Page 53 of Erik's Salvation
He was up and moving before he could stop himself. Chandler’s voice sounded behind him from the phone, but he ignored it.
He stormed out of his house and across their yards. When he reached Hannah’s door, he told himself to knock, but he hit the wood so hard it was more of a pound. Her Honda was out front, so he knew she was home.
A beat passed, and he was about to pound on the wood again when the door opened and Hannah stood in front of him, looking so fucking radiant his chest constricted. And that just deepened his anger. Made it hotter. Fiercer. Because Marco had touched her…again.
“Erik—”
“Why didn’t you tell me you saw Marco today?”
Her brows flickered, the surprise on her face shifting into confusion. “How did you—”
“It doesn’t matter how I know. I told you to stay away from him, and you agreed to tell me if he showed up.”
She cringed. “I know. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. I just got home.” She stepped forward. “Iplannedto tell you. I was actually going to text you in a few minutes.”
He stepped back because he couldn’t be so close to her right now, not when the rage was a living, breathing beast inside him.
Hurt registered briefly in her expression. “And I couldn’t ask him to leave,” she added, a bit more hesitantly this time. “Selling houses is my job, so I had to let him in.”
Blood roared between his ears. He fucking knew that, but it didn’t make this any easier.
“But, Erik,” she started softly, “he doesn’t seem like the bad guy you think he is.”
He laughed, a twisted, ugly sound. “Hannah, you’re twenty-three years old. You don’t know evil.”
Her spine straightened. “Excuse me?”
He turned. Coming here was a bad idea. He needed to get some damn space.
Soft footsteps padded after him. “Are you serious? You barely know me or what I’ve been through, yet you tell me I don’t know evil?”
He spun around, and she just stopped herself from walking into him. When he spoke, he made sure she heard every word clearly. “If you knew evil,realevil, you’d know that it can masquerade as good. It can shift and change into whatever it wants you to see. And it will only strike when it has you exactly where it wants you.”
Her frown was so deep it fully transformed her features. “Erik, that’s—”
“A reality you never want to be exposed to. Promise me you’ll stay away from him. Promise me the next time he shows his face, you’ll leave.”
“I wish I could tell you I will, but if he’s a client, I have to communicate with him.”
The rage threatened to swallow him, so he turned around and walked away, not wanting her to see the fucking darkness threatening to overwhelm him.
CHAPTER16
“Ifeel naked, Brigid.” Hannah tugged at the slit on her thigh as if she could stitch it together with her fingers. It ran from the floor nearly to her hip.
“Stop it.” Brigid shoved her hands away. “You look hot.”
It wasn’t just the slit that had her feeling underdressed. It was the low cut of the front of the dress. It dropped nearly to the center of her chest. That, combined with the spaghetti straps on the shoulders…yeah, she definitely felt naked.
She stepped into the ballroom, closely following Henry and Brigid. Her gaze was still on her dress when Henry gasped.
“Holy shit, look at this place.”
Hannah looked up—and gaped. Holy shit was right. The room was packed. Men in suits and women in long, elegant ball gowns. There were waitstaff in tuxedos carrying cocktail foods and a band playing at the far end of the room.
The cost of admission had been high, and if Henry hadn’t bought them each a ticket, she wouldn’t be here. But even if the proceeds weren’t going toward a good cause, the ticket would be worth it just to see this elegant space.
Brigid’s mouth dropped open. “This is—”
