Page 44 of Not Your Hero

“What? Why?”

“Such a greedy little pussy you have, Em. Always wanting me.”

“You can’t just kiss me like that and then walk away.”

“I’m not walking away. I wanted to talk to you,” he says.

“About what?”

“There’s an event coming up, and I’d like you to go with me,” he says, shocking the hell out of me. I thought I wasn’t allowed out of the house. He sees the look on my face and sighs.

“I was hoping you’d like to go.”

“Out of the house?”

“Yes, out of the house. This event is important to me and I would hope you’d act accordingly.”

“So don’t tell them you kidnapped me and kept me hostage?” I ask playfully. There it is. That smile hits me in my ovaries.

“I would like it very much if you didn’t bring that up.”

“What about your brother? Are you not worried about him showing up?”

“Not at this event. My brother … he likes to plan his attacks,” he informs me. A chill runs down my spine, and I wrap my arms around myself. Gannix steps forward and places his hands on my shoulders, looking me in the eye.

“I won’t let him hurt you again, Emerson. He won’t lay a fucking hand on you.”

“How can I believe that?”

“Because I’m telling you that. I’m promising you that.”

“And your promises should mean something to me?” I ask him. His eyes darken as if he’s going to get mad, but he doesn’t. Instead, he sighs and steps back.

“I get it. You don’t trust me yet. And I understand that, but I’m asking you, on this, to believe me.”

“Okay.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Okay. I’ll believe you. You haven’t done anything you haven’t said you were going to do so far,” I tell him, which is true. Everything he’s said he was going to do, he’s done.

“Good. So, the event?” I shrug.

“I’ll go.”

“You don’t even want to know what it’s about?”

“I figured you’d tell me that.”

“You’re right. It’s a charity event. We raise money for the orphanage.” My eyebrows shoot up, and my mouth falls open. He does that? He raises money for orphans? Why can’t I picture him doing that? Why is that so hard to believe?

“I know what you’re thinking. And the answer is simple. We might not have been orphans, but I’ve seen what it’s like firsthand. I didn’t like it. In fact, I wanted to kill anyone who laid a hand on a child,” he reveals to me.

“Have you? I mean … killed any of them?”

“You want the honest answer?” I nod my head. “Yes.” I don’t know why that surprises me. He’s a murderer. I knew that about him.

“And you don’t feel bad?”

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