Page 84 of His Puppet

He doesn’t respond right away, just keeps walking like he’s on his way to butcher someone, which, being Victor, he very well could be. I give it a minute.

“Why?” he finally asks.

It isn’t that obvious. I was fishing, trying to get underneath his skin like he does mine, but now I’m starting to see it.

“Because the only two reasonable explanations for why someone would be as sick as you are if they had a gene for psychopathy or if they had a really fucked up childhood. You’re not smart enough to be a psychopath.”

He chuckles, but it’s forced. “Hey, Emily?”

“Hm?”

“Go fuck yourself.”

I laugh and slap his shoulder so he knows I was kidding, and he halfheartedly smiles in return, pretending it didn’t bother him. We walk in silence for a few minutes until it’s awkward, and I start to feel guilty for upsetting him. Sympathy for Victor isnotsomething I would’ve thought possible.

We walk another block before Victor stops to look up and down the street, his jaw tense. I stop and stare at him.

“Where the fuck is Aiden?” he growls, speaking to no one.

I look around for the guy who dropped us off, the same one who drove Victor the night he kidnapped me. I’m suddenly feeling stupid for having any sympathy.

“Maybe you should call him,” I suggest. “He probably can’t find us.”

He gives his head a shake. “I told him what street we’d be on,” he says, almost to himself. He pulls out his phone and taps on it with his thumb. “How far is the asshole going to make us walk?” he mutters, tapping one last time before bringing the phone to his ear.

I watch him while he waits for Aiden to answer. After a minute, he pulls his cell from his ear and angrily shoves it into his pocket.

He starts walking again, faster this time, and I try to keep up.

“No answer?” I ask.

He glances at me then goes back to the road. “No. If we don’t see him in the next five minutes, I know a spot close by that has some of our guys. We can get a ride back to my car from one of them.”

We keep walking, and Victor gets increasingly more irritated. His mood went from annoyingly upbeat to uncomfortable to be around fast.

“Listen, about earlier,” I say, the awkwardness getting the better of me. “I was just trying to get under your skin. I didn’t realize how sore of a spot I was poking.”

He waves me off. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I didn’t have a great childhood either.”

He doesn’t respond.

“And just so you know, I’m not going to say anythi—”

“There he is,” Victor says, slowing and looking straight ahead at the black car approaching. He steps close to the curb and glances at me. “Just drop it, all right? I think we’ve gotten on each other’s nerves enough today. Let’s save some for tomorrow.”

One side of his lips lift, and he gives me a wink. “Congrats, by the way,” he says, lowering his eyes to my hand.

I touch my ring instinctively and shift the sapphire. My lips pull, but I brace myself for a smart remark. It doesn’t come. Victor stares down the road.

“Thanks,” I finally say, allowing myself to smile and look down at my ring.

I don’t have a chance to reminisce about last night for long. I can feel the tension radiating off Victor at the same moment I get the sense that something isn’t right. I look up at Aiden’s car coming toward us while Victor waves at it.

It isn’t slowing down.

Victor’s hand gradually stops waving, and he squints at the vehicle. “What the fuck?”

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