And she told me she’d be here. I have no reason to believe otherwise. She probably just has her earbuds in, her music drowning out everything else.
“Julia?” I crack the door open, a loud groan echoing from the hinges. I step inside, timidly making my way through the storage area and into the kitchen.
Normally, this place is a beehive of activity, every surface covered with flour and trays upon trays of cookies, cakes, and pastries. But today, it’s devoid of life, florescent lights reflecting off shiny aluminum surfaces.
“Jules, are you here? It’s Londyn. There’s something I need to speak to you about. It’s kind of important.”
The heels of my boots click on the tile flooring as I head toward her office at the far end of the kitchen, dropping my purse on one of the metal prep tables. When I peek my head in and see she’s not here, either, my shoulders slump. She was here at some point. What looks like purchase orders sit on her desk, the door to the safe open. Plus, I saw her car out back.
“Julia’s not here.”
The deep voice causes the hair on my nape to stand on end. I whirl around, inhaling a sharp breath when my eyes fall on Nick’s intimidating frame. For the past several years, I pictured him in the attire he wore the night he assaulted me. The same attire he wore last night. Dark suit. Dark tie. Dark mask. Dark, dark, and more dark, his blond hair the only lightness he possessed.
But now, he’s dressed in a pair of jeans, cream sweater, and loafers, just like he was during the months we forged our friendship. The months we bonded over art, literature, and marriage struggles. It almost makes me soften my resolve. But I don’t. I know the truth. That Nick is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
“And whatever you came here to tell her better not be about me.”
“Where is she?” I ask, flashing a brief look at my purse just a few feet away.
“At the hotel. She can’t handle her liquor all that well. And being the compassionate, doting husband I am, I came to get the paperwork and bank deposits she’d wanted to go over.”
I stare at him. Should I believe him? Or is there another reason Julia wasn’t able to make it here?
“So, is it?” he asks when I don’t immediately respond.
“Is it what?”
“What you came here to discuss with Julia. Is it about me?”
I cross my arms in front of my chest, widening my stance. “And if it is?”
“Oh, Londyn, Londyn, Londyn,” he retorts slyly, advancing toward me. But with each inch he gains, I take a step backward in retreat, my pulse quickening. “When will you learn? I don’t play to lose. I only play to win. Do you honestly think she’ll believe you over me? I’m her husband. You’re just some bitch her brother’s fucking for the time being. Plus, she already knows about you.”
I blink, my expression falling. “She does?” My breathing increases as even more questions circle in my head. If she knows, why would she remain married to him?
“She doesn’t know it was you, per se, but she knows the truth you agreed to. That I developed a friendship with an undergrad student who was going through a difficult time. That said undergrad student attended the same masquerade party I did. That said undergrad student drank too much. And being the charitable man I am, I offered to escort her home.” He smirks. “College campuses aren’t safe at night, especially for a beautiful young woman in a tight little dress.” He lasciviously licks his lips, his gaze darkening as he continues toward me. “She knows I was stressed with the new baby. And when said undergrad student kissed me, I was weak and couldn’t resist. All of which is absolutely true.”
“It was a mistake. I realized that immediately afterward.”
“I don’t think you thought it was a mistake, Londyn. I think your upbringing says you shouldn’t have wanted me like you did. You may have fought me physically, but mentally, you wanted me.”
When my back hits the wall, I peer over his shoulder for a potential escape route. My muscles tighten, limbs shaking. But I do everything to give off the impression that he doesn’t scare me. He gets off on fear. And I refuse to give it to him.
He rests his forearm on the wall beside me, effectively caging me in. “Which is why I was able to make