Page 46 of Tainted Love

Chapter 14

Lucy

I thought daydreaming about Dante’s big cock was going to be what kept me from giving one hundred percent at rehearsal today. Turns out, seeing a dead body for the first time is way more distracting.

Scratch that.

Watching your lover murder a man in front of you is way more distracting.

I’ve known what he was since the moment I met him. A hitman. A contract killer for the fucking mob. But I still can’t make sense of it. There’s no rhyme or reason for what I saw this morning. One minute, Dante was the perfect man: laughing and cuddling and not killing people. The next minute, his fetish for choking went a bit too far.

But he let me go. Why did he let me go?

Wouldn’t letting me go be the last thing a man like him would want to do? Don’t I know too much to still be breathing right now? But what exactly do I know other than he has a really, really sexy tattoo that ties him to an underground crime organization?

Oh, god. What if he comes back? What if he realizes how much of a liability I am?

Well, there goes sleeping for the rest of my life.

“Lucy!” Cynthia’s voice calls out my name from the first row of the auditorium. She’s pissed — as usual — but I don’t exactly blame her.

I pause, lowering my arms to my sides while the other nine dancers stare at me with impatience. “I’m going to take five…” I mutter. “I’m sorry.”

Cynthia calls after me but I think I’ll just let her scream this time. My father will be able to smooth this over. Maybe I can play the Daddy-to-the-rescue card girls are always talking about. It should still be in mint condition.

I rush backstage, push open the exit to the hall, and bolt down to the women’s restroom. My body temperature rises with each step I take. I need cold water and I need it now.

What the fuck was I thinking getting involved with a hitman?

I dry heave into the sink, spitting out any water I try to swallow.

Why the fuck didn’t I just say no?

I didn’t have to go to dinner with him. He playfully hinted that I had no choice, but it was just banter. It didn’t mean anything. I could have put my foot down, said no, and Dante would have respected that. He’s a decent guy (disregarding the obvious, of course). I don’t see him being the type to force me into something I don’t want to do.

His eyes. Those black, soulless eyes. I can’t stop going back to how he was when we were alone. Charming. Witty. He’s the only man I’ve met who could keep up with how fast I talk. A horrible poker player but that just made me like him more. No matter how amazing he was, I knew what he was capable of from the start. I shouldn’t be so damned surprised about all of this, and yet…

Muffled screaming echoes down the hall. The clamor of voices rises from the auditorium, followed closely by the quick rat-tat-tat of what can only be one thing…

Gunfire.

My pulse leaps, deafening me completely. I pull the door open and stick my head out into the hall as the bullets cease.

A voice calls out, one distinctly young but booming and powerful.

“Where is Lucy Vaughn?!”

I fall back into the bathroom, overcome with a million different emotions in three seconds.

A single bullet blows, triggering a wave of fresh screams from the auditorium.

“Where is Lucy Vaughn?!”

I clasp a hand over my mouth as tears spill from my eyes.

What did I do?

Oh, god — what did I do?

---