Page 44 of Chemistry: The Chemist

I’d try my hardest. That was a promise I was making to myself so the success of my night didn’t depend on a man who had possibly forgotten I existed by now.

I studied the menu, mapping my meal plan with precision. The first on my list was the lamb bites that were served with a house-made dressing as an appetizer. The seafood spinach dip was another appetizer I’d love to try. A salad was included with every entree. I’d settle for the caesar. Finally, a steak with loaded mash and broccolini would complete my meal.

Time stretched as I waited for Dyson’s return. I altered between peeking at the time on my phone and behind me where he’d gone toward the restrooms. With each passing minute, his disappearance was becoming clearer.

This is why I don’t care about entertaining men. I gnawed my bottom lip as I placed the call to his cell. It didn’t stop ringing until the voicemail met me on the line. I tried once more and got the same results.

In total disbelief, I stood and pushed my chair back up to the table. Though I wanted to try his cell once more, I knew there wasn’t a point. He’d been such a fleeting figure, that I wouldn’t notice his absence. From the moment he’d greeted me at Roulette, I imagined he was all fluff. His disappearing act was all the evidence I needed to confirm my suspicions.

A fucking joke and a waste of effort. I strolled out of Blanche Steakhouse with as much credence as I’d strolled in with. Only this time, it was coupled with annoyance and self-criticism that wasn’t necessarily fair but reasonable.

Two feet out into the muggy air, my heart stopped completely. There he stood, hands folded in front of him, pressuring his shirt to expose more of his chest and the definition of his arms.

Dark, devilish eyes donned me. They hounded me for repayment, time lost, and the worry I’d caused. Before I could begin to acknowledge my debts and begin paying, his baritone stiffened me wholly.

“Get in the fucking car, Eden.”

He lifted himself from the hood, stretching his body to meet his full length, and undoing me, simultaneously. Defiance was easier than compliance. I stood, unmoving, as he waited at the door of a matte black Mercedes with black rims made it look completely unreal in the dark of the night.

“Eden.” He groaned, as if speaking to me at his current capacity was painful.

I hoped it hurt, just like his absence had made my heart tender and my head sore.

“Where is my date?”

“Get in the fucking car before I put you in the car.”

“Where is my date?” I repeated myself, desperate to know where the man I’d come to meet had gone. It was obvious Mister had everything to do with his inability to return to our table.

“Now is not the time to test me. I will fail. I will fail miserably,” he grumbled angrily. “I have no limits, Eden. None. Don’t fuck around or you will find out, swiftly and without remorse.”

“Whe–”

In a flash, he was in my face, his breath making the strands of hair that were ring-curled and hanging swing backward.

“In the car. Right now.” Slowly, yet forcefully, he demanded movement.

This time, unlike the others, I was swayed. My feet began moving before I could protest. In seconds, I was in the front seat with a seatbelt over my body and a furious driver. My back slammed against the seat as he burned the rubber of his tires, speeding down the street.

My God. I thudded at the center, realizing why he had a driver. He was a menace behind the wheel. It frightened and fascinated me at once.

TWO

Audacity.

It was the downfall of anyone who’d ever fallen victim to my wrath. The man slowly losing consciousness as his body shut down completely was the latest. Together, we made our way to the floor. Disgust plagued me.

Drop, I demanded.

When his body finally collapsed, on cue, I stood, grateful I didn’t dirty my slacks on the restroom floor. His filthy nails and the sleep in the corner of his eyes were repulsive enough. It was difficult keeping my composure and I wouldn’t last too much longer.

I removed the burner from my waistline and the silencer from the pocket of my pants, preparing to put an end to the madness sooner than later. I hadn’t planned for my night to go this way. A nice dinner, something brown in my cup, and Eden within arm’s reach was the idea. But seeing her stroll across the street as if she was ready to claim her pageant crown had wrecked my fucking brain and almost made me wreck my fucking whip.

Witnessing her in another man’s company was maddening. Witnessing another man lay hands on what belonged to me was incriminating. Seeing those fingers hadn’t been cleaned thoroughly in hours, possibly days, was infuriating.

He’d sealed his fate when they grazed her skin, fueling the fire brewing inside of me already. To his detriment, I met him in the restroom with a closed for cleaning sign, a scorned heart, and my problem solver.

Pew!

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