The alarm wasn’t supposed to go off yet. It was way too early. Normally my alarm wouldn’t ring before 07:00 in the morning but right now there wasn’t even a hint of sunrise outside. I groaned, flung my blanket back and turned over to put it on snooze until I realized that it wasn’t ringing at all. I must’ve dreamed it and I hated myself even more for it. I whined and hid my face in my pillow but before I could try to go back to sleep, I felt chills running down my back. It was freezing in my bedroom and I took a look at my surroundings. My window was open, and the cold air brought wild movement in my curtains. I shivered and wondered why I left it open last night, but I remembered that I checked if it was closed it. I was a hundred percent sure about it. My brows furrowed and I wanted to get up to close the window when I heard it. The cracking of a wooden plank. That was a step, the sound of a person walking through my apartment. My blood froze and it hit me. I was living alone. Somebody was here in my home.


The adrenaline pulled me out of my condition and my instinct took over. I was a federal agent after all. I flung the covers back and took a look through my bedroom. It was empty and the door was slightly open. Exhibit C, I would never leave my bedroom door open. A habit that came with the job. If somebody ever broke into my apartment, I would need the extra seconds to grab my gun and to prepare myself for a fight. I opened my drawer where I kept my gun and grabbed it. And I froze again. It was too light. Way too light. Carefully I checked the magazine, and I was right. Not one bullet in there. But I still took a stand and moved towards the door to follow the sound. An empty gun looked better than nothing and I had a chance to take down whoever it was. While I was sneaking through the hall, I heard the sound of running water coming from the closed bathroom right behind me. And then a step.

Just as I wanted to turn around somebody grabbed me. One hand covered my mouth while the other knocked the gun out of my hands. I rammed my elbow into the torso pressing onto my back, hearing a grunt I did it again and again, but the person jumped to the side, a hand still muffling my screams and making it hard to breathe. The next hand grabbed one of my arms, twisted it painfully behind my back and shoved me into the wall. I groaned in pain and whined in frustration, finding myself in a hopeless situation. I tried to fight the person, pushed myself of the wall with my other hand before a knee was shoved into my back, using my pained state of surprise to twist both arms behind my back and slamming me face forward into the wall. Blood dripped from my nose down to the ground while the pain shot upwards between my eyes. I wheezed and tried to shake the hand off of my face which still made it hard to breathe. That was until I heard her.


“Stop fighting me pretty girl or this is going to hurt you more than me.” Her breath tickled my neck and a shiver ran down my back, this time for very different reasons. The thrill it gave me, the pulsing of adrenaline and danger running through my blood. I felt hot. Her hands on my body, breath in my neck and her leg still pressing against my back. Even though I calmed down, my heart nearly beat out of my chest and the blood rushed through my veins. I knew I had to wait, to stay calm and wait for her directions. My body automatically went limp against her and I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, leaning into her touch even though there was a distant thrumming of pain between my eyes. She let go of my hands and I wanted to shake them out but I knew better than that, learned it the last time. Goosebumps erupted on my whole body at her low chuckling and praising. “Good girl, now stay quiet for me, will you?” I nodded carefully and her hand fell away from my face and I greedily took a proper breath. The pressure from her leg disappeared from my back and I found myself immediately missing it. That was until her hands grabbed my shoulders and she turned me around. Her slim face was framed by long blonde hair and azure blue eyes studied me. “Look what you made me do. Had to make a mess over that pretty face of yours, gotta clean you up,” she paused and stroke my cheek, “Get into the bathroom, I’ll help you.” I knew it was wrong, so wrong. I never thought I’d fall for a killer, never thought that there was a possibility given my Job. I caught killers and serial killers for a living but she…


She caught me. Our team had been made aware of a handful of cases spanning across the east Coast. Contacts at Interpol revealed similar cold cases in Italy and Great Britain and we all scratched our heads as to why an unknown subject would change their hunting ground drastically, wondering if it even was the same person, but the torture they found those men had endured was unique. For weeks we traveled from state to state, seeking out the figure some witnesses as having cold eyes and a sharp grin of pride. The realization that our unknown subject was a woman made us frown due to the brutal crime scenes.


A delicate hand gripped my cheek and pulled my attention back to the here and now.

“Where’s your head gorgeous? I think I gave you an order,” she asked, her voice sharper than every blade to ever exist and caused a shiver down my spine. She noticed, of course she did and her sharp smile appeared, making me feel hot all over. “Answer me,” she pressured and I had to swallow hard before I opened my mouth. “I thought about the first time the team and I came close to you, when we found out your name and realized that you are indeed a female killer.” Her eyes held a dangerous sparkle as hummed and I leaned into her touch. “That was the first time I saw that beautiful face of yours and I knew you’d be mine. Now go clean it for me before I get uncomfortable,” she ordered again. I smiled at her before I entered the bathroom and stood down again, seeing the bathtub full of water and bubbles and smelling the hint of lavender in the air. I remembered the original task and walked over to the sink and waited for warm water to clean my bloody face and nose. It hurt and stung but having her here soothed it instantly.


