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His face softened. “Come here.”
I hugged him with all my might.
He shoved his face in the curve where my shoulder met my neck, pressing a series of soft kisses. “Thank you for listening and not judging.”
“I told you before I would not judge you. No matter what falls upon us, I am with you. Always.”
“I never deserved you, Darla. But with God as my witness, I will do everything in my power to be a perfect man for you.”
“I don’t need a perfect man, Zeno. I prefer you as you are. Vulgar. Domineering. Kind. Protective.”
“And I prefer you as you are, Mrs. De la Croix,” he returned mischievously. “Polite. Sweet. Caring…Hellish. Such a fucking tease in this lacey outfit.”
I laughed.
Zeno kissed my neck and tickled the sensitive spot near my hips. I laughed some more, headbutting his chin. He cursed, then chuckled too.
“I need to tell you something else.” He sobered after a few seconds. “But I don’t want you to get mad.”
“What is it?” I ran my fingers through his hair. “It can’t be worse than what you’ve already told me.”
He just admitted to committing murder and my upbringing should have me running for the hills—pun intended—yet I was still here, joking with him at the devil’s hour.
“You may never look at me the same again.”
“Trust me?”
He spoke with his eyes—pain and longing—before his words hit me bullseye like darts tipped in poison.
“I killed Armel Lancaster.”
One second I was in his lap.
The next, I was struggling to get off.
He pinned me to his chest and I clawed at his shoulders like a hissing wild cat. “Let me go! Don’t fucking touch me!”
“You said you would never judge me.” Hurt dripped from his tone.
“I can’t believe you!” In my haste to dislodge from his hold, I ended up slapping him.
His face whipped to the side and I gasped.
The moment of shock caused his arms to loosen and I clambered off his lap, reaching for my discarded robe. I put it on with trembling fingers, feeling like I was having an out-of-body experience. Instead of an apology, anger at his betrayal rushed out of me.
“Did you really do it?” I spat. “Did you actually fucking kill Armie?”
The grief over Armel’s death hit me once more as I remembered the kind face of the man who’d been like a brother my whole life. I saw him in a casket, having left this earth way before his time.
Because my husband murdered him.
Zeno didn’t say a word yet, still surprised from my slap.
My hand burned from the imprint. I didn’t mean to do it.
His silence drove me mad and I continued exploding on him.
“You said Antoine used Armel’s murder as a crutch to mess with you, but you never admitted to killing him!” I yelled. “All these months, I’ve been led to believe you truly had nothing to do with Armel’s murder. I thought you were about to be wrongfully convicted, and that’s why you threatened my mother. Once I got to know you, I forgave you because I thought it was a desperate move on your part so you wouldn’t wind up in jail for something you hadn’t done!”
