Where's Molly (Cat and Mouse, #2.5)

by H.D. Carlton

The loud crunch of blunt teeth biting through bone is a lullaby I could fall asleep to for the rest of my life.

He who was once a rapist and child trafficker is now pig shit. So fucking poetic.

Then, he clocks the gun in my hand, and the other brow joins the first. “That’s also new. You gonna use that on me, little ghost? I don’t mind joining you in the afterlife.”

“At one point in our lives, we don’t know our soulmates at all. But that doesn’t make them any less of one. Sometimes… sometimes you just know.”

“I’m just here for the pizza. You can thank yourself for that fixation.” He grins, his eyes sparkling. “I’d like to think I’m responsible for a few fixations, but sure, we’ll start with pizza.”

Unsurprisingly, I find her skillset in dismembering a person attractive.

Because staring into her eyes is the only thing I needed, to convince myself she's everything I'll ever want for as long as oxygen invades my lungs. I knew it deep in my bones the day I met her. Even back then, my soul immediately recognized hers as its other half.

“Because I'd tell you anything,” I answer. “There's not a single thing I'd be able to keep from you. Especially when you look so goddamn beautiful.”

“You—what? No. You're not coming to my house again. You haven't been invited!” He stands and shoots me a cocky grin. “Baby, if you keep playing hard to get, I'll fucking move in. Now, let's clean up and shower before I decide I'm hungry again.”

If I had to hold her hand forever, it wouldn’t be long enough.

“Believe it or not, she doesn't ask about every woman’s uterus that I've brought around.” She gives me a guarded look. “How many women have you brought around?” My expression is serious as I say, “Two. And they were hopeless attempts at trying to make myself feel what I felt with you.”

“You are the most important person I've ever met, Molly,” I whisper. “And while I will always be devastated that my sister didn't survive, I'm so fucking happy that you did.”

If she wanted me to fall in love with her, she only needed to tell me. Now, she has no choice in the matter. Though, I suppose she never really did.

“I will chase away all your nightmares until they grow wary of returning. They will fear me, my little ghost. But you never will.”

“I will claim every part of you, Molly. And that includes the pieces of you those fuckers tried to take from me.”

“Don't be fooled, little ghost, I will own you even after you've disappeared. You may vanish, but your soul will always be mine.”

“If you're asking Him to save you, then I will nail Him onto that fucking cross again. You will be my ruin, but only I will be your savior.”

“Brace yourself, little ghost. I don’t fuck kindly.”

“You can always hold on to me, Molly. Always.”

I will never know peace for as long as Molly Devereaux is sad.

“You can’t fix me,” she finishes. “I don’t want to fix you, Molly. There’s nothing to mend when you’ve already done that yourself. The only thing I will do is ensure there isn’t a single part of you that is empty.

“Tell me that you’re mine.” Her brows furrow, a small frown tipping down her swollen lips. “Since walking into your store, I don’t think there was ever a time that I wasn’t, Cage.”

“You got anyone else on that hit list of yours? I'll kill as many people as you want if you keep telling me you love me.”

“I hear you’re good at making people disappear.” The deep, male voice is jarring and not what I was expecting. I pull the phone away from my ear, checking the number. It’s unknown. “Who is this?”

“Most know me by Z. But you can call me Zade.”