Creepy.
Bothered him now.
Acceptance of death wouldn’t do.
Welcoming death was just plain wrong.
Unnatural.
The Beast wanted a fight.
He wanted to witness a struggle. He wanted to delight in their panic, sense their horrifying, gut-wrenching, bloodcurdling fear.
Only then would his need for revenge be satisfied.
He needed someone to fight for his life, to battle him, to make him feel the surge of power that came when the flames grew and consumed and he, the Beast, was the victor.
Oliver’s own sacrifice had tainted his plans.
Brought a bad taste to his mouth.
And now this! The kid breaking away.
Completely unexpected!
Of course Oliver had always been a nutcase. From day one.
But the kid…Now, she was a different story. Cagey and fearless, as it turned out, patient and determined, an adversary worth battling. Shannon’s daughter. He felt a zing as he anticipated chasing her down, running her to the ground.
She would lose.
Of course.
Slippery little brat! He had to find her! Had to!
Ready to face the new challenge, he calmed his pulse, readied himself for the hunt. Walking into the living area, he glanced up at the mirror and sensed something was wrong. In a second he realized one of his framed pictures was missing. The photograph of Shannon. He checked, to see if it had fallen over or been tucked behind one of the other framed photos, but no, it was gone.
His teeth ground together and the fury he’d managed to rein in just seconds before unleashed in a black, consuming wrath. That miserable, little piece-of-crap kid had taken the photo!
Oh…She would regret it…
When he caught up with her, he’d make sure she understood that she’d crossed the line with him. This was to never happen again. Who the hell was she to take the damned picture?
If he could just kill her now. Quick, fast, get rid of her, but he couldn’t. That wasn’t part of his plan, laid so carefully for years.
A scheme, because of her, now scattered in pieces.
No, he reminded himself. The plan didn’t fail. You did. You underestimated her.
Just fix it. Fucking find her!
One little miserable, lying teenager wasn’t going to stop him. He’d hunt her down. And when he did, she’d know who she was dealing with.
He slammed a fist into the wall. He wanted to find her right now and shake the life right out of her, watch her squeal in fear and pain.
Stop! Think! Calm down.
You can locate her. You picked this place because escape would be next to impossible. She hasn’t gotten far. Just outsmart her.