Beware of Me (Dark Obsession 4)

The ropes were still too tight on him. That shit needed to give way soon because Curtis was back on his feet. Blood poured from his nose and the guy swiped it away.

“Look what the fuck you did!” Curtis raged.

Ethan smiled at him. “Going to do a whole lot more. I told you, I’m going to be the one standing soon and just watching you die.”

“Ethan!”

He stiffened at that cry. Carly. He’d heard her outside and he’d yelled for her, an instinctive thing. But now he wished that he’d kept quiet because a sinister smile had curled Curtis’s lips.

“Full circle,” Curtis whispered. He bent and picked up the scalpel he’d dropped. His blood spattered down on the plastic-covered floor.

Carly was pounding on the door. It sounded like she was trying to rip that door open. That was his Carly. So fierce and determined.

“Maybe it’s meant to be this way,” Curtis murmured, giving his head a rough shake. “It should end the same way, don’t you think?” Curtis asked him. The false veil of his sanity was gone, and Ethan knew he was seeing the real monster that the man had always been.

“I think you’re nuts!”

“Only Carly isn’t tied in the chair. You are.”

He wanted that rope gone.

“So when she gets in…and don’t worry, I’ll make sure she comes in…she’ll see you. Then she’ll be the one on the floor. She’ll be the one I torture and kick. My brother kicked you, didn’t he? I saw it on the video. He kicked you in your ribs and sweet Carly promised to do anything if he stopped hurting you.” More blood poured from his nose. “Will you promise anything for her?”

Carly can’t be alone out there. She has to have help. The FBI wouldn’t just let her rush out alone, not with all the shit that was happening. Would they?

Then Curtis turned away from him, and Ethan saw the gun that was tucked in the back of the man’s pants. “Get away!” Ethan bellowed, hoping she could hear him. “Carly, get away!” She couldn’t come in there.

Curtis carefully put the scalpel down on the instrument tray. And he took out his gun. “Let’s see if you’ll do anything…”

“No,” Ethan whispered. “Don’t.”

“Ready to beg?”

Ethan yanked at his ropes. He could feel blood on his wrists. He just yanked harder and the rope cut deeper into him. Harder…

He heard the front door burst in. “Carly, no, get back!” Ethan yelled. Please, baby, back. “He’s got a—”

Carly wasn’t the one who rushed into the room first. Charles was. And Charles was armed, too. But Charles had his gaze locked on Ethan and he didn’t even see Curtis because that tricky sonofabitch had moved into the corner of the room, behind Charles as the guy rushed to Ethan’s side.

“No, Charles! Gun, gun—”

The gun exploded. A bullet slammed into Charles, hitting him in the back. Ethan was staring right at the FBI agent when the bullet struck him. He saw the flare of Charles’s eyes. The shock and the pain that covered his face. Charles tried to whirl in order to confront his attacker, but Curtis was just laughing and stepping forward as he fired again.

A bullet sank into Charles’s shoulder.

The gun fell from the agent’s hand.

Curtis advanced one step more, his gun still aimed at Charles. “Not the way I usually like to kill, but—”

He didn’t get a chance to fire another shot at Charles because Carly had just slammed into his body. She hit him hard and they tumbled to the floor. This time, Curtis was the one to lose the gun and Carly attacked him with a wild fury. Punching and kicking and scratching.

“Charles, get the fuck up!” Ethan said, fear filling him—fear for Carly and Charles. Because Charles wasn’t moving now. He’d slumped on the floor, and Ethan was afraid that bullet to the back had hit the agent’s spine. No, no. “Charles!”

And then he heard the laughter. That damn mocking laughter from Curtis.

Curtis was bigger and stronger than Carly, and he had her pinned beneath him on the floor. “You should have never killed my brother,” Curtis said, panting as he fought to hold her. Carly was still fighting, hell, yes, she was. Ethan knew she would always keep fighting.

“Your brother is burning…in hell,” Carly threw back at him.

Curtis pulled back his fist, and it looked as if the bastard was about to slam that fist right into Carly’s face. That would be only the first of what he had planned for Carly.

“Don’t!” Ethan yelled.

Curtis smiled. “Got to promise me…anything. Got to beg. Like she did for you…”

The ropes gave way. Ethan leapt out of that chair. He grabbed the scalpel off the freaking weird-ass surgical tray and he said, “Carly, baby, close your eyes. Please…” Because if she didn’t, she’d see Ethan for who he truly was.

In the next second, he’d grabbed Curtis’s shoulder. He yanked the guy around, and Ethan sliced that scalpel across the man’s throat. He pushed as hard as he could when he made that slice, wanting that scalpel to cut deep. Carving into him.

A promise is a promise.

Blood sprayed at him and Curtis fell back, grabbing for his throat.

Ethan looked down at Carly. Her eyes were wide open, staring with horror and fear and disgust.

At me.

Curtis was making a chokin

g sound, still struggling, still bleeding, and Ethan glared down at him. “I killed your damn brother. I’m the one who shoved the knife all the way in his heart, and I’m also the one who just killed you.”

Then the cavalry arrived. More agents came rushing into the apartment. Victor was the first one leading the charge. “Hands up!” Victor yelled. “Up!”

Ethan lifted his hands. The scalpel fell to the floor.

“Sonofabitch,” Victor said, voice hushed. “Sonofabitch.” Then he shook his head. “Secure him!”

Ethan didn’t know if the agent wanted the gasping man on the ground secured—or me.

But Victor wasn’t even looking at him any longer. He’d rushed over to Charles. “Agent down!” Victor snarled into his phone. “I need an ambulance here, now. Now!”

Charles lifted his hand toward Victor. Victor caught his hand and held on tight. “You’re going to be all right. It’s okay.”

Two agents were on the floor, kneeling near Curtis. Another had helped Carly to her feet. Blood was on her shirt. Probably because she’d been so close when Ethan had attacked Curtis.

And a final FBI agent—well, he had his gun on Ethan.

“Will Charles make it?” Ethan asked quietly.

Victor swore. “He’s fine.”

So Victor was more of a liar than Ethan had thought…and he was also a man who was holding tight to another agent’s hand and assuring Charles that everything was going to be all right.

Ethan felt respect stir inside of him. Victor was better than he’d expected.

Carly stood there a moment, seemingly in shock as she looked at Ethan. Horror was still plain to see on her face. This whole scene—it was such a tangled flashback of their past. Only there wouldn’t be any chance of hiding the body this time.

No escape.

He’d attacked, and Ethan knew Curtis wouldn’t survive much longer. Not even with the agent trying to stop that blood flow.

Carly shook her head, hard, then she turned from Ethan. She hurried and bent near Charles, and she joined Victor in trying to stop his blood flow.

Ethan’s gaze slid back to Curtis. His eyes narrowed on the man.

After all, he had a promise to keep.