Page 100 of Pink Ink

And over.

And over.

The world sways as I try to make out the scene in front of me, my vision going in and out of focus. Fresh blood splatters along the wall with every attack my professor delivers. The man tries to fight him off, but Maddox is behind him, holding him in a headlock.

The pressure in my skull is making it hard to stay put. Hot liquid trickles from the throbbing wound on my cheek, but I don’t dare touch it. I’m too busy watching the man claw at a serial killer’s arm for mercy. They have to be around the same age. Similar build.

My aim on the stun gun shifts from him to Maddox, then back to the man whose eyelids are drooping closed.

This is my one and only chance to leave while Maddox is distracted. I need to run. Get the hell out of here and move as far as I can. Start over. Forget about my father. Live the rest of my life regretting everything I’ve done since moving here.

This entirethingbetween Maddox and me could be some sick ploy. A game to pass the time before I become his next victim.

I should be disgusted with him, mortified by his work, frightened to my very core that I could be his next target. Yet all I feel is enraptured.

I should pull the trigger. Turn him in. Scream for help.

I should. I should. I should. I should do a lot of things, but I stay where I am and watch Maddox knock a man unconscious at a murder scene he made for me.

My harsh breaths come out shuddered as I hope and pray to whatever god listening that they’d give me the wisdom to make the right decision. Because the longer I stand here, the more my curiosity blooms alongside the panic.

A bead of cold sweat runs down my spine as I slowly lower the stun gun. Watching Maddox move is hypnotic. How his eyes glint with unrestrained madness, and how the cords in his neck feather with each attack. Sometimes he pairs it with a little grunt that’s just like the sounds he makes when he thrusts into me.

My attacker’s reddened skin morphs into blue with each strike. Every time someone called me messed up in the head makes sense now because I can’t help but feel a sick sense of justice that he’s suffering the same fate he attempted to deliver to me a minute ago.

Maddox doesn’t step back until my attacker stops twitching and his face is unrecognizable. Watching crimson bleed out of him is cathartic, but I’d die before admitting it out loud. As soon as Maddox’s eyes meet mine, a psychotic grin twists across his lips that spikes my anxiety. I raise the stun gun higher and grip it tighter to hide the tremble in my hand.

Fuck, he might actually kill me.

He tips his head to the side in mock amusement. “A gun? Are you flirting with me?”

“No.” I gulp.

“Well, it’s working either way.”

He can’t seriously be trying to engage in banterright now. A man is bleeding out between us, and he’s acting like this is a normal occurrence.

I sink back against the wall when he steps forward. I should have run when I could.

His eyes narrow on my cheek. “I’m going to ask you this once, and only once. Did he leave that mark on you?”

What is he talking about? I frown, following his line of sight, and a flicker of the ache returns with the reminder of the damage my attacker caused. My broken skin is the very least of my problems. For example, oh, I don’t know, how about the fact thatI’m standing in front of a fucking serial killer who just…

My attention flickers between him and the body on the ground. He just… Maddox just…

His jaw ticks. “Reyna.”

I unintentionally flinch. It makes him angrier. My mouth opens and shuts, unable to form the words.

“Reyna,”he repeats, making a show of relaxing his shoulders. “Was it him or someone else?”

I warily nod, bracing for the backlash.

Without a word, Maddox reaches for his back pocket and pulls out a knife that he offers to me. My lips part as my gaze darts between the blade and the unconscious man bleeding out on the murder scene. He can’t seriously be—

“I don’t kill people.” I’m flustered, and the room sways when I shake my head. Is he crazy? Is he trying to make me complicit as an insurance policy?

He shrugs. “It’s a good thing that I do, then.” Maddox slaps the man’s cheek until he wakes up with a throaty groan. “No one leaves a mark on her but me.”