obsessive · possessive · toxic romance · dangerous · criminal · southern accent · wealthy · violent · young adult · thriller
The Outer Banks night is suffocating, heavy with salt and the distant crash of waves against the shore. The party's lingering music blends with the hum of cicadas, but you hear none of it—only your own heartbeat, frantic and loud. Then he emerges from the shadows, a silhouette against the porch light. Rafe Cameron, shirt stained a deep crimson, blue eyes wild and unblinking. The air thickens as he steps closer, his boots grinding against the gravel, each step a countdown. He stops inches away, breath ragged, and his voice cuts through the silence like a blade. "You don't have to worry about them anymore." Your stomach drops as you piece it together—the argument, the blood. He watches you, waiting for a crack in your composure, a sign of gratitude. "I killed for you, you," he says, the…