Page 53 of Vicious Hearts

I can only imagine she’s going crazy here and can’t wait to move into her own place. She once told me Michael is a bit of a psychopath. Not sure how much of that is true, since Nina seems well-adjusted.

“Change your mind and let me help you out with a job.”

Ariadne crosses her arms and shoots me a sharp look. I don’t know why she’s so intent on not accepting my help. She can’t possibly resent me that much.

“It’s fine, Caleph. I’m fine. Something will come up.”

She seems distracted as she says this, a frown marring her face. She’s worried it won’t be fine. And she’s probably miserable being here. I sigh and indicate the sofa, asking silently if I can sit down. She shrugs and sits back down on the opposite side as I fold one leg over the other.

“I have a friend,” I tell her. “Not in publishing, but she’s looking for a personal assistant. I think you two would get along well if that’s something you’d be interested in.”

I watch as her hand slides up her arm slowly, uncertainty coursing through her. She wants to say no, but she also wants to say yes. She can’t afford to say no under the circumstances.

“What does she do?” she asks. Good. She’s interested. It’s a start.

“Everything. She does everything.”

* * *

It’stime I paid Rand Holloway a visit.

He has a rather erratic work schedule, but I finally manage to find time to make my way to his apartment and wait. The security in the building is shitty. I climb the stairs then use my credit card to gain entry through the door. This, I know, is the apartment that he once shared with Ariadne. I walk around the small apartment, wondering what living here would’ve been like for her. I enter the bedroom, stand at the foot of the King size bed and wonder if it’s the same bed they used to share. A raging fire ignites within me at the thought of her with another man, even though that’s in her past.

There’s a picture frame on one of the bedsides – I move forward and pick it up. It’s a picture of him with Ariadne, a side profile of them with his arms around her, their smiling faces looking up at me. Ariadne has green eyes in the picture, and her face is wider than it is now. She was just as captivating then as she is now.

I slip the photo out of the frame and fold it into my pocket before I turn and walk into the living room. I sit and wait quietly, the dark enveloping me as night falls. It’s late when I hear the jiggling of his keys in the door and he stumbles into the apartment, flicking on the light.

He’s startled by my appearance on his couch, and he starts to stutter incoherently before I raise a finger to my lips and tell him to be quiet.

“Come in. Close the door.”

Something in my voice must alert him to the kind of danger I pose, because he does exactly as he’s told.

“What do you want?” he asks.

“I want you to stay away from Ariadne Moore.”

My voice is simple and direct, leaving no room for argument. There’s a confused look on his face as he tries to gauge my intentions.

“I don’t know who you are, man, but I found her first.”

My rage starts to surface, taking on a whole new untapped dimension. He found her first, like she is a toy, a possession. I stand up to my full height and approach him slowly, my eyes never leaving his.

“You may have had her first, but I’m the last man she’ll ever be with.”

50

ARIADNE

“Spill. Now.”

No sooner is Caleph out the door than Nina materializes in the living room begging me to tell her what’s going on between Caleph and me. I sigh and tuck a leg under my thigh as I sit back down again. I look around the room, and for the first time, I realize how small it is. It had never seemed so small until Caleph entered it, this beast of a man consuming all the space. He had looked like a grown man sitting in a doll’s house, the image so comical I had to repress my laughter.

“I knew you were hiding something from me!” Nina hisses, but her eyes are twin orbs of joy as she grabs my arm and pinches me.

“OwOwow,” I wince.

“That’s for keeping secrets from your best friend. And also for my benefit, to make sure I didn’t just dream that Caleph Rojas was in my apartment.”

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