I let up as Logan gasped for breath. “You’ve had some success.” He shook his head. “You’re still nothing. You’re Donovan Thomas, a wannabe. In what world do you think you can beat me? Having an office and wearing a suit doesn’t make you anything more than a cheap used-car salesman. If you leave with Lena, I’m nullifying the contract.”
Good.
“You won’t,” I said, “because it’s what she wants, and you’re too much of a conniving asshole to do anything for anyone else. I don’t give a fuck about the contract. As we’ve established, it’s with Nicholson, not you. From all my research, I’ve determined that Infidelity isn’t about sharing. They have their reputation to worry about too. Nicholson broke his part of the contract by subletting his agreement.”
Fuck, it sounded like Lena Montgomery was an apartment or a possession such as a car or a boat. She wasn’t. She was a person who wanted to survive the loss that Logan Butler was responsible for. She’d gone to him for help, professionally.
It became a relationship, one not defined by contracts. He’d offered to help her invest an insurance settlement. He did, but in the process, he stole what Lena and Madison had left of their parents.
She’d left his ass and gone to Infidelity, the one place she could possibly make back the money she’d lost. It was a ruse. Logan used Nicholson, helping him with the questionnaire, making him the perfect match for Lena. After the contracts were signed, Nicholson disappeared, handing Lena over to Logan.
“I’m ready,” Lena said, now dressed in blue jeans and a top with a jacket. Her hair was pulled back and covered by a Cubs baseball hat. Despite the darkness outside, she wore sunglasses. In her arms, she hugged an overfilled leather backpack. “Here.” She handed me a wet washcloth.
After wiping Logan’s blood from my hands, I tossed the cloth at him and pointed my finger. “Stay the fuck away from both of the Montgomerys.”
“Aw, but they owe me.” His teeth in his disgusting smile were red. “Madison is as sweet as sugar.”
I stepped closer; my cadence slowed. “Listen closely, you motherfucker. Things have changed. Madison’s my wife. If you get near her, I’ll kill you.”
Reaching for Lena, I placed my hand in the small of her back. As I did, I felt the object she had hidden. Her face snapped my direction, her closed lips begging me not to say a word. I didn’t as we exited the apartment.
“You felt it?” she said softly as we waited for the elevator.
I nodded. I’d felt the butt of the pistol tucked into the back of her jeans.
“I was going to use it,” she said, her voice growing stronger. “I had a plan. I was waiting until he fell asleep.” Tears streamed from behind the sunglasses. “I would have killed him.”
A rush of pride and admiration washed over me as we stepped into the elevator. “I believe you.”
“I’m not a victim, Van. He was about to be.”
I ran my palm over my face. The rush was over, leaving me exhausted. I exhaled. “You’re kick-ass. I’ll give you that. Why don’t you use those kick-ass powers to bring him down in a way that won’t end up with you behind bars?”
“Do you ever see it?” she asked.
“What?”
“The green. It was something I never realized existed when my parents were alive, but since Logan stole our money—our everything—I see the green everywhere.”
The elevator stopped in the parking garage as I led Lena toward my car. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
She reached for my hand, bringing us to a stop. “Look around.”
Indulging her, I did, seeing rows and rows of cars.
“It’s here,” she said. “It’s everywhere. It’s the deep and aching sense that I want what everyone else has. What people like Logan and his family have. What people who can afford an apartment in this building and still drive cars worth more money than I’ve ever had.”
I hadn’t thought about it in those terms. Logan Butler’s assessment of me came back—you’re nothing. His words fueled my need to succeed.
When we were both in my car, I said, “Green envy.”
Lena nodded.
“I’d never given it a color, but I get it. I see it more as an insatiable hunger. I can’t be satisfied until I have more…everything.”
She smiled, still wearing the silly sunglasses as I pulled out onto Lake Shore Drive. “One day.”
“Fucking yes. We’ll both make it.”
“I know we will. More…”
“Everything.”