Page 86 of Locke

He shrugged. “I’m not in the business of abducting spoiled little shits like the one you looked after. However, had I done that, had I needed you to look like a negligent, untrustworthy babysitter, I’d have stationed my men to ensure he was safe when he took off from the home.” Now his eyes sparked to life as he looked at me, adding, “He managed to run off from you just fine without my interference.”

“Liar,” I hissed again. “Did you mess with the cameras, too?”

“No.”

“You just can’t fucking admit to a thing, can you? It’s mind-blowing.”

He looked so unruffled, it was starting to annoy. “I’d be more mind-blown that you didn’t notice the barely legal girl that he brings into the house to fuck when you babysit those designers bags. You think he chooses to film on those days, Kali? Do you also think he has that blonde little tart show up to the front door with all those peeping fucking Helgas on the street, watching when the slightest leaf blows off a tree?” His face lit up once more, that grin nearly infectious because it broke through his expression, made him look…normal. “Wouldn’t the most logical answer be that he didn’t lock the door when he brought her in and that you didn’t double check it? Or am I still lying?”

I just stared at him, taken aback for a moment. It took several moments to pick my jaw off the floor. “You’re lying,” I decided, but my voice was weak now, pathetic.

That smile faded. He didn’t respond as his eyes redirected on the road, his hand gripping the steering wheel lightly. There was no anger in him, no tension—nothing about him that evoked emotion as he sat next to me, simply driving calmly down the suburban streets.

But I knew the man beneath that calm.

How passionate he could be.

How monstrous, too.

“Is this punishment?” I couldn’t help but ask now. “For what happened between us.”

“I’m not punishing you,” he replied.

“I haven’t said a word to anyone,” I continued, feeling emotion build behind my eyes. “You murdered two men right there from me and I kept that secret, Locke.”

“You think if you opened your mouth to the police they would have come for me, Kali?” he asked edgily.

My skin tingled when he said my name—which was stupid. “Are you saying they wouldn’t have?”

“You already know the answer.”

I wanted to look out the window and see where he was driving to, but I was too terrified to turn my back on him. His presence was daunting. I watched him, hardly believing this was happening to me, that this man who was a monster would piss so much time messing with my life.

As the minutes continued to pass, I very slowly pulled out my phone from my pocket, just in case he turned aggressive at the sight of it. I gripped it tightly, ready to dial the police if I had to—though I realized how pointless it might be if I told them I was in Locke’s car. Still, I felt safer holding the damn thing. Locke’s eyes flashed to it, and his lips curved up. This was so amusing to him.

“Where are we going?” I demanded, glimpsing quickly out the window.

“I told you. I’m taking you home.”

I looked at him sceptically. “Why?”

“I might be a monster, but I’d rather not submerge you in the other monsters on your very street. Fucked up neighbourhood you live in.”

“Spare me your gallant gesture.”

“Don’t want it?”

“Fuck you.”

He grinned now. “Fuck, but I love a dirty mouth.”

I looked away, crossing my arms, choosing not to answer to that. Instead, I haughtily said, “I asked you what you wanted from me. You told me that you wanted me. What did you mean by that, Locke?”

“I want to take you again,” he answered swiftly. “I want you back in my bedroom, at my fucking side—”

“You promised to let me go.”

“And I did. It’ll be different this time.”

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