Page 442 of Dark Love

But it is. It really is. “Those are all for you. Though I don’t know if your advice was worth the effort.”

“Hey now, don’t be like that. You want real serious advice?”

I nod.

“Bring your friend to the dinner and see how he reacts. Then judge for yourself if he’s a man you want in your life. Because it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. If you respect and trust him, that’s all that matters.”

“You aren’t afraid he might be an abuser like Adonis.”

“Nope. Because if he ever lays a finger on you, I’ll kill him. And before you get all huffy, I’d do that for any woman.”

Huffy. Okay, maybe I’d get a little huffy. Max and I agreed to be friends only. It’s nice that he respects that.

Dyce Trouble

Vex

Every time I set foot onto Willow Street, I expect it to be the same as it was all those years ago when I was hired to protect a bunch of street kids. The street kids are still finding this place, but it isn’t a rundown hovel. It could double for a posh neighborhood where snooty people drink fifty-dollar glasses of wine. Only the adults walking down the sidewalk with their fancy clothes and kids in strollers were once street kids.

They are the ones who helped three women who refused to believe in the word impossible transform this place.

My favorite addition to Willow Street was added by the woman who gave me what little humanity that I manage to pretend to have. Louisella Belladonna Wright never gave up on me, no matter how rude I was to her or how many bodies I put in the ground through the years.

Though she only knows about a trifling few.

If there was ever a scent that could be bottled to bring people comfort, it’s the scent of a library. Secret journeys, impossible adventures, and all the knowledge the world holds can be imagined simply by smelling an old book.

Louisella filled this space with books of every kind. And she’s added more since the last time I visited.

In the past when I’d visit, I’d hope to see her if only for a brief moment. Today, I hope she isn’t here, because that woman doesn’t know how to mind her own business. There’s no way I’m answering any questions about Dahlia. Or worse, bringing her over for dinner and an interrogation.

Thankfully, she doesn’t appear to be in the library today.

Dyce will be in one of the back quiet rooms that are meant for study groups and small training sessions. They’re private and soundproof. The perfect spot for a clandestine meeting.

And there’s Dyce right on time.

“Vex.”

She steps into the room, and I close the door behind us.

“Dyce. To what do I owe the pleasure of this weekend excursion?” Dyce Locke is a piranha even without her power suit and the briefcase she normally carries around like a warrior. In the courthouse, she fights to win for her clients, no matter what it takes.

There’s no need to ask if she’s safe here. Even a fool wouldn’t step onto Willow Street with ill intent.

“My client’s husband followed me home.”

And? She’s had dozens of violent men who stepped past reason and needed to be taught a lesson, some even permanently. None of those required a visit from me.

“All his previous girlfriends disappear after they break up.”

Two serial killers in a month, sadly, won’t be a record for me. “And Maddox can’t handle that?”

“There aren’t any bodies.”

So he’s smart?

“Also, he tells everyone that he received a large inheritance from his grandfather, but his grandfather was completely broke when he died. There haven’t been any large deposits. This guy’s accounts are perfectly middle-class. But he spends cash like it’s water.”

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