Daddy's Stepstalker (Daddy's Little Deviants)

Ari

Patiencewasavirtue I’d been forced to possess since having to wait until I was old enough to make my move on Shaw. That kind of patience was far greater than the hours I sat in the window of Judd’s bedroom, watching his driveway for him to show up. It wasn’t as boring as it could have been. I had too much to think about. Once I got rid of Judd, I could pick up my life with Shaw right where we’d left off. In our new home.

I removed my phone from my pocket, my eyes straining to see the low backlit screen, as I didn’t want even the flicker of light to alert Judd that I was here. I dialed the number to retrieve my voicemail and waited for Shaw’s voice to come over the line.

“Baby, my god, Ari.” He went silent as if trying to find the words. That was my favorite part, to hear how pleased he was at what I’d done. I’d used up almost all the money I made from selling my designs, but it was all worth it. I could always make more money. In fact, another fashion house was looking to hire me on a more permanent basis. And I was considering it.

“It’s perfect,” Shaw finally said. “It needs a little work, yes, but we can handle it, and I swear to you that when my insurance money clears, I’ll give you back every dollar you spent on this house.”

He was entitled to think that, but I would never take it from him. This was my gift to him. Just another way to show him how much I loved him.

“You can forget about this, Ari,” he said. That was the part of the message I didn’t like so much. “We can start over together.”

I turned off the phone and slipped it back into my pocket. No way would I call off this hit. Then what would happen? What was to stop Judd from trying to take a second home from us? I could never live with myself knowing I could have prevented it but didn’t. I didn’t take Shaw for a soft man, but he was too decent to do what needed to be done.

Lucky for him, I had nothing emotional to hold me back. Judd simply had to die, even more so after I witnessed how he treated his son. He was a monster, and it was only a matter of time before he killed his son or vice versa. Then Jonas would surely go to prison. Too many people would benefit from Judd being wiped off the face of the earth for me to reconsider my actions.

Lights swept over me. Shit. I had been so lost in thought I missed Judd coming home. My heart leaped in my chest, my body went rigid, and I slowly inched away from the window, not moving the curtain. Although I risked being exposed, I had to check that he was alone. I didn’t want to hurt an innocent person.

The bastard stumbled on his feet. My watch told me it was a few minutes past one in the morning. If stalking people had taught me anything, it was how not to become a creature of habit. That was the demise of many. Their everyday routine was so static, with little room for deviating. It made it easy to locate and neutralize my kill.

Like the fact that Judd would be walking into the kitchen right now for a cup of iced tea, something he did every night before he went to bed. Easy enough to put drugs in, then wait until he passed out before I carried out the next phase of my plan.

I scooted beneath Judd’s bed. Not too long after, his heavy boots trudged into the bedroom. He burped, and I was so giddy with excitement I had to clamp my hand over my mouth to stifle the giggle. Would Shaw be disappointed in me that I could find something this fucked up to be fun? No one else seemed to understand that it was the most powerful feeling to rid the world of people who did terrible things but would never get caught.

The bed groaned under Judd’s weight. This wasn’t the first night I’d drugged him. I could have killed him then too, but I needed it to be perfect. That time had been nothing but a trial to make sure my plan was feasible. Not a matter of if it might or might not work. I needed it to be a foolproof plan.

“Fuck.” Judd groaned. “So fucking horny.”

What the hell was he doing?

His phone rang. A young man’s sleepy voice came over the loudspeaker.

“Hello? Judd, that you?”

“Of course it’s me. You have anyone else calling you at this time of night?”

“I was asleep, is all.”

“I need you,” Judd growled. “Sitting on my lap and bouncing on my cock. Come and get it, boy.”

Fuck, fuck. If he invited guests over, that would ruin the entire plan. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t. I’ve got this test tomorrow and—”

“Fuck that test. Don’t you remember how good I made you feel last time?”

“Actually, it hurt. I told you I wasn’t ready yet, but you didn’t listen.”

“Come on, a little pain is a good thing, right? You exploded in my mouth after, didn’t you?”

“Um, yeah, but I still can’t. Maybe tomorrow night.”

“If you don’t show up now, don’t bother tomorrow night.”

“Judd, don’t—”

“Fuck you.”