Page 25 of Unlawful Lies

“Let me go!”

I pull her back with such force her legs leave the ground, and she’s kicking at the air. The end of her heel slams against the car hard enough to leave a dent in the paint. The next time she kicks, she’s going straight for the inside of my knees.

“I can figure out who did this. Okay? I’m the only one who saw it happen, and that’s how I have your father. I can help you.”

She’s screeching like a banshee and hard enough to wake the damn dead. I’d be less surprised if her father pried his eyes open and took another breath than I would have if Nicola believed me without objection.

“The same person who tried to frame your dad for the theft is more than likely behind this.” I squeeze her tight enough to shove the breath right out of her lungs, but Nicola won’t cease. “Now fucking stop! I can’t help you if you kick the shit out of me.”

She won’t stop screaming, and she refuses to go quiet. I’m seconds away from knocking her out for her own good when she falls limp in my arms, sinking forward like someone flipped a switch inside of her.

This is worse. This is so much worse when the fight is gone.

“Are you ready to actually listen to me?”

She’s got no answer for me, and when I set her on her feet, I keep my hands on her waist to steady her. She stares at the ground and refuses to look at the car any longer.

I swipe a hand over my face, and the scratches sting. Blood stains my cheeks, trailing down to my chin and dripping over my collar.

Not like I don’t have a ton of suits to replace it, but man, I never thought she’d do so much damage.

“Look, I’ll help you,” I say, proud when my voice remains steady. “I’ll figure out what happened to him. I’m not going to leave you alone.”

Nicola slowly straightens, like a flower finally getting the water it needs to flourish. She lifts her face to the sky, and when she turns to me, there isn’t a hint of a tear anywhere. Only grim determination. “I’m not alone.”

I won’t state the obvious: her mother is useless, a shell of a woman, and her brother is too concerned with his parties and his friends to take the necessary steps. Their organization is ripe for a takeover, and once news of this death gets out, there won’t be anyone around to stop their competitors from moving.

She’ll be auctioned off to whoever is first to get her, and from there, I can’t help her.

Will she trust the evil she knows, the one she’s kissed? Or will she take her chances with whoever comes in to steal her?

“Why were you there?”

Her question takes me off guard. “Does it matter?”

“Yes. To me, it matters.”

“This is a small town. I saw something I shouldn’t have. Unfortunately, I wasn’t fast enough to stop the inevitable.”

Because this was bound to happen to Arden. He was too drunk, too rich, too much of a liability for anyone to leave him alive for long.

“What’s your connection, Edward?” Nicola presses. “You must have been there if you have his body.”

If I tell her the whole truth, she’ll never forgive me. “It’s you. You’re the connection. I want you to be happy.”

“Bullshit.”

She’s compliant when I draw her against my chest. And despite the blood, she lets me kiss her, pressing my lips first to one cheek and then to the other. I paint her as red as I am, and with her father cooling between us, I capture her mouth, sliding my tongue against hers.

“He came into the club tonight. He looked unwell, so I followed him outside. I didn’t catch a good look at the man who did it, but enough to be able to piece things together. I’m going to take care of you. And this,” I murmur.

“There’s no way you can.” She sounds like she’d rather be anywhere else, with anyone else, then she’s kissing me, and I taste her disgust and sadness.

I taste the emotions I no longer feel with every rough inhalation she makes, with every moan I’m powerless to keep silent. Her nipples are hard, and awareness skitters straight down to my cock. It brings me to life.

If I don’t draw the line, then I'll take her right here against the car. I’ll thrust inside her tight little cunt and take her virginity with the corpse of her father watching us. No blessing, only a curse.

I like Nicola too much to do that to her.

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