Page 116 of Devious Kingpin
Juliette
My control was slipping.
If I didn’t get out of here now, I feared I’d use the knife on him, then set this whole fucking house on fire. That was how fucking mad I was.
But even stronger than the fury was this bloodcurdling pain clawing at my chest. My heart hurt so fucking bad that I thought it would shatter for good.
I’d adapt to it. I knew it firsthand. It would hover in my chest until it became part of my every breath and every heartbeat. Or until death came knocking on my door.
Tears blurred my vision, cascading down my face as I made my way out of the house. Luckily my purse was right at the door, next to Dante’s keys and my flats I kicked off last night. I slid them on, then headed outside, slamming the door behind me so hard it felt like the entire house shook.
Ironically, the first signs of spring danced through the air, mocking my dark mood. I drove around the city that suddenly felt dark and unwelcoming for hours.
His words echoed in my brain and screams bubbled in my throat with the need to drown it all out. Coming to a red light, I pressed my forehead against the wheel. A tornado of emotions swirled through me and I had no way to get them out. I needed an outlet.
My control finally snapped. “Fuuuuck!” I screamed at the top of my burning lungs. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”
I banged my forehead against the wheel like a crazy person. There was a high-pitched ringing in my ears. I wasn’t dying but fuck it felt like it. This was the type of pain that tore at your insides.
Beep.Beep.
A honk of a car penetrated through my hysterical screaming. I stilled, my voice frozen in my throat. I straightened up in my seat and blinked. Then took a deep breath and exhaled. The world slowly came back into focus.
The intensity of my emotions slowly faded and numbness settled in. Empty and cold.
I resumed driving, circling the city. When I drove by the street where The Library at Gilt Bar was, a brief pang in my chest was the only reaction. The numbness had started to take over.
But still as I drove by, I couldn’t tear my gaze from the door that led to the memory.
Bang.
I slammed the brakes, my head whipped around.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I groaned. Dante’s side mirror hung, half torn off. I glanced behind me. “God, not today,” I muttered.
Of all the fucking days to hit another car, today was not it. Putting the car in park, I got out and went around to assess the damage. My hands shook as I pushed them into my hair.
Why did I have this incredible urge to grab a baseball bat and start smashing vehicles? I took calming breaths. One. Two. Three.
“Beating cars with baseball bats is bad,” I murmured to myself. My pulse slowed, the adrenaline that wanted to rush through my veins and take over the rage receded. “Thou shall not damage others’ property.” Then, remembering what Dante had done, I added, “Except your husband’s.”
“That doesn’t sound very good for your husband.”
A deep voice came from behind me and I whirled around, coming face-to-face with Kian. What in the fuck was he doing here?
“I’m actually here for you,” he answered my unspoken question. Unless I actually said it out loud.
“How did you know where I was?” I asked suspiciously.
He gave me an exasperated look. “I knew your identity all along, Juliette. I was actually on my way to your home.”
My brows furrowed.
“Why?” I asked suspiciously. Now that I knew who he really was, wariness was at the forefront of my mind. “I mean, you probably have better things to do than stalk me. And I already have a stalker.”
His lips curved up. That silver-gray scruff on his face gave him that hot daddy look.
“Your husband, I presume,” he noted. His voice was deep and raspy. I could almost picture how women swooned over his looks and grunts he’d produce when he—
