I felt William’s hand under my chin. He eased my attention up until I couldn’t avoid him. "Don’t do that," he whispered.
"Do what?"
"You’ve got these big brown eyes that haunt me, Miss Cross." My eyes filled with emotion at his words. "I like you just as much in a stained Dick’s Diner tank top as I do now. I used to dream about those damn dark circles under your eyes. Skin covered in grease. Pen ink on your fingers from doing your homework in the kitchen during lulls." William picked up my hand and inspected my freshly painted nails. "You would bite your nails down to the stub when you were anxious." He tucked my highlighted hair behind my ear. "I remember the first time I saw you with your hair down." He brushed his cheek against mine and breathed me in. "I wanted to wrap it around my fist and pull you in for a kiss."
I closed my eyes, my lips parted, and I shivered at the smooth sound of his voice. William placed his hand at my lower back and guided me outside to where his car was waiting for us. My legs shook with every step. I wanted him.
Once both of us were in the car, a brave moment of insanity hit me like a punch. He moved to put the car in drive, but I leaned over the center console and slammed my lips to his. It took William a second to realize what was happening. I felt every emotion reflected in his kiss. Shock. Awe. Lust.
I pressed my hand against his chest and dragged my teeth along his mouth. He moaned and threaded his fingers through my hair, tugging lightly. "Thank you for today," I whispered between kisses before moving to suck on his neck. I didn’t care if everyone in that damn spa was watching us from the windows. I needed this. Right here. Right now.
William grabbed my breast and moaned. I sucked on his skin until it bloomed a blue hue, a bruise in the shape of my lips. We made out, hot and heavy like horny teens until his cock was so hard that I could clearly see it through the outline of his pants. I slowly eased my hand lower, but he grabbed my wrist, stopping me.
"Fuck," he cursed before pulling his phone out of his pocket and answering it. No, no. I wanted to keep going. I pouted as he spoke. "What do you want, Nick?"
It stung a little, that William stopped us to answer his phone. I ended up sitting back in my seat to sulk.
"What do you mean he’s gone? How did you let him get away?"
I snapped my attention to William. Were they talking about Hale?
"Fuck. Fine. We’re headed back....No. She’s fine....Yeah. She enjoyed it a lot." I listened intently. "No shit, I’ll keep her safe....Yes. Yes, I’ll come straight back, Nick. Can you just let me—" William rolled his eyes and tossed his cell onto the center console. "He hung up on me."
"Hale ran away?" I asked in a bored tone as William closed the top to his convertible. Seemed fitting the slimy bastard would make a run for it; he’d probably had a contingency plan all along.
"Yep," William replied with a curse. "And Nicholas is now going on his usual overprotective tirade."
I shook my head. "Anthony pretty much lives in a dungeon, Vicky is halfway across the world. What’s next? Is he going to lock you in your office?" I asked. Malice couldn’t control everything and everyone.
"My brother doesn’t care what happens to me," William replied in an ominous tone. "But he’ll probably keep you at home for the foreseeable future."
"Me?" I asked, palm placed over my chest in surprise. "Why me?"
William gave me an exasperated look before pulling out of the parking lot. "Let’s go home before he sends an army to collect us."
20
I stared at my reflection as Grams spoke. Anthony had replaced my phone since he’d broken the last one. Malice wanted me to be accessible at all times, the overbearing asshole.
"Oh, Juliet. You’d love it here. I wish I could fly you out," Grams said. She sounded damn good—better than she’d sounded in months. It was like a weight was off her shoulders.
"I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself," I replied, genuinely thrilled that she was having such a good time with her sister. She needed this vacation. They’d been out to watch jazz bands, the beach, up the mountains. Grams was moving every day, and based on the updates from Aunt Agnes, she was doing phenomenal. I wasn’t sure if it was the change of scenery and being with her sister, or the medicine from Dr. Hoffstead. Either way, it made me feel incredibly relieved to know that Grams was doing so well. She was thriving. I wished I could see it in person.
"How is Nicholas doing? Is he keeping a good eye on my girl?" It was so strange to hear Grams use his name when I was still calling him by his evil alter ego.
Honestly, I hadn’t really seen Malice since the shooting at Eden's Place. Three days had passed since my spa day with William, and even though I hadn’t seen him, he had me on house arrest. There was a guard constantly poised outside my door. It was driving me absolutely crazy to stay here every day.
William and Malice left this morning to follow a lead on Hale, but I hadn’t heard anything else. I wasn’t sure I ever would. Something told me that Hale had weaseled his way deep into the organization, and it would be a while before Malice got his revenge.
"I haven't seen him, but I'm doing well. Working and keeping busy," I assured her. Malice had agreed to let me go to Eden’s Place tonight, mostly because Kelsey was swamped and overwhelmed. Again, Malice never spoke directly to me. I only got random text messages with demands or verbal directives from his army of suits.
"Mr. Jonas called the other day and said he hadn't seen you at the diner recently. Did you change your shift?" Grams asked. I hated lying to her, but I wasn't about to tell her that I was working at a sex club with dangerous Mafia men and doubling as a spy.
"I'm working the overnight shift these days, Grams," I lied.
"Oh, you know I hate that," she said in an angry tone. "It's not safe for a pretty girl like you to be working overnight in that part of town. Ma-maybe we could find you a better job with more consistent hours. You're a smart gir-girl." I could tell she was getting worked up because she was struggling to get her words out. I felt bad for worrying her.
"I think that's a great idea. We can talk more about it when you get back. Polish up my resume and see who is hiring, okay?" I offered, mostly to placate her. I'd already gotten my first check from Malice, and the money was too good to pass up. I'd just have to come up with another lie. It was all really starting to pile up. First Grams. Vicky. Myself.
"Okay. Well, Aunt Agnes and I are going swimming again. It feels so good on these old bones to be in the water and just sit. Let me know if you need anything, okay? And don't be working too hard."
"I won't, Grams," I promised. "Love you bunches."
"Have a happy day, my sweet. Love you too."
I hung up the phone and turned on my curling iron. It was my first shift back at Eden's Place tonight since the shooting, and I was not looking forward to it. I kept seeing Malice's angry face as he pulled the trigger. Mr. Graves was a shady character, but when did I start becoming desensitized to death? The night after I saw him killed, I slept like a baby, not once considering the legal implications of what I'd witnessed or the moral obligation I had to feel something about the murder. In just over three weeks, I'd started to slowly trust Malice and his empire. I understood that he controlled this town. Hell, maybe even the entire country. His connections far surpassed my own, and murder wasn't the damning thing I once believed it to be. I was still having nightmares about the death of my soul, but I was learning to cope. I was enjoying the darkness.