Page 10 of Desperate Vows

“This is the man I was telling you about earlier. Lucas Kalantzis.”

Her hand slipped into mine, and I brought the back of it to my lips. “A pleasure, Miss Benoit.”

The tremble was slight, but I felt it against my lips. It brought me more satisfaction than I was willing to admit. “It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. Kalantzis.”

“Please call me Lucas.”

“Claire.”

I slid my finger to her wrist, and by gauging her rapid pulse, she was either nervous or excited. Maybe both.

Before Franklin left us alone, he tasked her with giving me a tour of the club. While I enjoyed her walking next to me, what I really wanted to do was follow a few feet behind. I suspected she walked with the grace of a prima ballerina. The way she held her shoulders, the lift of her chin. She was magnificent.

When we reached the gardens, she waved her hand over the expanse. “As you can see, we have a wide variety of flowers. In the spring, there’s rarely a weekend when we don’t have someone getting married.”

I was more interested in the flower whose arm was still wrapped around mine. “I understand why you wanted to start here.”

“It’s nice this time of night.”

I glanced at her. Her eyes were closed, and I caught her taking a deep breath. What would it be like to take her face in my hands and claim those lips?

The sounds inside the club faded the deeper we wandered into the garden. The beauty out here was in such contrast to what was inside.

“Do you spend a lot of time out here?”

It seemed the trance was broken when she pulled away from me and glared. “What are you doing here? You told me no.”

“Circumstances have changed.” I dropped my voice low and watched as she swallowed hard. I took a step forward, purposefully invading her personal space.

Her lips pressed into a thin line, but she didn’t step back. “What do you want from me?”

“Money.”

When her bottom lip trembled, I was taken off guard. “I offered you money.”

“His offer was better.”

The color drained from her face. “It was?” If I weren’t staring straight at her, I wasn’t sure I would have known what she said without seeing her lips move.

“Why did you come to me?” I had Franklin’s reason, or the one he wanted me to believe. I was curious what her reasons were.

A shiver rolled over her. She held my gaze, an explosive battle waging in those jewels. “The Wolf Butcher. I’ve done as much research on your family as I could. There wasn’t a lot of information, but the conclusion I came to was that you were dangerous. You wouldn’t fear Franklin Benoit, and I know he fears you.”

What an interesting approach. Was she trying to sway me to her side of the war? “Is that so?”

She glanced in the direction of the party and returned her attention to me, nodding. “I overheard him talking one night. I know he said he feared you, and then something about vigilantes that were costing him money.” I don’t know if she realized it, but her left hand slid to her right wrist and played with the wide bracelet wrapped around it. She was nervous, but I didn’t get the feeling I was the source.

“Vigilantes?” I wanted to believe her, but my distrust of Franklin colored my opinion. What if they were working together to flush my family out? Father and daughter conspiring to take out a common threat. What if the whole thing was a lie? That amount of money seemed absurd, but Thea had verified it, so I knew it was real. What was the game here? “Are you close with your father?”

Her eyes dilated until a sliver of the color remained. “That’s none of your business.”

Before I could think it through, I snaked my arm around her waist and pulled her flush against me. When she gasped, I expected it to be backed up with flying fists, but instead, her palms stayed flat against my chest. I brought my face closer to hers. “It is my business when I have two Benoits wanting me to get married.”

Her face paled, and her eyes cut to the door.

“Are you close with your father? If I have to ask again, I’m leaving.”

“I…”

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