“Why? Did you kill them?” I joke. His lips fall to a flat line, and he blinks a couple of times. “Fuck, you did.”
“No one said I was perfect.” He smiles. “Near-perfect though, I must admit.” He looks down to his cock. “That is for sure perfect.” Then his dark, wood-colored eyes find mine. “You are perfect.”
“How did I get mixed up with all this? It’s all so…” I pause. “Dark.”
“You aren’t a white light, make no mistake, mia per sempre. Our souls are black… mine is rotten, yours is tarnished. But together, we work.”
I scoff at him. “Clearly, we don’t.” I put more of my things into my bag. “You think because we fuck great that we work?” I ask. “I used to fuck other people for work, did I not? Does that mean I should work well with them and give them a chance?” I pull my bag to my shoulder and wait for an answer.
“No, of course not. I would kill them.” He smiles again, this time showing his teeth, and his eyes glisten with mischief.
“I want to go home. You either take me, or I’ll find my own way.”
Lucas stands and walks into his closet to get dressed while I step out and wait at the door of his car for him.
He doesn’t speak to me but opens my door then drives me to my apartment. When we pull up, he hands me my keys.
“Thank you for helping me,” I say as I get out.
He nods, and as soon as I shut the door, he drives off.
When I get inside, I find a cell phone on the table. Turning it on, I flick through and call Merci. Thankfully, she answers.
“You got your phone. I left it there the other day,” she tells me.
“Thanks. I didn’t even think about it while I was at his house.”
“Doesn’t surprise me. You aren’t real big on phones anyway.” She chuckles. “I heard from your brother today. He said it’s hard, but he’s doing okay. How are you?”
“You knew me well, right? I mean, I’m starting to remember some things, and I think I remember you. Things like glimpses of us in dresses, walking into a pink apartment…”
“That was mine, across the hall from where you lived,” she tells me. “Yes, I knew you well,” she finally says. “Why?”
“Did I love Lucas? And if I did, why did I leave him?”
“I’m not sure you’re ready for this conversation. It wasn’t a good time in either of our lives. Actually, it was our worst moments, and we had a few of them growing up.”
“I want to know. I can see myself falling for him. Even knowing how bad he is. Why is that?” I ask, sitting on my bed, then lying back on the comfortable surface. “Who loves a man so calculated, cold, and hard? Dammit! He kills people?”
“You would be with him even if he didn’t do what he does. Of that, I have no doubt.”
“What did he do?”
“Did he tell you about his father?” she asks.
“Yes, that he was one of my clients.”
“Good, I’m glad he didn’t lie to you. Well, Lucas hired your brother to get to you. His father wanted you and made Lucas do his dirty work. I don’t think Lucas minded, but then he let his father take you, and well, then me. His father is a sick son of a bitch. He was obsessed with you. Did things he shouldn’t have—”
“But I killed him?” I ask.
“Yes. Right in front of Lucas too,” she replies softly.
“Good, he deserved it,” I say, based on what she’s just told me. I’m glad I did.
“Chanel.”
“Hmm,” I say.