My light brown hair was pulled back and twisted into a bun as I leaned over the sink. Her hand played with the hem of my sleep shirt before she took it off of me as I got again into an upright position. She dried my face and cleaned the last bit of blood from my face. She stood behind me and pressed my hips against the sink. It was uncomfortable but not painful, yet I knew that we were heading in this direction. Her hand came up to my throat, my eyes still closed. “Open your eyes sweetheart, look at how pretty you are.” I did as I was told. I was met with my topless reflection. One of her hands low on my stomach and moving playfully over the band of my sleeping shorts. My eyes moved upwards over my toned and scared stomach, firm breasts and stopped shortly at her other hand around my neck and found my own face. Amber eyes staring back at me and my mouth slightly agape trying to take deep breaths but the pressure around my throat made it a little difficult. My focus switched back to her as she studied me. “You scared me Lilah.” Sharp eyes traced my jawline up, all over my face until she met my eyes. I flinched. It was like a lightning striking through me. Her cold eyes made me feel hot all over, hands that tortured and killed lulled me into into safety and comfort. She made my heart race but not because of fear or because I knew she’d kill me, which I knew she would do in a heartbeat but something about me, something she felt about me prevented her from doing so. I closed my eyes as the loss of oxygen made me feel dizzy. As I leaned more and more into her and started to feel lightheaded her hand fell away and I sucked in a deep breath. She let out a dark chuckle and her fingers traced my scarred torso. “So beautiful, so precious. If I didn’t know that those people were dead, I would kill them. One after the other,” she whispered into my ear and bit my lobe. My head fell back against her shoulders and I closed my eyes. “Why,” I breathed out and turned my head towards her, studying her high cheekbones. “Because only I get to touch you, only I get to hurt you and only I get to mark you. You are mine,” she growled into my ear and pressed me again into the sink, making me hiss in pain. “But why,” I asked again because she didn’t answer my question, and her sharp grin sent shivers through my body. “Clever girl,” her soft praise stood in a sharp contrast to the bruises I could already feel forming on my pelvis, “Take off your pants and get in the tub.” She stepped back and I immediately missed her body pressing on mine. I turned my head towards her, still hoping for an answer, knowing that I won’t get one. At least not right now. And so I did as she said.


Hungry eyes were watching me as got into the tub and a sigh escaped my mouth as the relaxing effect of the warm water rushed through my body. “Feeling good Lia?” I nodded and hummed affirmatively as I leaned back and closed my eyes, quietly thanking her. “For what baby?” She stroked my cheek and I asked myself again how this woman could ever kill somebody. I was at the crime scenes, knew that she was known as Nemesis, the goddess of revenge, saw the victims and still, in this light she looked heavenly. “For taking care of me. For keeping an eye on me.” She simply smiled at me and again I was sure I’ve never seen anything more beautiful than her.

My thoughts again drifted to the moment we first met.

In many passports with different surnames but the same first name kept reappearing: Delilah. In Georgia we had come close to her. I was getting coffee for the team and while I waited for my order to be ready to pick up, a woman with blonde hair and striking blue eyes walked into the shop. It was a coincidence. Our looks crossed as I walked into her direction, knowing I should’ve waited for backup but there was no time. She noticed my badge, threw me a Cheshire Cat like grin and moved slowly backwards. Carefully moving out of the shop, still slowly, still grinning she yelled “I’m unarmed agent, but that’s the only way to stop me!” And she took off but I was hot on her heels, calling for backup and tackling her face first down. And then the roles were reversed. She turned around below me and faced me and that was the first time I was struck by the lightning of her blue eyes. “Normally you are way too gorgeous to do this, but I’m not going to prison,” she whispered like she was telling me a secret. Before I could’ve reacted her knee connected with my stomach and her fist met my temple, putting me to the ground I felt her shoving something inside my pants. “We’ll see each other again beautiful.” And then she was gone and I followed the darkness into unconsciousness. Later I found a piece of paper in my pants, that was when I knew that she calculated the crossing of our paths.


A soft moan escaped my lips as she massaged my scalp and I pressed myself against her magical hands, knowing what else those fingers could do to me. “I kept it, you know?” She pulled my hair out of my neck, keeping up with her massage. “Kept what,” she asked curiously while manipulating my head in the right position. “Your note. I kept it. It’s in my drawer,” I answered honestly, and she paused her massage, one of her hands wrapping possessively around my throat while the other slid down, gripping my breast and starting her massage and making me moan again. “You asked me why I’m doing all of this,” I hummed and sighed as she softly bit into my shoulder, “I’d let the world burn for you, my love. You’re keeping me safe, not telling anyone about your secret girlfriend and I’m keeping you safe, not letting anyone touch you. I do it because you are my most precious possession.” She bit my shoulder again, this time hard enough to draw a little bit of blood, marking me as hers and drawing a loud moan out of me.


I knew loving a killer was wrong.


But I also knew that I couldn’t let go of her. And as she said all those months ago:

 

It doesn’t matter who touches you, remember that.

I will kill them, and you will know its because of you.

The devil will always protect his angel,

and he’ll love it as much as he loves hell.