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“Maybe he threatened to expose the real murderer. It’s possible.”
“You should have told me. I swear to God, I’m going to find out what the hell is going on.”
“Yes, I should have told you, but my rules still apply. You will do nothing with this case. Nothing. Not a goddamn thing. Do you hear me?” I walked closer, giving her a stern look. “I’m not fucking around with this. You could be in danger.”
“That’s crazy.”
“Is it?”
Her mouth twisted but thankfully, her eyes reflected the first hint of real fear.
“Promise me you will leave this alone,” I insisted.
She nodded until I grabbed her chin, lifting her head. “Say it.”
“Fine, I promise.” When she jerked out of my hold, I rubbed my eyes, the ache behind them increasing.
“Look, what happened is not something I’m proud of, Lark. If I had it to do over again, I’d never have allowed Morgan to convince me to go through with it. While I take full responsibility, what happened afterwards was out of my control.”
“Except for blackmailing her father. Did you really want her so badly you went against your instinct?”
Sighing, I looked away. “That’s the question I’ve been asking myself for years. Morgan trusted me and I knew I wasn’t qualified. What happened to her was my fault.” When she said nothing, another wave of anger slammed into my system. “I never told you I was a good man, Lark. I’ve done things in my life that I’m not proud of. I come from a family that I often regret being a part of. However, I haven’t lied to you about how I feel. And I would never hurt you.”
She walked closer, placing her hand on my heart. “I never thought that you would. There’s a killer out there, Lachlan, and he’s either leading the police to you as part of his ploy to get away with his crimes, or this entire thing has been concocted by men who want you erased. We need to find out what’s going on.”
The conviction in her voice, the way she was looking at me brought a surge of need into my heart, but I refused to risk her job as well as her life by keeping her near me. I knew what she’d do. The only way to keep her off the radar and safe was to send her away.
“There will be no ‘we.’ I just told you that. In fact, you’re going home today.”
“What?” The demand shocked her.
“You’re going to enjoy your friend’s wedding. You have the rest of the week to yourself. Stay away from the office.”
“The police aren’t going to stop harassing you. Why can’t I return to the office?”
“I have an attorney so stop worrying about that and because I’m telling you that you’re going to stay away.”
“You have some balls to try and tell me what to do, Lachlan. I have a job.”
“And I don’t want you hurt,” I countered.
“I’m not leaving.”
“Yes, you are.”
The line in the sand was one I’d never wanted to cross. At this point, the best thing for her life was to stay away from me.
“No,” she whispered.
“I don’t want you here, Lark. I can’t handle this right now. I need to put all my effort into enduring I’m not arrested for a crime I didn’t commit. You’ll get in my way, and I can’t have that. I’m not your master. Let’s face it. This was just a game we were playing. Don’t worry. The five million dollars remains with the charity. I might be heartless, but I’m not cruel.” The ache in my heart was intense, but this had to be done. There was no possible way of protecting her if she remained with me. Goddamn it. “Just go. Now!”
She didn’t blink for almost a full minute. Then she walked closer, shaking her head. Then she slapped me across the face. “Damn you. I thought we were close. I thought for one stupid minute that you cared about me. Men are all alike, users. Fine, Mr. McKenzie. I’ll go. And I assure you that I’ll never return to Carnal Sins again. But I will tell you this. You are a good man. I won’t believe otherwise.”
“That’s where you’d be wrong,” I snarled. “Go. I enjoyed fucking you, sweet thing, but that’s all it was anyway. I’m actually doing you a favor.”
“You fucking asshole.”
Yeah, I was.
