I release his back and move my hands up to his hair. I curl my fingers in and tug his head back, exposing his throat. I lean forward, closing my mouth over his neck. I begin sucking and biting, relishing in his sounds of tortured pleasure. He grips my hip, driving his thrusts, his fingers burning into my skin.

“God damn it, come,” he barks.

“Fuck you.”

“You. Fuckin’. Are.”

He comes before me, roaring his release, jerking his hips like a mad man. It’s enough to send me over the edge to mine. I close my eyes and pant his name as my body convulses around him, until we’re coming together. Our release lasts a good long while, and our bodies slowly grind together until we’re satisfied.

Then Marcus lets me go and steps back. He jerks his jeans up and it’s then I see he’s still angry. His jaw is so tight I can see the muscles bunching beneath his cheek. When he’s done himself up, he looks over at me, still panting against the wall.

“You call them off me, or I’ll be forced to take my own action.”

His words pound into me, and I blink at the beautiful man in front of me.

“I . . .”

“I hope you’re truly proud of everything you’ve become, Katia. I might be a monster, but you’ve outdone me. You can’t judge me when you’re equally as evil. Your mother would be turning in her grave if she could see you right now.”

My knees wobble and something hard pounds into my chest.

“Stop it,” I whisper.

“She’d be ashamed to call you her daughter.”

“Stop it!”

He steps forward. “Just like I’m ashamed I ever called you my wife.”

My knees crumble and I cry out in agony.

“I’ve lived with my mistake; I’ve lived with it every fuckin’ day. You, you’re only just beginning.”

“Please,” I scream, clutching my head as the walls I’ve been holding up so long burst and come crashing down around me.

“You want a divorce? You fuckin’ got it. Just stay the hell out of my life. We’re done. The papers will be delivered tomorrow.”

With that, he turns and disappears into the darkness.

I scream so loudly the agonized sounds get caught in my chest and my throat closes over. I crash forward, my hands slapping against the bitumen. What the hell have I become? God. What sort of monster am I? He’s right. I’m no better than him. My mother would be so disappointed in me.

Mom.

I’m so sorry.

~*~*~*~

MARCUS

I slam my fist into the car over and over until my knuckles bust and bleed. An agonized roar escapes my throat to drown out her screaming. Once again I left her devastated and broken. Only this time she returned the favor. She took my soul, the same way I’d taken hers, and she crushed it.

Now we were as pathetic as each other.

God help us both.

~*~*~*~

KATIA

“Ford?” I rasp down the phone.

“Jesus, Katia, where are you?”

“I . . . I’m in town. At the Radcliff Bar. I need a lift. Please.”

“I’ll be there in ten. Sit tight.”

I close my eyes, dropping the phone to the floor. My hips are sore, my sex swollen, and there are so many pieces of Marcus surrounding me. I’m defeated. I’ve ruined myself. I’ve ruined him. Together we’ve destroyed each other. Shame and guilt swarm my body as my actions become clearer to me.

I was going to have him killed.

What kind of heartless, cold, cruel person does such a thing? What Marcus did to me doesn’t even compare to what I had planned for him. When did I ever think something like that would work? When did I think I could get away with destroying a life? Worse, when did I think about my daughter in all of this?

Tears rack my body and by the time Ford reaches me, I’m hyperventilating. “Shit,” he mutters, leaning down and scooping me up. He quickly walks me to the car and puts me in. I slump forward, crying so hard I can’t see. How could I be so careless? How could I be so cold? I forgot about my daughter; for a second there, I forgot about her.

“Hey,” Ford says. “Shit, Katia, look at me.”

“I’m a monster,” I wail. “I’m a heartless monster.”

“No, you’re not.”

I jerk my head up, glaring at him. “I am,” I scream hysterically.

“Katia, calm down.”

“I was going to kill him.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t.”

“That doesn’t make it better.”

He sighs, closing his eyes for calm. Then he reaches over, taking my shoulders. “Listen to me,” he begins, but I cut him off.

“I was going to have him killed,” I scream. “I was going to destroy his life and I didn’t care. I didn’t stop and think about myself, or my daughter. I forgot her, Ford. I forgot Penny for a brief time in my life, determined only to seek revenge. I became him.”

“You did, but you want to know the difference between you and him?”

I lift my tear-soaked eyes to his, my body trembling so hard my teeth are chattering.

“He wouldn’t pull back,” he continues. “You’re doing just that. You’re realizing what you’ve done, and you’re going to fix it. That’s the difference between a monster and a person who is simply broken.”

“My daughter deserves better.”

He lifts my chin. “Perhaps, but that’s not your choice to make. It’s hers and right now, you’re the only thing in her world that matters. Pick yourself up, end this deal you’ve made with whoever you’ve made it with, and put your life together.”