Page 102 of Lovely Darkness

“You sure?” she asks.

I nod. “I got this. Anyway, I’ll be waking Cerene up in about thirty minutes. She’s got enough shut-eye. If we’re gonna unfuck this guy in a few hours, I need more than a catnap before we get started.”

Sasha gets up and smiles. “All right. I’ll go have that talk now, then hit the sack. See you in a few.”

I watch her leave, suddenly feeling tired.

I want to wake Cerene right now, but I go back to my crossword, never really taking my eye off Donovan.

And it ends up that I don’t even have to wake Cerene. She just appears about ten minutes later looking refreshed and clean in her slutty nurse’s costume.

“Anything to report?” she asks me, just as I’m getting to my feet.

But I shake my head. If it was her, I’m not ready to comment. And if it wasn’t… I’m really not ready to comment.

I go straight to my room and even though I can hear the whisper of voices coming through the vent near the ceiling, I’m way too tired to listen.

I dream about that movie Split.

And I have a very bad feeling that I am in way over my head.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE - ADAM

I wake up feeling like I’ve slept for decades, but when I look at the clock, it’s not even two AM. I think I literally slept for ten minutes and now I am wide awake.

I throw then sheet off me, swing my legs out of bed, then look over my shoulder, hoping McKay is awake. But his eyes remain closed.

Is he faking me out? He does that regularly. I whisper, “McKay?” But he doesn’t stir.

I guess he’s asleep.

The girl doesn’t wake, either. She’s flat on her belly, still naked—very fucking beautiful—with her face towards me. Her mouth is open just enough for me to catch a glimpse of her pink tongue.

She’s my kind of girl. I don’t know her—like at all—but I can already tell she’s my kind of girl. The way Misha was, but hopefully she’s not spying on me the way Misha was. Because I just can’t overlook that kind of shit. I would hate for James Fenici to show up one day and say, “She’s got to go.”

Not that I’m planning a life with this woman or anything.

That makes me chuckle. And realize I’m thirsty. So I stand up, pull my slacks up my legs, and go shirtless out into the living room. We left the lights on, so I turn them off and then I just stare out at the Mississippi, appreciating the way the city lights play off the dark water.

The woman came here with a small, sparkling clutch. It’s lying on the dining table, and when I walk past, I pick it up and take it with me over to the back of the full bar on the far side of the main room. I set it down as I look at my choices, then decide on water instead of booze.

I’m not drunk, but I’m definitely still buzzed. It would be a bad idea to show up for Donovan’s exorcism hungover.

“Did you find what you were looking for?”

I turn around, water glass to my lips, and find Miss Violet coming towards me, tying the belt of a fluffy courtesy robe. Her long, brown legs tease me through the slit up the front. Her long, dark hair is a little bit tousled and even from here, those eyes catch me like a bird in a net.

Damn. She is very nice to look at.

If I didn’t have McKay, I would consider keeping this one.

I set my glass down and smile at her. “What?”

She nods her head towards the counter. “My purse.”

“Oh.” I look down and see it there, feel a little bit like a criminal, then apologize profusely. “I’m sorry. Really. I didn’t open it. I don’t know why I picked it up. It’s… quite pretty.”

When she reaches the bar, she has her hand out. So I plop the tiny purse into her palm. “Thank you.”