Page 56 of His Wicked Revenge

I had been locked up in that asylum for two years, and here I am, secluding myself from the world and locking myself up in the apartment.

You’re just upset I haven’t left so you can play out your plan of “revenge.”

Nothing happens after I hit send. It takes a moment for those bubbles to pop up, and when they are dancing on my screen, I hear the faint sound of a door opening and shutting in the hall. My phone dings, and I look down.

Are you forgetting I don’t need you to leave your apartment in order to do that?

My eyes widen, and I toss the phone beside me and jump from my bed. I rush into the living room, my feet slipping on the hardwood as I make my way to the front door. As I slam my back against it as soon as Leo goes to open it, I hear a soft chuckle come from his end.

“You think you’re strong enough to keep me out?” he asks, his tone turning dark. Who the hell is this man?

I grit my teeth and dig the heels of my feet into the floor, hoping to add some leverage. I’m not strong enough to keep the door shut, and he doesn’t even have to try hard.

He pushes against the door once more, and I quickly lose my traction as my feet slip from under me, causing me to fall to the floor.

I turn my head to see the door slowly open behind me. Knowing I’m losing this fight, I remove myself from the floor to stand by the kitchen counter, where I have a butcher block of knives.

Leo enters, eyes finding mine immediately as he shuts the door. He locks it behind him, pocketing the key. I need to get that from him because I don’t want him showing up at my apartment again when I’m not here.

“You gave up so easily, Veronica.” He tsks, shaking his head.

“What do you want?” I grip the edge of the countertop, allowing my eyes to slowly travel over his body.

Tattoos cover his arm; some look newer than others, given how dark the ink is. Seeing them only makes me want to explore them.

Explore him.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I inhale a deep breath and then say, “I know you aren’t here to check on my well-being.”

“I figured we could talk.” He bats his eyes, and an innocent smile tugs at his lips.

“About what? About how you humiliated me, making me clean up after you? On my hands and knees, licking the floor like a fucking dog?” My face begins to heat, the fire flowing throughout the rest of my body.

“Oh, come on, Vee.” He takes a steady step toward me. “We both know you weren’t humiliated. You wanted to do what you were told. No need to make up excuses for the dirty things you're into.”

He’s right. It didn’t humiliate me. I enjoyed it so much that I’d do it again.

“We can talk about that later if you want. Maybe even do it again.” As if he read my mind, he lets out a small chuckle and shakes his head. “But I wanted to talk about Edith.”

My hold on the counter tightens, and I divert my gaze from him. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not like she saw me since it’s been two weeks, and I’m still here.”

“She did see you.” I snap my eyes at him, finding he is closer to where I stand.

“What?” My voice is above a whisper when I ask, “What did she say?”

“She didn’t have to say anything. After she saw you in the window, the look on her face told me. Then she warned me to be careful.”

“Edith knows, and yet I’m not back in the asylum? Why hasn’t she said anything?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugs.

“You don’t know?” I snort. “You could have dragged me out of the cafe to her. You had a chance to get me locked back up, and you didn’t take it.”

“And cause a scene?” Leo approaches me, lifting his hand to trace a finger along my jaw. “Sending you back to the asylum isn’t part of the plan, Vee. I have much worse things planned for you.”

I swallow hard as his finger trails up my jaw and pinches a piece of my hair. “What are you going to do? Make my life a living hell?”

“It’s a start,” he responds, tugging at the strand of my hair. “As much as I love seeing the brown come through, you might need to touch this up. You are becoming more recognizable.” He looks from the hair to my eyes. My brown eyes. I didn’t have time to put the contacts in from when I woke up to when he forced himself into my place. “These fucking eyes.”