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His fingers squeeze me. “I’m gonna fucking kill them.”
“Elia, no, you can’t just adopt my problems for yourself. This ismypain, my fight to be had.”
“I don’t care. I’m gonna make every man that ever laid a finger on you regret it.”
A trench opens up inside me, a foreign feeling taking root. He pats my knee once, standing and leaving the room. Burrowing further beneath the covers, I stare outside the window at the night sky, a devious smile sliding over my lips.
That’s exactly what I’d hoped he’d say.
LUCA SCANS THE SHEET of paper again, arching his eyebrows. “This isthelist?”
I bristle, annoyance prickling at the bottom of my stomach. “That’s what I said, isn’t it?”
“You always answer questions with more questions?”
“Do you always talk out of your ass when conducting business?”
He smirks, letting the sheet fall to his desk. Luca’s apartment sits above a law office-slash-laundromat at the heart of downtown—which, compared to the downtowns of other cities, is not all that impressive. Inconsequential, like the entirety of King’s Trace, which makes it the perfect front for crime, and has all the makings of a quaint backstory for a senator like my father.
“Considering your generous little husband doesn’t give me much opportunity to actually conduct business, no, I can’t say talking out of my ass is a common occurrence.” Reaching into his shirt, a crisp black button-down, he pulls a pack of cigarettes from the interior pocket and flips open the tab. “Smoke?”
My fingers itch to take one, but I don’t want to arouse suspicion when I go home. Elia’s already on high alert since our dinner the other night, and finding out I ditched Leo to get here will only make matters worse.
But since Liv’s forcing me to attend her birthday bash tonight at Crimson, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take a shot at a few of the men on my list.
Besides, by the time I’m supposed to leave for the club, Elia will be forty-five minutes away in Stonemore, trying to figure out his own problems; I should be the least of his worries.
And if not, well, that’s what I’m counting on.
I wave Luca off, leaning forward to point at the paper between us. “Sheldon McCarty and Todd Davis are known to hang out in the VIP section on Friday nights when college kids clear out, and they get their pick of the strippers.”
My chest constricts, a massive weight pressing down like a knee into my breastbone, as I utter these names. I try to shake it off, but the images of them circling me in my old kitchen, predatory and evil, flash in my mind. Memories of hands fixing themselves to whatever body part was in reach while my father left me to fend for myself cause a thick wave of nausea to spread through my abdomen.
It’s a nightmare I can’t escape. A hole in my soul I’ve tried filling a dozen different ways, always with the same result.
Nothingness. An empty rattle I’ve come to loathe.
The scenes give me strength, the chills tickling my skin at the memories strengthening my resolve to go through with this plan. It’s why these two are first.
I clear my throat, swallowing the bile that’s risen there. “Friday nights are also when the strippers who engage in prostitution at Crimson look for weekend work.”
Luca pulls a cigarette from the pack and slips it between his lips, lighting it with a redBicswiped from the desk drawer. Tossing it back in place, he takes a long drag, studying me. “So, your plan is just to expose them for being perverts?”
“Illegal perverts.”In more ways than one.“These are men running electoral campaigns based on Christian values. Who wants to elect a hypocrite? I take a few pictures, email them to theGazette, and their careers are over.”
“Right, but half of King’s Trace is ensconced in some kind of illegal activity. Maybe even more than that. I don’t think morality is all that high on the priority scale.”
“Okay, but it’s still illegal. So, even if the citizens don’t give a shit, the police officers will.” He doesn’t respond, just inhales on the butt of his cigarette, and my heart sinks a little further into my stomach. “Or… not?”
“It’s a good plan, but not one you could conductatCrimson. Elia has law enforcement on his payroll, and he won’t allow any bad publicity to surround the club. Meaning phones are checked into lockers, and those let into the VIP area are typically well-vetted.”
I chew on the inside of my cheek, the soft flesh wilting through my bite. “What am I supposed to do, then?”
He shrugs, pushing a plume of smoke from his mouth. “What do youwantto do? When you first came up with this revenge plot, didn’t you have something different in mind? Something... taboo?”
My nostrils flare, fingers tap on the edge of the desk.He knows. And, frankly, so do I, but I’m not quite convinced I can pull it off. “I didn’t want to lead with that.”
“Why not?” Gripping the cigarette between two fingers, he leans in, gesturing wildly with his hand. “These are men that hurt you, abused you. Theystoleyour innocence. Yourlife, Caroline. You and I both know there’s only one way you can get that back.”
