Page 31 of Scar

Leon's POV

Things have been different since I killed those men. Maeve smiles more, she initiates affection, she comes out of the room throughout the day, and she even talks to me more. It's nice.

She blew my fucking mind when she told me she loved me, I wasn't even sure how to react to that. Well, aside from carrying my girl upstairs and devouring every inch of her while those men screamed in agony in our soundproof room.

I made her cum on my face so many times that I'm convinced I was waterlogged the next day. Let's just say, pussy is great for the complexion. I'd never gotten so many compliments about my skin in my life, which was weird but nice. I kind of liked knowing all these women were trying to flirt with me while basically reminding me how I had spent my evening the day before.

Today, I'm in a great mood. I'm going to visit Abby in the care facility. I'm going to tell her that her pregnancy test came back negative, and that all four of her assailants were in a car accident that unfortunately resulted in their deaths.

Usually I make sure the bodies are never found, they simply go missing and nobody actually gives a shit what happened to them. But Abby needed this to get closure. Plus with how much money those idiots had, their parents would have searched for them. I'm not worried about my skills, but I don't want Maeve to have a reason to worry.

So, I staged them in one of the idiot's cars. I don't even remember which. I picked the one who had the worst tires and brakes and crashed the car into a telephone pole, making damn sure it caught fire. I threw more liquor bottles than I could count in the car to burn with them, just so the cops would assume what caused the wreck and not dig too much into it.

I was prepared to have to bribe the coroner to take blood samples from someone else, someone I'd even offer to bring in. I knew if he took the blood of the men, he'd see that they had already been embalmed and it would open a full investigation that I'm not in the mood to waste money dealing with. But luck must be on my side. I strolled into the coroners office early this morning to handle this situation when he informed me that the boys had already been cremated and the investigation was closed by a family member. I assume the dad of the kid I put in the driver's seat simply refused to deal with a lawsuit from the other families. Smart. He just has no idea that he covered up his childs murder and saved his murderer quite the headache.

Now for the fun part of my job, the part where I get to have Abby released and hopefully see some sort of a smile on her face. I stroll into the treatment facility directly after the coroner's office, the receptionist flashes a bright smile at me as soon as I walk through the door. "Good morning, Dr. Aldon. What can I do for you today?" She asks sweetly. I give her a charming smile, showing her my credentials even though she doesn't ask, she's supposed to. "Morning, I'm here for Abigail Marino." I say.

I can tell this receptionist is trying her best to flirt with me, but I'm choosing to ignore her until she says or does anything that indicates she thinks she has a chance. That I won't let slide, nobody gets to think they have a chance with me but Maeve. "Right this way, Leon. And might I say, you look handsome today. Did you get a haircut?" She asks. She puts her hand on my forearm as we walk together down the hall. Yep, don't like that.

Before Maeve, I would have allowed this behavior, might have even had a one night stand with her. Now her neediness is just embarrassing. "I did, my wife said it was getting a little too long. And it's Dr. Aldon." I say flatly. I grin at the way her face drops when I say wife. I have to suppress a laugh when she rolls her eyes at me correcting my title, too. I didn't go through twelve years of college to let someone in a professional setting call me Leon.

I wish I could have taken Maeve with me to see the look on Abby's face when I told her about her attackers. They wouldn't have let her through the security checkpoints, but she would have loved the way Abby looked so relieved to hear about their deaths. She would have had to hide a laugh that Abby felt guilty for being happy that they died. I know she would have given Abby the warmest hug she's probably ever felt and told her some bullshit about karma and the universe looking out for her. I bet Abby would have eaten that shit up, actually I think I might tell her that.

"I'm so sorry, Dr. Aldon. You must think I'm psychotic for being happy, but I don't have to be scared anymore." She says timidly. This poor woman, I shake my head at her, plastering on a warm smile.

"You know, if my wife was here. She would tell you that the universe delivered you the karma you deserved. It's okay to be happy about that, it does not make you a bad person to feel safe without those men walking free." I explain to her kindly.

