I don't own Into the Dark.

If you're interested in reading the book, you can buy it /content/paperback-book/into-the-dark/5959399

She was so beautiful. Her pale skin might have been dirty and her soft hair a little messy, but there was no denying that angelic beauty. The lines of her face, from her small nose that was red from the icy cold of winter to her full lips, chapped from lack of water and the bitter wind that swept through the tiny apartment. Her body, delicately curving from her small breasts to her succulent hips to her slender stomach. She may have been starved, abused, tortured, drugged, but she was beautiful as the angels in heaven. Curled up in a ratty blanket and a coat that belonged to a homeless man he had killed, Jessica slept as soundly as she ever had during these long, tormented years.

Riley drew in a slow, shaky breath as he watched her sleep. Her lips parted just slightly as she breathed in the stale air. She hugged the coat to her slender frame tightly, her knuckles whitening as she clung to every ounce of warmth she could get. The Heartbreaker exhaled, making the smallest of sounds as he did. Jessica moved a little, a couple matted locks of her messy hair falling into her face. But other than that, his presence went unknown.

He glanced over his shoulder to make sure the door was still shut and his brother hadn't come to see what he was up to. Then he licked his lips and turned back to the sleeping girl. He watched and found himself moving closer to the bed before he could stop himself. His boots made a light, hollow sound on the floor, but he didn't care. He reached out with one hand still stained with dried blood. For a moment, he stood still, just staring at her slumbering form. She moved a little more and let out a cough. He gritted his teeth to kept from saying something, anything. Then he rested his hand on her cheek. His fingers brushed that soft, cold skin. He moved his fingers over her cheek for the first time in so long.

"Unh. . . .don't. . ." Jessica muttered out, rolling onto her back. She brushed his hand away though she didn't seem to be quite aware that it was the Heartbreaker she was talking to. He clenched his hand into a fist, anger starting to swell up inside him, though he had no idea why. Perhaps because he knew she was dreaming of someone else, probably that drugged up Julius. The very thought that she would be dreaming of his touch, his love, made the Heartbreaker want to hurt her. He glared at her as she tugged the coat tighter than ever before. She mouthed something, but he couldn't hear anything.

Several moments passed with him just watching her sleep. Each second felt like an eternity as he tried to decide whether to touch her smooth skin again or to just leave her in her delusional slumber. Riley wanted to touch her, to climb in bed with her and hold her close the way he always should have been able to. But at the same time, there was a deep seeded rage towards this delicate girl he cared for. She could never love him for what he was. She never would accept him. She would run to the arms of Julius or his brother, refusing to look at the man she had once loved. That made the Heartbreaker want to hurt her, to prove her right. He wanted to show her that he was just as sick and demented as she thought he was. But he couldn't. His body, his heart, refused to let him destroy what little they might still have between them.

When Jessica mumbled something under her breath and moved her hand to her forehead, the Heartbreaker felt his restraint give. He started to climb into the bed, easing one of his blood stained hands over her thigh. She stirred and her eyes flickered open a little. Riley leaned down over her as though to kiss her. Jess squinted through the darkness, trying to get her eyes to adjust to the darkness. He breathed his hot breath over her throat as he bent over her. He licked her neck, tasting her skin. He took in her scent as he moved up her throat. She jerked under him and her hands pushed at his chest.

"What. . . .Riley?" Jessica gasped out, her frantic eyes searching over his frame to find his face. She dug her nails into his shoulders as he gave her cheek the softest of licks. Her breaths grew shorter and shorter as the obvious panic started to fill her. He grinned a little, tightening his hand on her thigh. He stroked her cheek with his other hand, tilting her face towards him. "Get off! Get off!"

Jessica started to scream as soon as she saw those wicked eyes. Riley jerked back as she began to thrash around, punching him in the chest and arms as hard as she could. He grabbed one of her wrists, moving further back to keep from getting hit. She shrieked at the top of her lungs as tears started down that beautiful face of hers. He tried to grab her other arm but succeeded in only dragging his nails through the coat.

"Shut up! I ain't tryin' ta hurt ya!" he spat out, tilting his head back as she went to punch him again. She let out another scream and Riley heard footsteps coming down the hall the next moment. He jerked his head to the door, his eyes widening with a sort of panic. Then he rounded on the terrified girl in his grip, gritting his teeth in anger. She shook her head, trembling at the sight of him. "Shut up!"

"N-No! I don't want to die! Get OFF me!" Jessica shouted instead, swinging her leg into his hip. He let out a shout of pain, letting go of her. He swore under his breath as he got off her bed. She started coughing as she tried to get away. He rubbed his hip as she stumbled out of the bed, hugging the blanket to her shaking frame.

Both of them looked at the door as it was pushed open. Riley narrowed his eyes sharply as his brother took in the scene before him. Jessica, cowering in the corner crying and coughing, the sleeve of her jacket torn and the bed a mess. And the Heartbreaker, with blood staining his clothes and a few cuts and bruises on his face and arms. Hue narrowed his eyes fiercely as he went to help the injured girl. He touched her hair gently, those accusing eyes never once leaving his brother. Jessica pulled him close to her, crying into his chest about how she had been sleeping when Riley had attacked her. Tried to kill her.

The Heartbreaker stood still, watching them together. He met his brother's stare with an unemotional one of his own. He showed no guilt, no regret. He watched him hold his former lover as she tried to calm down. He heard her crying and saw the horror in her beautiful eyes. She clung to his brother for the protection he could never give her. And though hatred and misery swelled up inside him, he refused to show it.

"I didn't do shit," he hissed out the next second, fixing his jacket. When Hue gave him a wicked look, one that pierced into his soul and let him no that he didn't believe him for a moment. He muttered a string of swear words under his breath as he headed for the door. Riley once glanced back when he heard Jessica let out a whine when he grew closer.

Riley walked out of the bedroom, not bothering to shut the door behind him. He gritted his teeth from the cold, his boots making a hollow sound on the floor as he headed for the front door. He glanced at Hue's bedroom and saw Julius' drugged form laying on the bed, unmoving and unresponsive to everything taking place. He briefly considered stealing some of his drugs, but decided against it. They would never help.

But he knew what would.

The Heartbreaker unlocked the front door and headed out into the bitter cold. No one asked where he was going or when he would be back. No one made sure he was okay. It stung more than the cold, but he didn't let it show. He didn't even let himself acknowledge it. He just headed down the hall, thinking of a good place to go hunting.