echoed through the alley as he headed for the limo.
***
Sitting so still it was a wonder his lungs remembered to breathe, Lucian stared out the large window
behind his desk, the sleeping city a quiet storm without wind. Lavender shades of silver and blue
painted the world a still life that always entranced him with its peaceful qualities. He’d been sitting there since sometime after three, silently letting his mind wonder over the mundane and lulling his
body in a way the quiet of his room never could.
While his gaze watched the silhouetted landscape reflect the colors of dawn, his mind dwelled on
other forms of beauty. His mind should have been focused on business, but long, tapered legs and a
cinched little waist filled his mind until his imagination lent her weight to his empty palms. She was
back in his life. His Evelyn was finally back.
There was something incredibly tenuous about their reunion, something Lucian feared could shatter
at any moment. Always so strident and sure in his endeavors, he was man enough to admit, for the
first time in his life, he’d found something he coveted so much it terrified him. She was so much more
than a possession. It was what she gave him. A soft security that never took tangible form, yet he felt it everywhere in her presence. What they had he cherished beyond measure, and it was changing him
in ways he didn’t understand.
Never one to backpedal or hesitate, she somehow gave him second thoughts. Thoughts of not
rushing in, not jarring this delicate slice of peace she presented, thoughts of . . . compromising his
desires for someone else’s. He didn’t understand how she made him feel so different, but she did and
he was determined not to do anything hasty that could damage their love.
She loved him. That in itself was a gift beyond measure. He never—
His thoughts cut off at the soft vibration rattling over a sheaf of papers on his desk. He checked the
antique pocket watch resting on his ledger and frowned. It was just past four a.m.
His hand scooped up his phone and a smile curved his mouth when he read the screen. His thumb
slid across the screen and he brought the cell to his ear. “Did I conjure you with my thoughts?”
“Did I wake you?”
He settled back into his leather high-backed chair and turned to face the dawn once more, awaiting
the brilliant show of light that never failed to rejuvenate him each day. “You know me better than
that.”
“Are you at your desk?” Her voice was sleep-roughened silk tantalizing his ears.
“Yes. Just thinking. Couldn’t you sleep?”
She drew in a breath and let it out slowly. The soft sound of sheets rustling had him imagining her
warm and cozy in her little bed. He loved that she’d call him at odd hours of the night. It was the next best thing to having her there. “I had a bad dream.”
He glanced down at his legs as his brow drew tight. “You okay? You don’t usually have nightmares.
Want to talk about it?”
“We don’t have to. I just . . . wanted to hear your voice.”
“Want me to come over?”
She chuckled, her voice a raspy invitation he’d be more than happy to follow. “No. It’s still dark out
and I have work in a few hours.”
He growled. “You and your work.”
“Don’t start.”
“What was your dream about?”
The playfulness siphoned out of the space between. “Pearl. Me. It was more of a flashback but
everything was different. I was older, but still young.”
“What happened?”
Pearl was a burden he feared Evelyn would always feel responsible for. He couldn’t blame her.
Pearl was her mother. If having his mother back meant having her in the form of Pearl, he didn’t know
if he’d be able to turn down that sort of devil’s deal. In that respect, he understood Evelyn’s loyalty and need to save her any way she could.
“It was cold. It was so cold I woke up shivering. When I was little, my mom used to send me with
money to buy her hits while she worked off the pay with some man that used to come around. I got
lost.”
“Did this really happen?”
“Yeah. I was only about eight, but in my dream I was older. I was so cold and scared. It was dark
before I found my way back. There was a cop patrolling in a squad car and I almost asked him for
help. Something made me hesitate though, made me think twice about talking to him. In that moment
I knew he would help me, but if I asked for his assistance I also knew I would likely never see Pearl
again. He’d take me and put me in a home she’d never follow me to.”
Lucian grew uncomfortable in his own skin trying to imagine an eight-year-old Evelyn attempting
to rationalize her way through a situation like that. This was partially where her fear of law officers stemmed from. He could remind her she was now an adult, but didn’t see the point. Certain ingrained