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His words stung.
“Don’t care. If you step out of line, it’ll cost you.”
“Well, I won’t have to if my needs are attended to.”
I swallowed hard. “You might be used to women fallin’ at your feet, but I ain’t one of them.”
“Good. I like a challenge.”
“I-I don’t care if you like me.”
He turned to leave, a sly grin playing on his lips. “See you at home, Bumpkin.”
The door swung shut.
I stood there, trembling. He licked my face. I wiped my cheek and then my skirt, fuming. I couldn’t let him get to me.
Justice for Elise was the only thing that mattered. Achille was a means to an end, nothing more. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was already standing in the rain, waiting for thunder.
FOURTEEN
VIOLET
Someday, this will all be worth it.
That’s what I told myself when three of Achille’s men arrived the following morning. They stomped like a herd of cattle at the county fair, boxing up our lives as Jack and I hid in my sister’s room. I played a few chords on Lucille, but couldn’t lose myself in the music. The rock on my finger kept reminding me of the pact I’d made with the devil.
He was so strange.
One minute, I meant nothing to him, the next he bent over backward to accommodate me. Before the movers got here, a lavish breakfast from my fiancé appeared on my doorstep. Pancakes, eggs, sausage, coffee, the works. Jack was ecstatic. Me too, because I didn’t have to cook. Was this him being kind, or laying the groundwork for staking his claim?
A knock jolted me to reality.
The door creaked, revealing one of the men. “Miss, we need to pack this room, too.”
“Right. Give me a moment, please.”
He nodded and disappeared. I closed the door, leaning against it. I glanced at my sister’s clothes hanging in the closet, her perfume bottles on the dresser. Erasing the last physical traces of my sister would crush me.
I flicked open my phone, clicking on the album titled Elise. Her face grinned at me from hundreds of photos. After her death, I went through my camera roll, messages, and emails from years ago. Every single image, no matter how blurry, filled this album. Besides her son, they were all I had left of her. I scrolled, stopping at a picture of her smiling broadly, her eyes sparkling with mischief. My finger lingered on the screen, tracing her features as if I could reach through time and feel her warmth again.
My phone buzzed. Achille’s name flashed on the screen. I felt cornered. The ring on my finger was a shackle I’d chosen, not just for Jack’s sake, but because somewhere beneath my fear for Achille Costa, a flame of hope flickered. Maybe this would give Jack a better life than the one I’d planned for him.
I answered. “Hey.”
“Where are you?” Achille growled.
I clicked my tongue. “Missing me already?”
“Just making sure you’re not running off with my kid.”
I scoffed. “Tempting, but I’m still here. Surrounded by your goons.”
“Good. Remember, you’re moving into my house, not out of it.”
“Gee, thanks. I almost forgot with all these boxes and you blowin’ up my phone.”
“Keep up the sass, and we’ll see how long before you’re begging for a quiet life.”
