Page 62 of Hell of a Mess
“Good night, Lace.”
I ended the call and closed my eyes. I’d done it. Made the decision to move away from Luther. I wouldn’t wake up with him in my room anymore. I literally grieved that loss. How was it possible to feel something so deeply for a person you hadn’t known that long? It was as if Luther had claimed a piece of mefrom that first moment in the parking lot where he had saved me. And every day after, everything he did, it’d only grown until he was all I thought about.
Walking over to the bed, I lay down on it and curled my knees up to my chest. Then I let the tears come. Why fight them? It was best to get it all out. Maybe then I could move on from this attachment I had to Luther. He’d made me feel cared about and safe. Something I’d gone without for so long that I forgot how it felt. But it was more than that too. I was attracted to Luther. My body reacted to him in a way it had never reacted to anyone. When I saw him, everything inside me felt alive.
And I didn’t believe that it was because he’d saved me. It was more than that. But I had to accept that it was one sided. Only I felt this way.
Last night, I hadn’t slept. I lay awake, listening for sounds of Luther. But it had been silent. When the sun rose, so did I, and I went to get a shower. There was no use in pretending as if I would fall asleep. My brain would not shut off. I wasn’t sure what time Mal would arrive, but I had to accept that Luther wasn’t going to be here. I knew I’d see him again, but I wasn’t sure when.
A knock on the door brought me from my thoughts, and I spun around from the window I’d been looking out to stare at it. Was he back? Did he know I was leaving? Maybe he would ask me not to.
“Lace,” Jayda’s voice called from the other side, and my heart sank.
I walked over to the door to open it, feeling a heaviness not only in my chest, but all over. Trying to smile was a challenge, but I did my best.
“Good morning,” Jayda said brightly. “I brought you a suitcase,” she added, and I dropped my gaze to see a lovely cream-colored hard-shell suitcase at her side.
“I, uh…I don’t have anything,” I replied, unsure what she wanted me to do with it.
“Yes, you do. All the clothes that I put in your closet are yours,” she replied, then walked past me into the room, rolling the suitcase beside her. “Mal is already here, but no rush. He’s having breakfast with Linc in the kitchen. You’ve sure made him happy.”
It was barely eight o’clock. He’d come early. He wanted me. So, why didn’t it feel all warm, like it had when I thought Luther wanted me here with him?
Because you have feelings for Luther. And Mal is your biological father, who you barely know.
“I wasn’t expecting him so soon. I thought I’d have a chance to tell you this morning,” I replied.
She waved a hand and smirked. “Girl, within the inner circle of the family, there are no secrets. I knew you’d called him before I went to bed last night. He told Linc, and Linc told me and sent me to get you a suitcase.”
Oh. Had they told Luther too? And he hadn’t come back?
Yes. That was exactly what had happened.
Could this hurt any more?
“I’ll pack up and then head down,” I told her, needing time to be alone before facing anyone else.
“I can help,” she offered.
“No, that’s not necessary. But thank you.”
She nodded, and although she was smiling, it felt as if she understood, and there was sympathy in her eyes. Had I been that obvious? Yes. Most likely. When Luther walked into a room, I forgot about everyone else.
“All right, but don’t try and bring your suitcase down. Justleave it here, and someone will come get it for you,” she replied as she headed back out the door.
I nodded. “Okay.”
Waiting until the door was closed, I sank onto the edge of the bed and let myself have one more small cry before washing my face and leaving.
This was what Luther wanted. This was what Mal wanted. It was what I had to do.
Twenty-Seven
Luther
Three days in Dallas was three too fucking many. I wanted to go home. But not before I had every detail about Lace’s former life and the fucker who had called himself her father. We’d gotten what we needed outside the walls of the Halsten house. The rest resided inside, and that was where we were headed next.
Not glancing at the men on either side of me, I moved quietly toward the security gate surrounding the Halsten residence. Just like Thaddeus had said, there was no human we’d come in contact with. It was all cameras and computers.
