Page 15 of Compulsion
“Trust me, you have it.”You wanted to meet with me because you suspected I was a killer.Should he be that brutally honest?Now?Or later?
She tugged on her wrist.
He did not let go.“You didn’t have to step in.”He’d heard her tale to the cops on scene as she gave her statement.“No need for you to throw yourself on my attacker’s back.”She could have been seriously hurt when she’d done that.Or killed right then and there.“You could have just called for help.Followed my abductor.You didn’t have to jump into action.”
“Oh, see, that’s where you’re wrong.I did have to jump in.Clearly, you don’t know me very well.”
He knew many things about her, but there was still much to unravel when it came to his new obsession.Obsession.The word slithered through him.“Lily Gallo.”He liked saying her name.Lily.A beautiful flower.A beautiful woman.He had plenty of background intel on her.Facts in stark black and white.But, when it came down to understanding the complicated mind of Lily Gallo, there were plenty of secrets left to be discovered.“The daughter of a serial killer,” he said, because there was no point in ignoring the elephant in the room.Yes, he’d just gone for the brutal honesty track.Why not?Especially since it was her.
Lily didn’t flinch.Didn’t suddenly stop staring him straight in the eye.If anything, her shoulders straightened.Her chin lifted.“Atlas Bennett.”The briefest of pauses.“The son of a serial killer.”
Not just any serial killer.One of the most brutal and sadistic killers of all time.His father hadn’t just murdered his prey.He’d tortured them.Enjoyed their pain and their screams.
I can still hear the screams when I close my eyes at night.
He brushed another very careful kiss over her injured wrist.“I told you to stay away from me.”
“I am pretty sure you had me kicked out of your office building.Twice.”
He had.“I don’t enjoy having my past dug up and thrown at me.”
“I can understand that.But I am working on research that is very, very important.And, considering that I did save you—you admitted that—perhaps you can spare me a few hours?As a thank you?”
Oh, he would spare her more than that.“You aren’t getting away.”
Her long, dark lashes flickered.“Excuse me?”
He thought she’d heard him perfectly.
A quick knock sounded at the door.That door was almost immediately flung open after the knock, and Atlas turned his head to see a slightly harried doctor standing on the threshold.The man’s disheveled blond hair poked out from his head, his white lab coat looked a bit too big for his thin shoulders, and a stethoscope dangled around his neck.“You…you have guards in the hallway.”The man’s eyes were huge.
Atlas kept his hold on Lily.The woman would not slip from his grasp.“A necessary precaution, considering the night I’ve had so far.”
Desmond poked his head inside the exam room.“You good, boss?”
Good didn’t apply.Was he alive?Yes.So that meant he was certainly better than the detective.A man Lily mourned.Clearly, she did not know about Atlas’s own complicated relationship with the fellow.There was a reason why Atlas hadn’t hesitated to shove his knife against the guy’s throat.
Or why Detective Benedict Swain had not hesitated to push the muzzle of his gun over Atlas’s heart.If Lily hadn’t been there, Atlas did wonder…
Would Benedict have pulled the trigger?
Or…
Would I have slit his throat?
Atlas would not mourn for the cop.It was hard to mourn for someone who wanted you either, A, behind bars, or B, dead in the ground.
“Atlas?”Desmond prompted.
“I’ll be heading home soon,” Atlas told him.Then, because he knew Desmond was looking for reassurance, “I’m fine.”
“Uh, you arenot.” The doctor bustled forward.His lab coat flapped behind him.“You have a concussion.I was told by Dr.Gallo that you lost consciousness after the initial attack.”
“So did Dr.Gallo.”Atlas had learned that she’d only woken up shortly before being tossed down the stairs.
During the police interviews, one very unfortunate fact had come to light.
Lily had never seen the face of their attacker.Atlas had not, either.They had no description of the sonofabitch.
