Page 86 of Bad for You

I shiver in response.

I wait for him to remove his fingers, but he doesn’t, and it surprises me. “It’s also supposed to keep negative energies away and to give one the courage to face their inner truths.”

There’s a hidden meaning behind his words.

“Are you ready to face yours?”

He brushes a finger along the slope of my neck to across the top of my shoulder. I hold my breath, anticipating his next move.

“Please come with me.”

Our time, it seems, has come to an end, which means Lenny has found what he was looking for; he’s found his brother. Seems ironic that I too have found my mother. But the answers we sought haven’t given us peace.

It’s only roused the sleeping dogs who are hungry for war.

“Why ask questions you know the answers to?”

“Because I’m hoping I’m wrong for once.”

I scoff, unable to conceal my disgust at his arrogance.

“Whatever you need to find peace, we can do it together, out of here. Please, Valentina.”

His sincerity is evident. But it doesn’t change a thing. He has his demons to conquer. And I have mine.

“You know,” he says, something shifting in his voice, “I can always make you.”

Before I can tell him to go fuck himself, he glides his hand around the front of my neck, clasping it tightly. He is still behind me, so I’m trapped. The heat of his body pressed to mine is almost suffocating, but I welcome it.

“You can always try,” I reply, barely able to swallow with how tight he holds me. “But we both know you’ll lose.”

“What makes you so sure?” He slowly forces my head back so we’re looking at one another.

The moment is heavy with violence and sex.

“Because of your feelings for me.”

It’s the first time I’ve expressed it, but it’s not because I’m unsure. I know he feels for me what I do for him. I’ve never said anything because it doesn’t change a thing.

He doesn’t say a word, but the fire is stoked behind those smoldering eyes.

“Father Merry has taken more breaths than he deserves. I will be visiting him very soon. I’ve been biding my time because the surprise in his eyeballs when I gouge them from his head and feed them to him will be worth the wait.”

I inhale slowly, savoring the memory I cannot wait to make.

“I’ll help you. You don’t need Gianna.”

“Grow up, Lenny,” I scold, narrowing my eyes. “How do we deal with the police? The sisters? The many witnesses who will likely see us? We need someone who is above the law.”

Something passes over him, which makes me believe he knows someone else. But when he doesn’t share who, I realize this is another reason I can’t trust him—because he doesn’t trust me.

Perhaps it’s because we’re fighting to be top dog, which is why we’d never work—in every single way.

“When I leave here, I’ll be the enemy. Gianna will hunt me down…as I will her.”

“I don’t understand why you hate her.”

“Because everything she’s done is to benefit herself. She doesn’t care about either of us. She will use us as her pawns in the war she wages because she’s nothing but a greedy, callous bitch. Why can’t you see that!”

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