HAUNTED - A Dark Romance

CHAPTER 8: DANTE -- Present

One thing I loved about my line of work, was how it made other peoples personal information so easily accessible. 

It was like an endless stream; everything from an address available, to a workplace, to where their kids went to school -- and sometimes, if I cared enough to do some more digging, even their dirty laundry. 

DUI's...

Domestic Battery charges...

Rehab...

All the things they'd had swept under the rug. 

At first, I'd hated it. Because while it gave me the power to know everything, it also gave me the irreversible lens into the worst of humanity. And sometimes, even after years in the field, I still find myself surprised by what people are willing to do, to hide the worst parts of themselves. 

However, in this moment, as I sit quietly watching her through her bedroom window, I can't help but be thankful for the power. 

Because she always looked so beautiful when she thought no-one was watching. 

I remember the day I'd finally gotten out of prison like it was yesterday; walking out of that cage a free, but changed man -- and the liberation I'd felt in knowing that I would finally be able to seek out my revenge.

But, my plans had quickly changed when I had gone to find her, only to discover that she'd run away to Seattle -- and away from me. 

I was crushed, initially. I couldn't figure out why, the one person I had left to love, had run away from me. And back then, I'd convinced myself that maybe, it was because she'd found work in the city, or maybe because she'd wanted a change of scenery from our small town...

I had searched for the most plausible answer for years, because eventually, the truth had become too real to face. 

She thought I did it. 

My Angel, the same woman who had become my salvation over the years -- had just as quickly become my damnation. All because she believed that I was capable of killing.

I shook my head, a low chuckle rumbling in my throat. 

Being in prison in itself, was enough to question my capacity for "goodness." 

I mean, I was trapped, for years. Alone, afraid, and painfully aware that I wasn't supposed to be there. That it should've been him rotting away, not me. 

And yet, foolishly I held on to the goodness she'd shown me existed. All because I was so naive as to believe that the woman who had shown me what real love was, would be waiting for me when I finally escaped. 

But, realizing that she truly thought I deserved to be in there, was enough to snuff out the little bit of light I had tried so desperately to hold onto. 

Because I didn't need to be good for anyone, anymore. 

"Oh, Eden," I mumbled to myself, resting my elbows on my knees as I leaned forward. 

She'd wanted so badly to believe that I was capable of killing, and so, I decided that I'd give her the ammunition for her theory. 

And one day soon, I'd finally show her the monster she had created in her wake. 

Because she wouldn't be able to run, this time. 

And so, with my plan in mind, I'd moved into the apartment building across from her the day after I'd completed my first contract. Unsurprisingly, rent in the inner city was far from cheap, having explained why she'd moved in with her roommate and longtime friend;  Olivia Beaufort.