Page 16 of Her Wicked Plan

“I was only offering.” A voice recorder is now sliding out of a pocket on the inside of the case.

Dr. Madden sets it next to him on the couch, and that’s when I see it. Peeking out of the buttoned sleeve of his white shirt is ink. A tattoo. My eyes scan his fabric-covered arm, wondering how far up that ink goes.

Picturing him shirtless sends a bolt of lightning to my stomach before it dissipates like smoke and travels between my legs.

Yes. I’ll be okay with him being my doctor as long as he isn’t an asshole I need to put in his place.

“So, Veronica—” He sets the recorder down, his hands lying flat on the folder.

“You can call me Ronnie. Dr. Davis called me that from time to time. Some patients do, even though I never gave them permission.” I shift in my chair, my right leg crossing over my left to ease the ache between my thighs. His hand twitches in his lap, and I imagine that hand around my throat.

Dr. Madden gives me a blank stare, unamused by my suggestion. Okay, maybe he will be a dick, but that means it will be fun to mess with him. “What, you don’t like the name Ronnie?”

“I like the name Veronica just fine.” He leans back onto the couch, making himself comfortable.

“Oh, come on, Doc! You can give me a fun nickname.” My voice lowers as I lean forward. “I won’t tell anyone.”

“Veronica.” He says my name sternly, and with that tone... Jesus, I don’t want him to give me a nickname anymore. “Why don’t you tell me why you are here?”

“Free food.” I give him a bright, fake smile. I thought my joke was hilarious, but he didn’t seem to find it as funny. Is Dr. Madden going to be all business? That’s no fun. A heavy sigh leaves me. “Seeing that you have my file, you already know why I’m here.”

“I do, but I want to hear it from you.” He clicks the power button on the recorder, his hand grabbing a pen from the holder in his case.

My face hardens at his response, and I snuff in a breath, feeling almost agitated. “What game are you playing?”

“Excuse me?”

“I asked you what game you’re playing.” I grip my broken pen tighter, leaning forward in my chair again. “I already admitted to everything in court, so whatever you are trying to do to get me to tell the truth, I’ve already told it.”

“Veronica, I’m not playing any games,” he responds, his eyes falling on the broken pen in my hands. The ink is splattered all over the cover of my journal and dripping onto my sweatpants.

Fucking great.

“I want to hear it from you.” He continues with his earlier sentence. “I can get you a new journal.”

“It’s fine.” I deny the offer. I’m freaking out on the inside because the pretty cover is ruined. The dark forest can still be seen, but the forest animals are covered entirely with black ink.

If I continue staring at it, I will lose it. I bring my eyes to the doctor. My gaze hardens on him, watching how he is breathing, which has calmed down the more comfortable he has gotten since he’s sat.

Although he already knows what I’ve done to end up here, I’m still curious to see his reaction when I tell him.

“I killed someone,” I admit.

Normally, when people find out that I murdered someone, they are immediately scared of me, and I fucking love it! Instilling that fear in someone gives me such a feeling of satisfaction.

Being that afraid of me means they wouldn’t dare mess with me, especially when they know what I am capable of but not the man sitting before me. Dr. Madden only nods in response, not showing one hint of fear.

“And why did you kill someone?” The tip of his pen hits the yellow pad of paper. Why does he need to take notes if he is recording our conversation?

I remain quiet while he writes something down, his pen pausing as his eyes glance at me through his thick lashes.

Shit. That is putting images I shouldn’t be thinking about in my mind—him between my thighs, his mouth working wonders.

It’s been an annoyingly long time since I’ve been with a man.

“Because he looked at me wrong.” I stare at him blankly, my tone flat, before picking up. “What’s your first name?”

If looks could fucking kill, I’d be dead right now. That bright, sun-filled forest I mentioned earlier? Yeah, that’s slowly fading. The sun is setting, and the night sky has taken over.