“Thank you. I look forward to hearing the good news.” I smile before downing the rest of my drink. It burns a path of fire down my throat, warming my body all over. If doing this makes me a bad man, then I guess I’m a bad man for taking care of the woman I love.
“See ya soon, kid,” Luke says, waltzing out of the room.
I glance over to Xander who is smiling, amusement glittering in his eyes. “Give me all the details, kid, and I’ll be sure Luke gets them.”
And so I tell him everything I know about the piece of shit.
Chapter Eighteen
Emerson
Clark has been acting weird, and not in a bad way, but a strange way. He’s been more carefree, less brooding and angry. He hasn’t asked me about Rick anymore, hasn’t tried to push me into going to the police. It’s almost like after our talk he’s let go of the idea of going after him. If I knew speaking out would one hundred percent guarantee that he would be sentenced then I would do it, but Rick is a manipulator, an abuser, and horrible person.
It would be nothing more than my word against his, and I couldn’t stand to relive the memories of my past with him for it to do me no good. I want him to pay, more than anything, and I want to bring him to justice, but I’m going to stand in front of an entire courtroom full of people reliving my worst nightmare knowing that they would probably not believe me. It pains me to know he walks free, and I do have a fear that he could possibly hurt someone else, but I can’t bring myself to think about. I need to believe that I was and will be the only one, I need this for my sanity.
I will forever carry around the memories of what he did to me, the scars, but that’s just how it is. It’s my burden to carry and mine alone. I can’t do anything about it.
I pull the pizza out of the oven and set it on the stovetop when someone knocks at the door. Slipping off the oven mittens, I throw them on the counter on my way to the door. At this time at night, it can only be Vance and Ava who decided to stop by. I don’t even look to check who it is before I open the door, ready to greet my friends.
When I don’t find Vance or Ava behind the door, my lighthearted mood fades away and is replaced by heart-pounding fear. I take in the tall, muscular man in front of me. I’ve never seen him before, but one look is all I need to tell me something very important about him. He is dangerous. I can see it in his gaze and in the way he carries himself, I can feel it in the air surrounding him.
My self-preservation instinct kicks in and I slam the door shut in his face. Unfortunately his reflexes are faster. Stopping the door with his foot, he wedged himself into the space. I step back, trying to put distance between us, almost falling over my own two feet in the process.
He holds up his hands showing me his palm as if showing me that he doesn't have a weapon would calm me down somehow. Something tells me that this guy doesn’t need a weapon to do damage.
“I come in peace,” he announces while stepping into the living room like he owns the place. “You must be Emerson.”
“I-I don’t know you…” How does this guy know my name?
“I’m Luke,” he says calmly, closing the door behind him. Who invited this guy in?
“Luke?” Clark’s voice chimes through the house. Looking over my shoulder even though my gut tells me not to turn my back on this Luke guy, I find Clark heading toward us.
His hair is still wet from the shower he just took as he rushes to my side. “It’s okay, Em. Luke is a friend.”
“A friend?” How could this guy possibly be a friend of Clark’s? He looks more like an assassin or hitman, but friend? Pff, no way.
“Yeah… ah… Luke. I didn’t expect you to drop by so soon.” Clark looks between us sheepishly.
Luke shrugs. “I like to get things done quickly. No point in elongating the inevitable.”
“Can I offer you a drink or something?” Clark asks nervously, making me even more wary of this guy. If Clark is afraid of him then I should definitely be.
“No thank you, I only came by to tell you that it’s done. You don’t have to worry about Paulson any more, and neither does anyone else.”
The world falls away and my mind goes blank for a moment. The words I just heard start to slowly take seed in my brain. He said Paulson. He said not to worry anymore. He said it’s done. What's done?
I can feel Luke’s eyes on me. “Judging by her shocked expression, I’m guessing you didn’t tell her?”
Clark looks over at me shamefully. “No, I didn't want her involved in any of it. I would have told her, but I figured it would be safer if she knew as little as possible.”
“You don’t have to worry about anything coming back to you. I’m a professional after all,” Luke says all matter of fact, almost as if he’s a tad offended by the insinuation.
“Em, I’m sorry I was hiding this from you, but I had to do something. I couldn’t let him get away.” I stare at Clark waiting for the guilt and sorrow to hit me.
Clark hired someone to kill Rick. This guy, Luke, killed Rick. Because of me. Someone died… no, got killed, murdered, because of me.
I let it sink in. I should feel guilty. I know I should, but the feeling never comes. All I feel is… relief. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. For the first time ever, I feel ... free.
“Well, I’ll be going now. Seems like you have a little explaining to do,” Luke smirks, and I feel this strange need to hug this stranger. It’s the least I can do, so I take a timid step forward and then another wrapping my arms around the stranger’s middle. He stiffens as if he doesn't know what to do. Clark’s arms snake around my waist hauling me backward against his chest.
Ignoring Clark, I look up at Luke with tears in my eyes. “Thank you.”
Luke looks surprised at my feeble attempt to hug him. Discomfort written all over his face when he murmurs, “You’re welcome.”
I guess he isn’t used to having people be so thankful, or hugging him.
Clark releases me and brings Luke to the door, telling him goodbye. After he closes the door, he turns his attention back to me. Alone at last, I know I should be scolding him, telling him that he was wrong to do what he did but I can’t. He approaches me slowly, as if he is waiting for the moment when I freak out and start yelling.
“I’m not mad at you and I’m not going to freak out,” I tell him before he gets the chance to say anything. He takes my hands into his and brings them to his lips, pressing soft kisses to each knuckle. It’s such a tender motion. Fire fills my belly, every cell in my body lighting up like I’ve been struck by lightning.
“I wasn’t keeping it from you. I was going to tell you eventually, I was just worried…”
“Shhh, I’m not mad, and I don’t think you were keeping it from me because you wanted too. I trust you and I know without question that you were doing it to protect me. I know I should be freaking out, you hired a… criminal to get rid of Rick, and as messed up as it is, I know it came from a good place. I know you did this out of love for me.”
Clark smiles, showing off his two dimples. “I had to make sure nothing would ever happen to you again and the only way to do that was to get rid of him. I hope you don’t think badly of me.”