Page 8 of Perfect Sin

“A drug trafficker, years ago. Don’t worry, he’s dead, so I’d say justice has been served.” I chuckle. I doubt she’d think it was funny, but after he shot me I returned the favor, only I placed my shot right between his eyes.

I don’t fuck around with my targets. That’s how you end up digging out a slug with nothing but a pocket knife, a fifth of vodka, and a cheap sewing kit. The scar might not be as noticeable if Lucien hadn’t taken several swallows out of the bottle before he went to work on me.

“How did you end up being shot by a drug dealer?”

“A trafficker, and I’d say he shot me because he knew I was there to kill him.”

“This is why you need to make an effort to put that past behind you,” she says, tipping up her chin.

I brush my fingers across the puckered mark. “I’ve got a few reminders that will never let me do that.”

Perhaps Carina isn’t going to be the ally I need her to be. She might have been sane once, but it’s clear her mind cracked the day I was taken from her. She’ll do anything to have him back.

Though that child might have been me, neither of us can know who I’d have grown up to be if I’d never been kidnapped. The only thing certain is who I actually am now. No amount of pretending or pushing my past in a metaphorical closet will turn me into the man who would wear the clothes she’s bought.

* * *

One of themany servants I’ve seen wandering around the house comes to let me know it’s time for me to join my parents in the sitting room. Dressed in the costume Carina chose, I descend the stairs hoping to find the ability to not kill anyone long enough to make it through dinner.

The servant leads me to a large room with stiff looking sofas and chairs. Arthur stands next to a portable bar, pouring himself a drink into a crystal glass. “Jackson, come and join me for a drink.”

“No, thank you. I’ll take a water, though.”

He turns and looks at me. “You don’t drink? I find that surprising.” Arthur can’t help the disdain with which he’s looking at me. While Carina looks at me and sees someone who could be her son, Arthur sees disappointment. He’s desperate to wipe me clean of the past he finds so distasteful.

“Is it because people like me usually drink and do drugs?” The kind of people he’s pointed out aren't his kind of people.

He freezes with the tumbler of whiskey halfway to his mouth. “Do you do drugs?”

His discomfort amuses me. It shouldn’t. I know they both suffered after I was taken, but I doubt it was even close to the scale I did. Arthur wants an answer to his question. “Does weed count?” I ask.

“Of course it counts. It’s illegal,” he stammers.

“Actually, it’s legal for recreational use here and in California,” I point out.

“Well, it’s illegal at the federal level, and not something this family tolerates. You’ll quit immediately.”

“You certainly do issue a lot of orders without the ability to enforce them.”

The same servant who came up to fetch me enters the room. “Sir, your guests are pulling into the drive.”

“Thank you, Charles. Please see them in here once they arrive,” Arthur orders.

“Jackson, you’ll be on your best behavior. There’s a benefit dinner tomorrow night, and if you can show the ability to behave, I’d like to bring you with us. The press will love hearing how you were saved from that thug, Blackthorne. You’ll need a date of course, but I imagine you and Whitney will hit it off quite well.”

“I’m sorry. I must have misheard you. Certainly you aren’t telling me that you are setting me up on a date after I just got married the other day. Wouldn’t that be unseemly?”

As he did in the car he weakly flicks his wrist. “I’ve already explained to them that we are working on annulling your marriage.”

“I need a minute,” I say and move toward the door.

“Jackson, our guests are arriving. I expect you to pay attention to Whitney,” Arthur asserts.

“You expect a lot of things that aren’t going to happen, Arthur.” I walk out of the room before he has a chance to issue any more demands.

I dial a number I never expected to call again. Damien answers on the first ring. “I must say this is a surprise.”

“That makes two of us. I’ve got a complication.”

---