry? You don’t get to be sorry! You don’t get to come here and act like everything is alright. Do you know what they did to me? You left me for dead, Roman. You’re a coward. A fucking coward!”

Bella, please. Bella, you have to understand. Bella, fuck—I can’t live without you, Bella.

My skin burns. My lungs burn. My heart burns. I didn’t want to leave her. She’s mine, and I’m hers; that’s all there is to it. Doesn’t she understand that I didn’t want to leave her, and all I’m doing right now is my apology to her for hurting her—us?

Her words sting more than the bullet did. When she cries and pushes me away, it’s like she’s taking a knife and twisting it right through my ribs and into my heart.

It’s like she doesn’t believe me.

It’s like she doesn’t want to believe me.

“I can’t believe I trusted you and gave you all of me. I regret ever laying eyes on you. I regret speaking to you. I regret ever meeting you.”

I feel sick to my fucking stomach. I was wrong. This wasn’t Greg’s or Marcus’s fault; this is my fault. I caused all of this. I’m the reason for her tears and the anguish in her eyes. Even though she doesn’t want me right now, I pull her into a hug. It’s nowhere near enough, but I’m not giving up on her.

“I hate you, Roman. I fucking hate you. You’re the worst thing to happen to me. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.”

Bella doesn’t mean it. She can’t mean anything she’s spewing in her rage. We’ve been through too much together, and I’ll spend every day of the rest of my life convincing her that she doesn’t hate me.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to leave you. I’m back. There’s nothing else that will separate us now.” I mean every word. She has to know that. I never had another option but to follow her wherever she goes. Slowly, Bella calms, and I kiss her forehead. “Wait here. I’ll be a second.”

It kills me to leave her downstairs, even if it’s just for a minute. I was separated from her for too long, and all those years when we were kids living under two different roofs made me hungrier for her.

I run up the stairs and to the bedrooms to get everything I need, moving as fast as I can to get back to her. I’m not worried about leaving Marcus with her because if what she wants is to set him free, then so be it. I’ve marked him enough to make him regret the day he was born.

When I get back downstairs to find Marcus tied up and bloody, pride fills my chest. My baby girl is as murderous as me. She knows what will happen unless she steps in, and Bella’s permission to have my way with Marcus is all I need as I taunt him and destroy his skin before I take his life.

Pure adrenaline thrums through my veins as a crimson waterfall pours from his throat and splashes against my clothes, soaking the black fabric through until I feel the warm liquid on my skin. The sensations spur on my natural, animal instincts, and the smell of iron heavy in the air turns me into a savage monster. Maniacal laughter bubbles in my throat, and I want to let it out. My muscles itch with pent-up energy.

A shuddering breath sounds from behind me, and it’s as if my ears perk up in interest as my body becomes attuned to the prey in my midst. My heart thumps rapidly as I slowly turn toward her. My sweet Bella. Mine, all mine.

Our eyes meet, and electricity lights up between us, setting the primal beast clawing inside my chest on fire.

And like the perfect little prey, she runs.

An ear-to-ear smile creeps across my face. Tag. Oh, this ol’ game. How I’ve missed it. I’ve always loved a good hunt. But this chase sends a thrill through my taut body that I’ve never felt before. I know this catch will taste especially sweet.

Her fear permeates the air as I stalk her through the house. It’s the most intoxicating scent I’ve ever smelt. “Bella,” I sing when she rounds another corner, slipping and scrambling on the blood-slick floor like her life depends on it. My cock strains from the sight, imagining all the ways her smooth legs could wrap around me.

I keep a few paces behind her so she thinks she might actually get away. I can already picture the way her eyes will set aflame when I catch her, and the sound of her whimpers when I take what is mine.

My smart girl manages to get to the door before I close the distance between us, clicking my tongue as she tries to fight me. “Got you.”

I pull her against my body, wrapping my fingers around her slender throat, feeling it vibrate as she begs, “No, no! Let me go!”

A snarl rumbles through my bones as a match sparks inside my soul. Every cell in my body is telling me to mark her, lay claim to her, sink my teeth into her soft skin, and never let her go until she’s a willing victim in my trap.

Her pulse races against my fingertips, matching my own speeding heart. “You know better than to run from me. Predators love to hunt,” I whisper against her ear, relishing how a violent shudder racks through her body.

“Roman, please.”

I could come right now, just from the sound of her pleading. I want to find out all the ways I could make her cry out.

“God, I love it when you beg,” I groan, pulling her hips against mine so she understands exactly what she does to me. I can feel her soft ass through the thin material of her shorts, and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to rip them off her and sink into her tight little cunt. “Do you realize how fucking much I missed you? I was going insane thinking about you.”

I scrape my teeth against her skin, licking and lapping because I can’t get enough of her. I feel like I haven’t eaten in three years, and she’s my first meal. How did I survive this long without her? No rehab could get me away from the hook she has on me.

My hand descends along the smooth skin of her stomach, pressing my aching cock against her tight ass. She shivers against me, and I almost groan into her neck. “You taste like every sinful thought I’ve ever had.”