Repentance (The Darkness Series Book 4) by Cassia Brightmore Page B

breathing heavy.
    “It didn’t need to be that difficult.  You could have really hurt yourself, my love,” he scolded her.
    “Who are you?  What do you want?  Get out of my house!” she yelled.  She had a sinking feeling she knew exactly who this man was and why he was there. He was the killer, the man with the rope that had been murdering all those young girls. Panic started to bubble up inside her, but she forced it down.  She needed to keep calm and stay strong.  She wasn’t a weakling; she could outsmart this son-of-a-bitch, she knew it.
    He brushed the hair away from her face and looked at her with a mixture of tenderness and love.  Disgusted, she cleared her throat and spit at him, her aim true and catching him right in the eye.  His body went completely still and Emma stopped her struggling at the slight change in the atmosphere of the room.  He took a tissue from his pocket and calmly wiped the spittle from his eye.  His deliberate movements were sending her nerves dancing and she knew the retribution for what she’d just done was going to be fierce.
    His hand snaked out and weaved into her hair roughly, snapping her head back.  She let out a whimper of pain and fought back more tears.
    “That was rude.  Rude, rude, rude!” he yelled in her face, his anger evident.  He breathed heavy, trying to calm himself. He let her hair go, ripping a few strands from her scalp as he pulled back and then removed something from his pocket, slipping it over her head.
    Emma panicked as she realized it was some sort of wire rope and he slowly pulled it tight until it was snug against her skin.  He then leaned back and pulled off his mask, revealing himself to her.
    She gasped and the terror over potentially being strangled to death was pushed aside as she stared at her attacker, shocked.
    “Cole? Wha—why?  What’s going on here?” she asked, still not sure why one of Sam’s best customers and a known ladies’ man would be holding her hostage in her home.
    “For you.  I’m here for you, my love.  I’ve been watching you for a very long time, I love everything about you. The way the sun glints off your hair giving it a tint of red.  Your smile, so sweet and innocent.  The way your nose crinkles just a little at the end when you laugh.  How your nipples turn to sexy little nubs when you step out of the shower.  There’s nothing that I don’t love about you, Emma.  I’ve waited a long time but I’m finally ready to bring you home.”  His words, which clearly pleased him to tell her by the maniacal grin on his face, sent revulsion flowing through her.  He was crazy, out of his fucking mind and had clearly been stalking her for quite some time.  The fact that he’d even caught her naked made her sick to her stomach.  Who knew what else he’d seen.
    “You’re insane.  I’m not going anywhere with you.  Look, Cole, I don’t know what’s going on here, but please.  Just untie me and we can go somewhere to talk; just the two of us.  You need help.  Let me help you.”  Emma prayed that by offering time alone, just them, that he would buy her lies and let her go.  If she could convince him that she would be by his side no matter what, maybe he would trust her enough to loosen her bonds.
    He ignored her and leaned in closer, grabbing her when she leaned back to avoid him touching her.  He inhaled and then sat back, his face contorted in disgust. 
    “You smell like him.  I saw you.  I saw you two today in his workshop.  He had his hands all over you, his fucking cock was in you.  He touched you when you are mine. ”  He grabbed the knot of the rope and pulled her onto the floor, heading back towards the bathroom.
    “I can’t take you home in this state.  What will the others think?  I need you clean and pure for me,” he rambled on to himself as he dragged her.  Emma fought and twisted her body, trying to angle her bound foot around the leg of the end table, hoping to