I stood there, my hand tightening on the note, as I realized what exactly I needed to do. I walked into the house, ignoring the photographers and going right up to Lorcan. She made a surprised noise as I tugged her to me firmly and placed a soft, affectionate kiss on her lips in an effort to show her just how fucking crazy I was about her.
“Lorcan,” I cupped her jaw, pulling back as she offered me a concerned look. “I need you to go upstairs, okay? We are not doing this tonight—”
“What happened?” she asked quietly, looking concerned.
“Do you really want to know?”
She frowned slightly, searching my face before speaking. “Later.”
I continued, glad that I didn’t have to explain and potentially lose my shit right here and now. “Maggie is going to be coming over here for the night. I need to handle something at the Reids’—”
“Oh.” That single word had me knowing she understood what type of situation it was. She nodded and then looked at Rhett and Cash, both of whom were watching us with hesitation.
“Take her upstairs, and do not fucking let her or Maggie out of your sight. Adriel—I already called for a second team, can you have yours come here tonight?” Adriel nodded, questions in his gaze as I looked at Dean.
Without a word, Dean walked over to the photographers and asked them to leave. When they started to pitch a fit, Dean leveled them with a gaze until all of them scampered out like the small little parasites they were. I was glad her agent wasn’t here right now—she seemed like the persistent type that wouldn’t have let it go so easily.
“What the hell is going on?” Adriel asked after sending off a quick message.
My eyes darted to where Lorcan was disappearing upstairs with Cash and Rhett, making me feel far better already. I spoke quietly so my voice didn’t reach her. “My team was having that talk with the asshole principal, Mr. Washington. They found pictures of Lorcan he’d been given, and someone had set up surveillance so he could watch her in her bedroom and bathroom at her old house—”
“Fucking hell,” Adriel growled. “So is this her fucking stalker? Has this bastard been the one scaring her so much?”
I felt my jaw clench. “Linton doesn’t think so, said it appeared as if he’d been given those photos.”
“What else?” Draven demanded as Dean slammed the door. It didn’t surprise me that Draven could tell there was more.
“This fucker may not be her actual stalker, but what he had planned for her was far from fucking innocent,” I admitted, pulling out the paper from my pocket and handing it to Dean. The bastard was practically shaking with fury.
I watched him open the paper. The paper that laid out the plans he had for kidnapping and then raping Lorcan. Yeah. He was going to fucking die for that.
“Sometimes I cannot take this place
Sometimes it's my life I can't taste
Sometimes I cannot feel my face
You'll never see me fall from grace.”
-Freak On a Leash by Korn
I was gaining an even larger sense of gratefulness for the Reids’ basement.
This seemed to be a very convenient location to kill anyone that assumed they could take Lorcan from us. First Toris, and now this piece of shit. What was his name again? I’d already forgotten. Honestly, I didn’t really care all that much. What I did care about was how long it would be until he woke up. I wanted to get back to our home and Lorcan.
The space around us was very clearly used to interrogate threats to the pride, but it served as a fantastic torture location as well. I was currently leaning against the wall as Dean secured the cuffs that pinned the asshole by his ankles and wrists. I felt myself grow furious and sick at what he’d wanted to do to Lorcan.
I was now very, very much understanding why she’d gotten so sick at school. If what I saw on paper was bad, I couldn’t imagine what the inside of his head was like. Which was why I didn’t trust myself to torture the human... well, not without the intent to kill him.
Adriel and Draven thought he might have something to offer in the way of answers, but I knew that they wouldn’t get anything. Anyone who was talented enough to sneak cameras into her room despite all of our protective wards wouldn’t have left any identifying memories for the human to spill in case of this exact situation. Still, I was okay with the prolonged pain they had planned for him—I just didn’t trust myself to administer it. Clearly, neither did Dean, since he was pacing back and forth by the stairs, not allowing himself closer. His eyes kept flashing down to the piece of paper with the motherfucker’s plans on it.
I was honestly surprised he hadn’t just lost it yet. Then again, I was going to assume he was holding it together just in case this asshole had information we could use to protect Lorcan from a larger threat. I was at the point where I just needed the bastard dead. Unfortunately, I knew that humans could die very quickly, so if I was going to feel any relief at all I’d have to draw it out. Then again, I sort of just wanted him fucking dead… honestly, I was a bit torn on how I wanted to do it. But what I did know? He would be dead before I walked out of here tonight.
It felt nice to let this side out. The side I’d always kept on a leash. I felt far better, and for once my demon wasn’t attempting to act out, because we were in perfect agreement on what needed to occur.
“My team just arrived at the house,” Adriel announced, looking down at this phone. I’d known my friend for a very long time, and I could see the darkness waiting to expand out from him. He was good at keeping his cool in situations like this, oddly enough. Probably because he could be patient as fuck when he needed to be… but I wasn’t able to handle that when it came to this situation. It felt like we were playing a bit of a personality switch right now, and I didn’t mind at fucking all.
“Are her and Maggie good?” Dean asked quietly as Adriel texted something quickly.
“Yeah,” he answered and slid his phone away. “Seems the team leads talked to Rhett and Cash. Both girls are watching a movie together.”
I didn’t bother checking my phone right now because I knew exactly where my team was: attempting to figure out who the hell had given him all of this shit by searching every inch of his apartment. Something had clearly pushed him past his usual stalking routine since he’d gone from being a creep to planning to take action.
I didn’t believe that the change happened by Lorcan’s influence alone. Plus, this man was goddamn walking bait for creatures that needed someone dumb enough to just go along with their larger plan.
“What’s our plan for attempting to get information out of him?” I drew out curiously, wanting it to be a quick plan if any. Maybe if we finished quick enough I could bury myself back deep inside of Lorcan as she hung onto me like her life depended on it. That would be ideal. Fuck, coming inside of her had giving me a goddamn euphoric high. I’m not joking, I saw goddamn sparks of neon when I climaxed.
“He’s human,” Draven sighed, sounding disappointed. “He won’t be able to handle much pain before passing out… or bleeding out. He doesn’t strike me as the durable type.”
My eyes traveled to the balding, middle-aged, heavy-set man as I hummed in agreement. I ran a hand through my hair. “May I suggest doing something small, like removing his fingernails or some shit? I mean, that may get him to talk faster and save some of the fun… or you could also just let us kill him.”