Abby smiles, a warm smile, one that I'd never seen on her before. I bet those were frequent before her attack. I plan to help her smile more and to move past this as long as she stays under my care. "Your wife seems wonderful." She says sweetly. I can't deny that. Maeve is wonderful. "She is, she's a few years behind you. But she goes to the same college as you." I brag happily.

I haven't told Maeve yet, but I am going to pay for her to finish her degree. I don't like that shehadto get scholarships and student loans to pay so far, so I'll also be paying those loans back. "Really? What's her major? Who is she? I might know her." Abby says sweetly.

Any chance I have to brag about my girl, I'll take. "She's in botany, specializing in conservation. Maeve Henderson, we haven't gotten her name changed yet. We're waiting so her diploma can have her maiden name." Ilie. Well, it isn't a total lie. Her diploma will have her maiden name, and I do plan to marry her. "I don't think I know her..." Abby mentions. I didn't figure she would. The two had vastly different social lives. "She doesn't go out much, she prefers to stay home when she's not in class." I simplify. It isn't a lie, even before I locked her in our home, she was never one to go out much.

I speak with Abby for a while longer, far longer than a normal billing session. But I don't mind eating the cost on that, I already charge far more than anyone else in Houston. The perks of being considered the best psychiatrist in the state is that my price doesn't matter. I give breaks to those with low insurance if they come to me, but most people don't bother to schedule a consultation if they don't have the insurance to cover it.

By the end of our appointment, I'm confident that Abby is not a threat to herself. She will need very close care, possibly for years to come. But since I don't believe she is in danger of hurting herself, I will not allow her to stay in the facility unless it is her decision.

I offer her the choice of staying and continuing her care, promising to be waiting for her when she feels comfortable to leave, or to go home and we will have twice a week sessions to begin with. My goal for her is to eventually drop down to monthly sessions, or even less depending on how she is dealing with her trauma.

Abby ultimately decides she wants to go home, I can't say I blame her. I wouldn't want to stay in the treatment facility either. They're cold, the food is terrible, group sessions are not as helpful as they want to claim, the outfits are uncomfortable, and frankly the care is subpar.

Some facilities would rather medicate you than handle your issues, but they are the best place to go if you are in need of full time supervision. Thankfully, Abby does not need that. But I have given her my office number, informing her to call me if she needs me. My office line patches to my cell phone anyway, and I'd rather be woken up by her panic attacks than have to deal with the death of another client.

I'm sure Maeve would agree after helping me kill those guys.

Chapter 43

Maeve's POV

I'm trying to get outside more. I'm scared of what will happen if I venture too far, I don't even know how far is too far. So I've been sticking close to the house. I noticed Leon had a garden yesterday. So today, I'm heading out there. I want to see how the flowers are doing and what all he has planted, maybe help the flowers out. I'm not sure how much of a flower garden kind of guy Leon is, so I'm sure they're struggling out there in this heat.

I throw on a comfy pair of shorts and one of my simpler shirts, an older black tank top I've had for far too long, and make my way outside. I've got a bottle of water in hand, and my hair thrown up into a bun.

I have to admit, it feels good to get to go outside. I thought I hated the Texas heat, but I missed it. I missed the sun shining down on my skin, I missed getting a little sweaty and having tan lines from my tank tops. I haven't missed the bees, but they seem to leave me alone when they realize I'm out here to help the flowers grow.

The flowers are doing well, better than I thought they would be if I'm being honest. I didn't picture Leon the flower garden type. But he has a little of everything all around his house. It's beautiful and it gives an amazing pop of color to the massive white and black home.

The only thing missing is some salviafarinaceaplanted at the mailbox. It's a beautiful blueish-purple flower that grows to be several feet tall. He has a few at the edge of the house. I think I'll move them. I hope he won't mind. I just think they'll look nice at the mailbox, and they attract butterflies. How beautiful is that?