Beware of Me (Dark Obsession 4)

“I really want to fucking kill someone,” Ethan said.

Charles tensed. A brief movement, but a telling one.

“Got a particular target in mind?” Charles asked carefully.

That was probably what the guy was supposed to say. No judgment. He didn’t get paid for judgment. He got paid to make sure that Ethan stayed alive. Not to be his conscience.

“Yeah,” Ethan said. “I do.” Pity a man can only die once. But though most of his rage was directed at Quincy, a whole lot of that fury was turned straight at…me.

Carly had been alone after that attack. Alone because Ethan had stupidly believed sending her away would keep her safe. He’d wanted her out of the city so that no suspicion would ever be put on her.

He’d also thought—hell, that she wouldn’t want to see him right then. Not knowing…I drove that knife into the bastard’s heart with no hesitation.

Now the suspicion was on her and the pain—she’d carried it alone for years.

“Boss, is someone dying tonight?”

He tilted back his head. “Someone dies every night.”

Wasn’t that the sad fucking truth?

Chapter Three

“You shouldn’t have missed your appointment,” Dr. Keith Nelson’s voice held a chiding edge that Carly really didn’t like.

Considering that she’d missed the appointment because she’d been in the hospital, she certainly didn’t need his little guilt trip.

“It’s important for your progress,” he continued, his handsome face showing a delicate concern, “for you to keep meeting with me. You know you need—”

“This is my last session.” There. Bombshell dropped.

Behind the frames of his glasses, his green eyes widened. “That’s not something I can condone.”

There was something about Dr. Keith that had been bothering her for a while. She could never really relax in his presence. It was odd, but…he made her feel on edge.

Though she didn’t exactly know why.

Dr. Keith Nelson had come with the highest possible recommendation from her previous psychiatrist. He was an up-and-coming therapist with a thriving practice. Dr. Nelson was in his mid-thirties, with thick, blond hair, and a handsome but serious face. The glasses he wore—they gave him a distinguished air, though she’d secretly started to suspect he wore those glasses just for that air.

“Does this have anything to do…” Dr. Nelson asked her, “with the gentleman I saw you embracing outside of the building?”

She tried not to let her surprise show. The shrink had been watching that scene?

“Because,” he continued before she could respond, “I saw that you let him touch you, and touch has been such a very big issue for you to overcome.”

The ticking of the clock on the wall seemed incredibly loud. “This isn’t about Ethan.”

“Ethan.” He paused, then said, “Your voice softens when you say his name. You already feel a-a connection with him?”

The problem with shrinks—they could see too much. And when she felt like hiding, that wasn’t a good thing.

“Do you really believe you’re ready for a normal relationship?” Dr. Nelson pressed.

At that question, she had to laugh. “Who said anything about normal?” Normal wasn’t for her. She’d realized that long ago. Carly rose from the couch and paced to the window. When she looked down, yes, she could see Ethan’s car. But there was no sign of Ethan. Was he waiting inside the vehicle for her, shielded behind those tinted windows? Her hand lifted and touched the glass. “Normal is overrated. It’s not what I need. I’ve realized that.” She’d tried to stick herself in a normal world for so long, and she’d felt nothing. But when Ethan had come back into her life…

“Does he know about your attack?”

“Yes.”

Silence. Then… “While I applaud the level of intimacy you’re reaching by sharing with your new partner, I must caution you to—”

“No more caution. I’ve had plenty of caution.” Brisk now, she turned away from the window and faced the psychiatrist. When had he moved so close to her? “Thanks for all of your help, but I’m going to be taking a—”

He caught her hands in his. She flinched instantly and tried to draw back, but he held her tightly. “Do you see this?”

“Take your hands off me.” Her voice was flat.

“You aren’t done with therapy. You still tense up when I get too close—when most men do.”

Not Ethan.

