Knocked Up by the Killer

“You don’t know my dad then.”

“I know him better than you think.” I pushed off the chair and stood. “If you run, you lose everything. Your life, your job, your friends, all this. You’ll start over as a nothing, as a nobody. You can never open up a bank account or log in to the internet under your real name. You’ll constantly be on the run, constantly look over your shoulder. Do you have any idea what kind of life you could live like that?”

“I don’t,” she said and her voice was tiny.

“You don’t,” I repeated. “But imagine it. You’d be nothing, with nothing, and could never be anything. You’ll rot in Barbados, or Jamaica, or Aruba, or Argentina, or wherever you run.”

“I’m still trying to figure out why you care.”

“I care because I saw something in you last night.”

“We had sex, okay?” She uncrossed her legs and leaned forward. “That’s all, just sex.”

“We had a connection at dinner.”

“You’re handsome and charming. So what?”

“I don’t have many connections.”

“That’s a big shocker.” She looked up at the ceiling. “What the hell am I going to do?”

“You’re going to stay here,” I said. “You’re going to let me move in and take care of you.”

“Wait— what?” She shook her head and her hair flew wildly. “You’re not moving in.”

“So then how am I supposed to protect you?”

“Do you see the size of this place?”

I frowned and stroked my chin. “Fair point. We could go to a hotel. That might be safer, actually.”

“Tanner—”

“A nice hotel,” I said. “Something fancy. Top floor, one way in, one way out. Lots and lots of cameras.” I could feel my brain working on a plan already. It wouldn’t be foolproof and I’d still have to do a fair amount of legwork to make sure her father made nice with the Leone family, but it just might work.

“No way,” she said. “Take me to the train station.”

I gaped at her. “Are you kidding?”

“Tanner—”

“You really want to die, don’t you?”

“No,” she said. “I just don’t trust my life to some… some… crazy weirdo.”

I grinned at her. “Please, you want to fuck me again. Don’t pretend like I’m just some weirdo.”

She threw her hands up. “You murder people. You’re a psychopath.”

“Well, I don’t know about that,” I said. “But hey, it might be smart to have a psychopath on your side, right? Since you’ll be dealing with psychopaths for a while.”

“You’re seriously out of your mind.”

I shrugged like it was no big deal, although I stared at her and couldn’t look away. I felt her slipping out of my grasp and I had to do something to change her mind before she made a huge mistake.

“I want you, Elise,” I said, walking toward her. She leaned back on the couch as I stopped and crouched down inches from her knees. “I want you to make me feel alive again. I want to make you my little pet. And in order to do that, I need to keep you alive and breathing. How am I going to fuck you mindless if you go and get yourself killed? Or if you disappear somewhere in South America?”

“Jesus,” she whispered, “you’re really insane, aren’t you?”

“No,” I said. “I’m just a man that knows what he wants.”

I put my hands on her knees and leaned closer. She pulled back and put her hands flat on the couch cushions. She stared at me with wide eyes and her lips fell open to reveal her little white teeth. Her pink tongue ran along her lower lip and I could’ve sworn I felt her tremble.

Maybe I was crazy, because it turned me the fuck on.

“You’re serious,” she said.

“I’m very serious.” I leaned closer. “Let me protect you.”

“I have to— I have to think,” she said.

“Don’t think.” I tilted my head. She closed her mouth then bit her lip hard. “You know I’m your only choice.”

“How can I trust you?” she asked.

“If I wanted to hurt you, darling, you’d be hurting,” I said. “If I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead. I don’t want either of those things.”

I held her gaze with mine, head tilted slightly, breathing her in. She smelled like soap and fear. It was an acrid scent, sharp and musky. I knew that smell well, and it disturbed me how fast it made my heart race.

She had no inkling how bad things were for her. She thought she knew, but there was no way she could ever fully grasp what all this meant.

“Fine,” she said.

“Fine?” I asked.

“Fine.” She pushed me away. I teetered then toppled back onto my ass. I laughed and hopped up to my feet.

“Great,” I said. “This is great. Okay, go pack a bag, we’ll—”

“But we’re staying here.” She crossed her arms and snapped her legs shut.

The words died on my lips. “Elise,” I said.