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“So…” I ventured. “We do this for your father, try not to die… then what?”
“I’m working on that.”
“Care to fill me in?”
“As soon as I have something to work with, I’ll let you know.” He turned his gaze on me again. “I promise.”
And there, in that moment, I found myself doubting him again. I couldn’t shake the idea that maybe, just maybe, Lucien was using me to do his family’s bidding. He was, after all, still a Diaboli, and that had to mean something to him. It probably meant more to him than the life of the girl he had been fucking in the club once upon a time.
The girl that had ended things with him because she hadn’t wanted to get too attached.
I’m in trouble.
We ate in silence, after that. The food was delicious, but I found myself not being able to stomach too much of it. My mind was elsewhere, my thoughts scattered to the four winds. Here I was, sitting in a restaurant with the son of a rival family, placing all of my eggs firmly in his basket, hoping he would find a way to get me out of the mess I was in.
That… I couldn’t do that anymore.
I couldn’t put all of my trust in his hands, because if it turned out he was just trying to use me, or manipulate me, then I was dicked, and not in the good way. I needed to take control of the situation, somehow, and find a way to increase my chances of escape all on my own.
When we were done eating, we headed outside into the crisp, Bostonian night, and walked back toward the hotel. It wasn’t long before we ran into the two morons who had been trying to find us ever since we gave them the slip.
Or maybe they had been waiting all along, on Lucien’s orders.
I suddenly found myself entirely out of my depth. I still wasn’t sure whether I could trust Lucien or not. It didn’t help that there were times when I couldn’t read him at all, when I had no idea what he was thinking.
The best thing I could do right now was keep him where I could see him, while also keeping him at arm’s length.
A prospect that instantly shattered the moment we returned to the hotel room and I found myself staring at the bed we were going to have to share tonight. That… was going to be way closer than arm’s length.
That… was going to be a problem.
Chapter
Twenty
Ididn’t like this rollercoaster anymore. One minute I thought I could trust him, only to doubt everything he said and his intentions the next. There had been a couple of moments tonight when I thought I could throw all of my faith into him, and everything would be okay; moments when I saw the man underneath all of the rings, and the tattoos.
The man who was nothing like his father, and was carrying around a lot of pain.
Barely an hour ago, down in that alley across the street, when our lips were locked and our hands were all over each other, I had felt… almost safe. Then he opened up a bit about his mom, and I’d felt like we had a real connection; beyond the purely physical one anyway.
So, why had I retreated from him as soon as we entered the hotel room? Why had I locked myself in the bathroom thirty minutes ago? On the outside, it looked like I was getting undressed and ready for bed, but really, I had needed a little time away from him; a second to gather my thoughts.
Or… many seconds, awkwardly strung out over such a long time that I was now considering sleeping in the bath to avoid going out there again.
By the time I slinked out of the bathroom, having swapped the beautiful dress I had been wearing for a t-shirt and lounge shorts, I found Lucien sitting on the armchair in the corner of the room with a pillow under his head. He was wearing a black t-shirt and a pair of briefs, and he had his feet propped up on a suitcase.
I wasn’t sure whether he was awake or asleep, so I picked my way closer to the bed and went to flick off the bedroom light. That was when Lucien turned his head and opened his eyes. He eyed me up and down, then. I suddenly felt a little exposed.
“Sorry…” I said, “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“I wasn’t asleep,” he said.
“I’m not surprised.” I gestured wildly towards his chair and suitcase setup. "That doesn’t look comfortable.”
“I’ve slept in worse.” He paused. “Get some rest… tomorrow will be a big day.”
“Do you have something planned?”
