Page 29 of Death Rydes Shotgun

I’m losing control.

The cold, calculated vengeance that brought me back to Blackwood—the fifteen years of planning, the desire to make her pay for her lies—is melting away, consumed by a feral, obsessive hunger that I can no longer contain.

I want to break her. To take her right here on the rubber floor of this maze, surrounded by a thousand reflections of our sin. I want to tear her clothes off, drive myself into her slick, warm pussy and hear her scream my name until her voice gives out.

As I gaze into her wide, electric eyes, a chilling wave of grim understanding sweeps down my spine.

If she doesn’t stop me... if she gives in to the dark pull between us and opens her legs for me... I don’t know if I’ll ever let her leave this town alive.

Nine

To Catch a Killer

HARMONY

10:10 PM

Every single instinct in my body screams at me to run, to claw my way through the glass panels of this labyrinth and never look back.

My rational mind screams like a siren, alerting me that this man is a volatile storm, a predator who might break my neck in the shadows and abandon me behind a carnival booth without hesitation.

Yet, I’m completely paralyzed, pinned by the crushing weight of his chest, the feel of his erection pushing into my stomach, and the dark, intoxicating gravity pulling me straight into his web.

Having Ryder in such close proximity is a sensory assault that overrides all common sense.

The brutal heat radiating off his broad frame bleeds through my clothes, making my pussy pulsate with a feverish, heavy ache.

The hard, unyielding line of his thighs pressed against mine, the slow, dangerous pulse vibrating in his throat, and the intoxicating scent of rain, wood smoke, and copper tinge of blood fills my lungs.

Liquid heat pools low and heavy, deep in my core; defying every survival mechanism I possess. My body doesn’t care that he’s a threat. It just craves the friction, the danger, the terrifying promise of his hands on my skin.

Forcing my eyes to lock onto his dark and sinister irises, I desperately search for a foothold to pull myself back from the edge of his control.

I need to ground myself. To focus on the real reason I drove back to Blackwood tonight.

I didn’t come back for nostalgia, and I certainly didn’t come back to get cornered by a lethal stranger.

I came back for Noah.

To stand on the edge of the highway where his life ended, to pay respect to his memory, and to silently give thanks to him for setting me on a brand-new path in life.

If Noah hadn’t confronted me that night—if he hadn’t forced my hand and pushed me past the point of no return—I’d still be trapped in the dull, artificial shell of who I used to be.

Noah was the catalyst. He opened the door, stripping away the lies and allowing me to embrace the person I was meant to be. He set me free.

I owe him everything for that.

I press my palms flat against the front of Ryder’s black hoodie, feeling the solid wall of his chest. “I need air. If you let me step out of this maze, Ryder... I’ll tell you a secret about myself.”

The words hang in the narrow, glass-walled space between us, quiet and laced with a deliberate, velvet bait.

I watch the shift happen behind his eyes.

The feral, unhinged lust flickering in his gaze fades, giving way to a razor-sharp curiosity.

Ryder studies my face, his jaw clenching as he weighs the offer, tracking the rise and fall of my chest beneath my sweater.

A few agonizing seconds later, Ryder steps back.