Committed

Alissia POV

Her smile fades, eyes narrowing as she studies me. “Yeah, sure you are.” She laughs again, but there’s a hint of unease in her tone. “Wait... I thought this was all a fucking joke! No, Alissia, no. And no. You can’t go meet these weird people you don’t know!”

“I’ll be protected,” I say, trying to sound confident, although deep down, I have no idea how I’m going to protect myself.

“How?” she snaps. “By telling them you’re giving them a pseudonym in your book? Sure, they won’t kill you then, will they?” She waves her arms around, exasperated. “Oh my God, I’m going to have to tell the police I gave you the idea when they find your mutilated body in the desert!”

I roll my eyes. “You’re being dramatic. I’ll figure it out, Jen. For instance, I won’t use my real name—I’ll use the name that I publish under.”

Jenni’s eyes widen. “This is crazy! Do you even know how to find these people? What are you going to do? Post on F******k, ‘Recruiting a stalker, murderer, and Mafia Don for research. Apply within?’ That’s not going to work.”

She has a point. I haven’t thought this through. But I know someone who could help. I smile widely at her. “Jake could help,” I whisper, and her mouth drops open.

“Oh, come on, he’s into hacking and everything. I’m guessing he knows his way around the dark web,” I wink, and she gasps.

“You are not pulling my boyfriend into this!”

“What if he’s named in the book as the best hacker ever?” I say with a playful nudge.

“Fuck, he’ll love you more than me then,” she groans, rubbing her face like she’s regretting every second of this conversation.

“Fine,” she finally mutters. “Let me give him a call and ask him to come around. This is crazy, and I hope to God he refuses. Otherwise, he’s just as dumb as you are.” She grabs her phone, shaking her head.

As she dials, my heart races with anticipation. This is the best idea in the world, and deep down, I know she can’t deny it.

After Jenni’s call, we sit in the living room, the tension between excitement and absurdity hanging in the air. She sighs heavily, taking a long sip from her glass of wine.

“All right,” I say, setting the glass down and giving her a serious look. “I’m sure Jake’s going to ask all these questions, so we might as well get them asked when he gets here.”

She pours herself another drink, eyes narrowing slightly as if she’s trying to convince herself this is all a bad dream. “I’m getting drunk and hoping I wake up to find out this was all some bizarre nightmare,” she laughs, but there’s a thread of real concern in her tone.

“You’ve got to think about this,” she continues. “What sort of people are you actually going to research? I mean, you’re really going to meet them, aren’t you? Because let’s face it, they’re not going to send their deep dark secrets in a message like ‘hey, here’s how I kill my victims.’”

I bite my lip. She’s right. I’ll have to meet them in person. But who exactly?

What kind of characters does dark romance revolve around? “Mafia bosses, serial killers, stalkers... What else is there?”

Jenni pauses, considering. “Well, rapists, human traffickers, underground ring leaders, torturers, or interrogators—whatever they’re called.”

“Yeah, I’m not doing rapists or human traffickers. That’s... too much,” I reply, shaking my head.

“But serial killers are totally fine?” she laughs in disbelief. “There’s also assassins, kidnappers for hire, war criminals, bent cops—”

I hold up a hand, cutting her off. “Whoa, okay. Let me get a pen and paper. We need to categorize these.” I grab a notebook and a pen, then sit back down, ready to make this madness tangible. “Okay, so there’s stalkers.”

Jenni rolls her eyes and grabs the pen from me. “No, no, no. There are types of stalkers.” She scribbles something down before handing it back to me.

I look down at the list:

Stalker:

Private Investigator

Hacker or Cyberstalker

Obsessed Ex-Lover

Security Expert

Detective (who becomes obsessed with their subject… which will be you, Alissia!)

Stranger stalker

I laugh at her note about the detective, but I’m impressed. “Okay, but is a private investigator or detective really dark enough?”

She shrugs. “Depends. What are they following? How much of their life is hidden in the shadows?”

“Fair point. I’m keeping Stranger stalker and Obsessed ex-lover for sure. The rest? I’m not sure yet.” I scratch them down on the list, then move to the next category. “Murderers—that’s easy.”

Jenni snatches the pen again. “No, again, types of murderers.” She writes quickly before handing me the notebook.

Murderer:

Contract Killer/Hitman

Mafia Enforcer

Vigilante

Serial Killer

Black Market Dealer (who uses violence to protect their operation)

I stare at the list. “I’ll keep all of them. But... do you think a Mafia Enforcer would really give me their secrets without asking the Don first?”

Jenni laughs. “Probably not, but you never know.”

“Okay, so for Mafia, is that all there is? Mafia boss, maybe?” I ask, glancing at her.

Jenni snorts. “Please. You’d be lost without me and my criminology degree,” she says with a chuckle, before scribbling another list.

Mafia/Crime Lord:

Mafia Boss

Drug Lord

Smuggler

Cartel Leader

Money Launderer

I laugh. “Yeah, definitely keeping the first four, but money launderer sounds too... boring for a dark romance. Where’s the thrill?”

Jenni nods in agreement and starts on another list. I watch as she meticulously writes out the next category.

Obsessive Lover:

Bodyguard

Psychiatrist or Therapist

Business Tycoon with control issues

Ex-Military or Mercenary

Cop/Detective with a fixation on their love interest

I sigh, shaking my head. “I like the obsessive lover trope, but this list feels too... safe. There’s no real darkness. I want something darker than just an obsession.”

Jenni nods and moves on, her pen flying across the page.

Anti-Hero Criminals:

Arms Dealer

Underground Fighter

Thief or Master Con Artist

Gang Leader

Corrupt Politician

I burst out laughing at “Corrupt Politician” and cross it out. “No way. Too realistic, and not in a fun way.”

Jenni shoots me a look before adding the final categories.

Dangerous Protector:

Ex-CIA/Spy

War Criminal

Corrupt Lawyer

Kidnapper-for-Hire

Dirty Cop

I groan, rolling my eyes. “A dirty cop just makes me think of parking ticket bribes.”

Jenni sighs, shaking her head, but pushes on. “Okay, here’s the last list.”

Others:

Torturer/Interrogator

Cult Leader

Prison Guard (with a dark agenda)

Human Trafficker

Sex Club Owner or Underground Ring Leader

I look at all the lists and scratch off a few more, eventually narrowing it down to:

Torturer/Interrogator

Kidnapper-for-Hire

Underground Fighter

Mafia Boss

Cartel Leader

Serial Killer

Black Market Dealer

Stranger Stalker

“This is it,” I say, holding up the paper. “I’ve got eight. That’s as low as I can go.”

Jenni takes the paper, nodding. “Good mix,” she laughs, but before she can say more, there’s a knock at the door.

Jake steps in, glancing between us then at the paper like we’ve lost our minds. And maybe we have. But I’m willing to bet that’s exactly what’s going to make this work.