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All I could think about was how this man had managed to get under my skin. The man who went to church on Sundays and blackmailed unsuspecting women like me in his free time. He looked dark as sin, but I couldn’t deny there was light inside him too.
I couldn’t deny that when my eyes moved over the lines of his body and the Revelation tattoo on his back, something awful had happened to him. I knew it in my soul. And if I was going to preserve my sanity, I would need to uncover it, and inevitably, use it against him.
“I’ll be here at four to pick you up.”
I glanced across the seat at Lucian and gave him a stiff nod. My nerves hadn’t let up the entire ride to the learning center, and I didn’t think I could really do this. Already, I was busy making plans to leave the moment he drove off, consequences be damned. But Lucian had other ideas. He turned off the ignition and unbuckled.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I’m walking you in.”
He got out of the car and came around to my side, but I still couldn’t move. I didn’t know why the idea seemed so daunting, but it had occurred to me that I was probably going to look like an idiot as soon as the class started. I could already feel the humiliation of being the last to complete every test and assignment. Or the horror when the teacher might call on me for an answer I didn’t know.
“I don’t want to do this,” I said. “Please don’t make me, Lucian. I’ll do something else. I can study online—”
He bent down until he was on my level and surprised me by taking my hands in his. “I know you’re nervous, pet, and it’s completely normal. But I promise you that your fears are bigger than any challenges you’ll face in that building.”
I turned away, frustrated that he knew so much about me when I hadn’t given the information freely. I hated him for making me do this.
He unbuckled me and helped me from the car, and I followed because it was pointless to argue. Today, I would have to go inside. But that didn’t mean I had to stay. I could slip out to go to the bathroom and then make a run for it. There were a million options that Lucian had no say in. That was the only comfort I had as he led me in to the slaughter.
The building was large and empty. The kind of empty that made our footsteps reverberate off the walls as we walked. It smelled like lemon-scented cleaner and freshly sharpened pencils, and probably the stuff of every failed dropout’s nightmares.
Lucian stopped in front of a door numbered 105, and I squeezed my fists together as he knocked. Someone called out from the other side for us to enter, and I froze to the spot. Lucian opened the door and then guided his hand to my lower back, bringing me forward with him.
I expected to see a bunch of pimply faced teenagers judging me from their seats, but instead, the classroom was empty apart from one woman. An older woman who looked like she was more suited to a Paris runway than this learning center.
She was beautiful and classy in a Helen Mirren type of way with silvery strands of hair pulled back to proudly display every crease she’d earned on her face. I was surprised by the warm energy surrounding her, and even more so when she reached out and hugged Lucian.
“My sweet Lucian,” she whispered. “How I have missed you.”
He remained stoic as ever when she pulled away and turned her gaze to me. “And you must be the beautiful Miss Gypsy I’ve heard so much about.”
I looked up at Lucian curiously, but he didn’t give anything away.
“Thank you for doing this, Kate,” he said. “Gypsy is going to be on her best behavior for you, aren’t you?”
When he looked at me, there was a spark of pride in his eyes, and I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. Nobody had ever been proud of me before.
“Here.” He produced a brown paper bag from his other hand. “I packed your lunch.”
I clutched the sack in my hand and stood wordlessly as he exchanged a quick goodbye with Kate. I was still anxious even without the prospect of a classroom full of people to bask in my ignorance. Lucian must have sensed it because he pulled me toward the door to give me one last parting gift.
“You can do this, pet.” His fingers skated down the length of my arm and caught my trembling fingers. “Just remember, you’re always the smartest woman in the room.”
I didn’t know if it was just to delay the inevitable, but I clung to his hand. And when he leaned down to kiss me for the second time, there was no disputing that this time I kissed him back.