His eyes narrowed behind the lenses of his glasses, as if he’d just read her thoughts. Isn’t that what shrinks are supposed to do? Know the patients, inside and out? “So you found one man who doesn’t scare you,” he said. “What happens when you’re done with him? Or when he’s done with you? I can help you. You need me.”

“Right now, I need you to let go of my hands.” She wasn’t going to say it again. If she had to do it, she’d be kneeing him in the groin or shoving her high heel down on his foot, just like she’d done to her attacker in the subway.

His lips parted. He glanced down at her hands. His fingers slid up, almost…caressing her wrists.

That one touch—it was wrong. She knew it with utter certainty. A caress. Far too intimate for a doctor to give his patient. It felt wrong.

She jerked away from him. “Trust me, I don’t need you.” She should have listened to her instincts with him long ago.

Shock had slackened his face. “Carly, I didn’t mean—” He broke off as heat stained his cheeks. “I’m sorry. I-I overstepped.”

And it was time for her to step out. “Bill me,” Carly said as she marched briskly for the door. “Because we are done.” Then she yanked open the door and swept past the empty reception area. As soon as she entered the elevator, she whirled back around because she’d heard the rush of footsteps following her.

“Carly, please!” Now Dr. Nelson’s voice broke a bit. “Let me explain.”

Blindly, she jabbed the buttons on the elevator. She wanted those damn doors to close.

“I…I feel deeply for you, Carly. I didn’t plan it, I—”

The doors closed before she could hear any more of his confession.

She sagged back. Some days were bad. Some days…were freaking insane.

***

Ethan’s fingers drummed against his knee. Carly hadn’t been inside the building very long. Maybe ten minutes, fifteen max.

So why was an edge of worry knifing through him?

He opened his door and glanced up at the building. Charles was still seated in the front of the vehicle. They weren’t exactly parked legally there, and when he glanced to the right, Ethan saw a cop approaching. Figured. Cops could usually smell him from a mile away.

“Drive around the block,” Ethan ordered Charles. “We’ll be waiting when you come back.”

Then he straightened and headed to the building. Maybe he was curious about the shrink—or maybe, hell, he was just curious about Carly.

And I want to be close to her. She was hurting when she left me.

He wanted to take away all of her pain. No, he needed to take it away. He entered the lobby and scanned the list of posted businesses on the building’s directory.

Ah…there he was. Dr. Nelson. Dr. Keith Nelson. Seventh floor.

The building already seemed pretty deserted, so Ethan didn’t have to wait long for an elevator to arrive. He gave a little nod to the security guy who glanced his way, then Ethan slipped into the elevator. Time to meet Dr. Nelson.

***

The elevator doors opened. Carly immediately shot outside, but then three steps later, she stopped as she finally took note of her surroundings.

She wasn’t in the lobby.

She was in the parking garage.

A car horn’s echo reached her ears. Most of the spaces in the garage were empty, and the place seemed strangely dark.

She turned back toward the elevator. The doors were already starting to close and she jabbed for the button to open them

once more. The button lit up beneath her touch and the doors began to open fully.

“Carly.”

Her shoulders tensed. Had she just heard her name? Or had she imagined that? She risked a quick glance over her shoulder.

And that was when she saw the man. Tall. Wide shoulders. Wearing a black ski mask. He’d just appeared from behind the nearby cement column.

She didn’t waste time on a scream. Instead, Carly shot toward the open doors of that elevator. She made it inside and turned for the control panel.

But he rushed in right behind her. He grabbed her, holding her tightly with his gloved hands. “Knew I just had to wait…long enough…” His voice was a low growl. “And you’d be mine.”

She twisted and kicked, punching out at him, but he held her tightly and he—he hauled her out of the elevator.

Carly screamed, as loudly as she could.

Too bad no one was around to hear her scream.

Again. It’s happening again. Because a man in a mask had come for her once before…one of Quincy’s goons who’d abducted her.

And back then, there’d been no one to hear her screams, either.

***