Page 99 of XO Karma

“No!” I laugh. “Please, no. I can’t wait to wear it.”

“I’ll buy you another if it gets destroyed.”

“Destroyed?” Anticipation swirls in my center. “My goodness, Mr. Blake, that’s quite presumptuous for a first date.”

“I know my audience.” A car honking and muffled voices come through the line. “I have to go. I’ll pick you up tomorrow at six.”

“See you then.”

“Oh, and baby?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t wear anything underneath.”

I can’t help the grin spreading across my face. I’m trying so damn hard not to fall for this man. He’s done horrible, awful things… but I also think I understand him in a way I’ve never understood anyone else. And I also feel like those dark thoughts that run through my head, the ones I can’t quiet, can’t escape, he would welcome them willingly without judgement.

“Lillian!” Liam shouts from the other side of the house, and I jump. His loud stomps echo as he heads for my room, and I rush to hide the burner in my desk. “What?” I call out just as he arrives at my door.

“Why the hell did one of my informants just tell me about a brunette with sparkling pink cowboy boots who was seen with Frederick Vetrel last week?” His eyes fall to the same shoes sitting next to my desk, and he’s aware I have a wide collection of wigs. “And don’t you fucking lie to me. I was with you when you bought those.”

“Who told you that?” I ask, playing innocent. “And why are you acting like you’re the boss of me? You need to relax.”

“I’m trying to keep you alive!” The angry blood vessel in his forehead threatens to rupture. “And apparently, I’ll be trying to keep you out of jail as well.”

“Why are you acting so insane?”

He takes a deep breath, then releases it slowly. “Frederick Vetrel is a very dangerous man.”

“I’m not sure if you saw the news, Detective Dickhead,” I snark and he scowls. “But Vetrel is dead. So not really an issue.”

Liam’s eyes are unamused. “He was connected to some screwed-up shit, Lil. You need to stay clear of anything related to that family.”

“It was a Karma request. And it’s over now, so you don’t need to worry.”

“Don’t need to worry? There’s a serial killer on the loose.” Two, actually. “And I’m responsible for finding them and failing miserably. The captain’s breathing down our necks, and now I have to figure out how to keep my little sister’s name out of a murder investigation of a notorious crime boss.”

“You’re ten minutes older.”

His face reddens. “Lillian,” he says in that tone that means please stop messing with me, I’m not in the mood.

I release a heavy sigh. “Like I said, I was there for a Karma request.”

His brows pull together, a panicked look in his eyes. “Was the request to kill Frederick?”

“Oh my god!” I throw a pillow at him. “Are you serious?” He looks at me expectantly. “No, I didn’t kill him. You know I don’t do that kind of stuff.”

“Do I?” His response is a slap to the face. “Because I have the feeling you’ve been keeping things from me as of late.”

“Wow, that’s a load of horse shit coming from you. Care to fill me in on how the Kodak Killer case is going?” A silence settles between us. “Exactly.”

“What was the Karma request about?”

“Vetrel hiked the rent for his tenants, then vandalized the places who couldn’t pay, so I politely asked him to stop.”

“The autopsy mentioned he had a knife and a bullet wound that were a few days old.”

I shrug. “Maybe I wasn’t so polite.”