Page 31 of Vicious Hearts

“The guy you dated.” I try to keep it light, but I can’t suppress the razor-sharp edge to my voice. “I need to know. Some disgruntled ex might be behind all this bullshit.”

“You think I was dating The Dollmaker? No, you don’t,” she sits up, pulling the sheet around her, “but youdostill think I’m wrong and that someone is just fucking with me.”

“Get mad. I don’t fucking care. Who is it?”

She glares at me. “You only want to know because you’re jealous. You don’t think he’s a threat to me at all.”

“Not anymore, he isn’t. If he gets in your face or mine, I won’t hesitate to fuck him up.”

Her face softens. “Look, he’s not someone you need to worry about. We went out a few times, it was weird, and then we had a huge bust-up. Now we avoid each other. He hasn’t got a role in all this, so keep him out of it, okay?”

Roxy lies down beside me and closes her eyes. I watch her for a moment, thinking about pressing the matter but decide to drop it for now.

I’ll get the information I want anyway. That’s what I do. And I’ll make up my mind about whether he’s relevant after I’ve ensured the fucker knows his place.

* * *

Roxy

I got the message at eight a.m. I don’t want to explain this to Ben until it’s over because I don’t know what it’s about yet. I need to handle it without my Bratva boyfriend throwing his weight around.

Is he my boyfriend? The word sounds infantile. Lover? Fuck-buddy? Is this…what’s that stupid word…asituationship? We’re certainly not ‘just talking.’ The dull ache in my core is evidence enough of that. I’m glad I used a dildo in my self-pleasure escapades, or he could have hurt me.

He’s a confusing mix of tenderness and cruelty, like an iron fist in a velvet glove. I’m off balance, unsure of what to expect, but his command of my body excites and scares me. The contradiction in him holds my attention, even though I know he’s dangerous to me.

He’s so possessive, so dominant, yet everything I didn’t know I wanted.

But I’m inexperienced, and he knows it. He tried to warn me, even as he seduced me with his words. What seemed so alluring last night seems messed up in the cold light of day, but I don’t care, and that’s what troubles me most.

I’m looking in the mirror near the front door and adjusting my scarf when Ben appears in the bedroom doorway. He catches my eye in the mirror and smiles.

“And where areyougoing?”

“Work called me in,” I say, picking up my purse. “It’s nothing, just a meeting.”

“Then it doesn’t matter if I come along, does it?”

“You can’t come with me to work.” I turn to glare at him. “I mean, nothing is stopping you from being there. It’s an open-door place because it’s a community hub. But I don’t need you. It’s broad daylight, and I’ll be with people I know. You said you wanted to spend some time with the case files this morning until I can get in to see Farraday.”

Ben looks me up and down. “You are wearing a pencil skirt and pumps when you usually go to work in jeans. I know that from the photos on the walls of your apartment.

He’s talking about my collection of press clippings. Oliver, Moira, Ali, and I, with giant cheques and cheesy grins.

“So I felt like dressing up a bit.”

“Nuh-uh.” He steps to me and uses his finger to move my face to one side. “Your earrings are plain studs, and your hair is up in a tidy bun. Sensible black blouse, minimal makeup. No perfume. But do you know what truly gives you away?”

I shake my head.

“Your eyes. They’re darting, anxious-looking. Understandable—you’ve got plenty to be anxious about.” His mouth curves into a smile, and I wonder whether he means the situation overall or just himself. “But you’re more grounded than that. It would take more than ‘just work’ to set you off, but I don’t think you lied about where you’re going. So you want to look serious and professional today, which feels like you’re protesting too much.”

Fuck him.Ihatehim reading me like this. It’s more violating than anything he could do to my body.

I want to hit him with some cutting retort, but it won’t come to me. As much as I try to keep my expression neutral, I can’t do it, and he sees my anger.

“You’re in trouble at work, aren’t you? You got the call this morning to attend a meeting urgently. If you knew before now, you’d have mentioned it or had a lie ready to cover yourself.”

“Bingo,” I say icily. “I don’t know what the issue is, but Oliver called and said an official complaint was made against me. He can’t tell me who made it, but I have to respond and make my case to the trustees.”

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