Page 40 of Savage Rule

I grin. “Disabling your little sensors was easy.”

She drops the brown paper bag she’s carrying onto the table and crosses her arms. “Okay. Better question I guess would be, why the fuckareyou in my apartment? Didn’t you swear never to return?”

Taking out the few items she brought from the grocery store, I store them where they go. Or at least, where I think they go. “Yeah, well, it’s obvious I’m fucked in the head.”

She watches me curiously. “You did some research on me.”

“I did.”

“And? What did you learn?”

“Your name, for starters.” From my pocket, I take out the article from a Mississippi newspaper I printed and hand it to her.

She only pretends to read it. I’m sure she’s memorized it word for word. So I snatch it from her and read it aloud.

Eight-year-old Tamberleigh Johnson was found wandering the streets of Jackson after her parents, Travis and Elaine Johnson, were brutally killed just outside the city. It is believed that the young girl was witness to the murder, and she’s been taken into protective custody.

“I stared at this picture for hours last night.” I point to the little green-eyed girl in the photo just above the article. She’s hiding behind a female police officer, but enough of her is showing that there’s no doubt in my mind of who that is. “It’s you.”

“Congratulations. You know my name. So what?”

“I know more than that, Peaches. I know that after the death of your parents, you bounced around from foster home to foster home. I know that you were finally adopted when you turned fourteen.” I pause a moment before I continue. “I know you killed your adoptive father.”

As I expected, she stiffens, her breathing all but stopped.

It doesn’t take long, however, for her to recover. She turns away and goes to sit on her couch. “What can I say? You have me all figured out. I’m the orphan that got into trouble and lost my soul as a teen. Now you know why I cut myself. You’re free to go home.”

I follow and sit beside her. “There’s more to you than that.”

“Really, there isn’t.” She tries to stand but I snatch her wrist and keep her with me. Letting out a long breath, she digs her fingers into her stomach and grimaces.

“Heartburn?”

Swallowing down what must be an insane amount of acid by the pained expression, she asks, “Does Luca have this information too?”

“Not yet. But he will eventually.”

She gives me a side glance. “You’re going to give it to him?”

“Our man, the one that does all the digging. Even though he’s my friend, he works for Luca. He’s loyal to him. It’s only a matter of time before Luca specifically asks for information on you, and Kyle will give it to him.”

“But not you.” There’s doubt in her tone.

I shake my head and hope she believes me when I say, “Not me.”

Once again, she tries to pull away, but I won’t let her go. Frustrated, she sighs. “What? What more do you want from me? Is it a fuck?” She throws her leg over my lap and straddles me and her mouth pulls into a smile that doesn’t reach her cat eyes. “We can fuck.”

“I don’t want to fuck.” I grip her hips to keep her from grinding herself on me, because then I definitely will want to fuck. “I want to know more.”

She chews her bottom lip in aggravation. “Why? I don’t get it. One moment you want me dead, the next you kiss me, then you want to know why I’m all fucked up. Why?”

“It’s not that Iwantto. It’s that Ineedto.”

“Why?”

I shrug, unable to explain something so completely unreasonable. “You do something to my insides, Peaches. My stomach is all twisted up all the time. I can’t fucking think straight, I can’t sleep, I’m always wondering what misdeed you’re getting into, and if you’re wondering about me. It’s the most God-awful thing I’ve ever felt.”

She stares at me, her gaze roving my face. It takes her a while to say anything, so long that I begin to regret what I said. Then she asks, “Why did you let me live that night in the Quarter?”

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