Lucius (Acquisition Series #4) - Celia Aaron Page 0,14
my life. I have. My hands are covered in blood, so it’s not unusual that someone would show up with a grudge against me. It’s happened before. Just not like this.
No, Evelyn’s a much more complicated puzzle than simple money, business acumen, and an unexplained thirst for vengeance. At least I’m the only one she’s after. She didn’t look twice at Sin or Teddy, but I felt her staring daggers at me. I really wish I knew why she had such a hard-on for my blood.
Not that it bothers me. Not at all. I smile. I like her violence. She wants my blood. I like that, too. When I get her on all fours, I want her to hate how much she loves me fucking her.
I toss the laptop beside me and lean back, the ache in my chest still there but also sort of numb thanks to the ice. Every pulse of pain reminds me of that minx.
“Who are you, Evelyn?” I ask the empty penthouse. “And what the fuck did I do to you?”
10
Evelyn
After a sleepless night, I’m staring at the alarm clock when it starts to beep. I hit the off button, then snuggle back into my pillow, one hand beneath it and wrapped around the butt of my 9 millimeter.
All night long, my head has been buzzing with the memory of killing Lucius juxtaposed with the memory of Lucius cornering me in the parking garage. He’s very much alive, and he fucking knows. He knows it was me. That knowledge alone is enough to ensure that I never sleep again. But what’s worse than Lucius still drawing breath? I roll over and stare at the black envelope on the far corner of my dresser.
I have to open it. I should’ve done it yesterday, but I couldn’t. Not when I barricaded myself into my loft apartment and sat up half the night with my gun pointed at the door.
But the boogeyman hadn’t shown up, hadn’t come banging on the door demanding I face him. Maybe Lucius doesn’t know where I am.
I laugh in the quiet room. Not Lucius. He knows exactly where I am. He’s probably already got a tail on me, and though I paid a lot of money to hide my past, he’ll find out the truth. Maybe he already has. When he does, he’ll know why I’m here to destroy him, and I hope he knows just how much he fucking deserves it. If he doesn’t, well …
“Then it’s war.” I sigh, the liquid courage from last night threatening me with a headache of epic proportions. War with the Vinemonts. With him. It’s what I planned for—a surgical strike on their business followed by a full-on takeover. Then, instead of increasing profits and making shareholders happy, I’d run it into the ground. Break it apart like a faulty toy and set the pieces on fire. Warm my hands as they burn.
But now it won’t be so easy. Not when Lucius knows exactly what sort of threat I am. One willing to kill him with a single bullet and never look back.
Shit, Evie. Come the fuck on. I know what I’m doing. Stalling.
The envelope waits while I keep thinking about Lucius. The same way I’ve been thinking about him for years. Only this time … this time I know what it feels like to have his hands on me. Those hands ended my brother’s life without mercy, and I have no doubt that it’s a sin against my family for me to have felt something in those moments when Lucius had pinned me against him. I wanted to feel only revulsion, not fear, and definitely not … Not anything more. Maybe the Acquisition didn’t just twist the participants, maybe it broke something in me, too. Because I was there, because I witnessed every bit of horror—maybe that’s why I want things that don’t make sense. Maybe that’s why I want to kill Lucius. Not just to avenge my family, but because perhaps it will destroy that fucked-up part of me that wants to get closer to him.
Jesus. If I keep doing all this godforsaken thinking, I’ll need a drink sooner rather than later.
Sitting up, I pull the gun from beneath my pillow and place it on my nightstand. The sun isn’t up yet, and condensation from the muggy air has crept up my locked balcony doors overnight. I eye the envelope, but once again, I can’t bring myself to open it.