24. Laura #2
Her step faltered.
“Often,” she said. “Especially when I’m with you. But I did get rather close to killing my manager yesterday. When I saw that you had to come get me when you were sick… I should have been taking care of you, but instead you were the one coming to my rescue. I have a whole list of ways I can do it.”
Ah, so she did think about it. I almost smiled at that, and then I saw the cloud that formed over her eyes. For the first time, I felt like I could see into the violent mess unfolding inside her mind.
“Let’s not get reckless,” I cooed. “If you really want to kill him, we need a plan.”
She blinked a few times before meeting my gaze. There was clearly something she wanted to say, but when she opened her mouth, no words came out. She bent to kiss me instead, and I welcomed it.
“Let’s get you something to eat before you faint,” I said. “You look pale.”
She gave me a hesitant nod and took my hand.
The rest of the short walk was silent. I didn’t know where we were going or what we were looking for, but she led us to a small restaurant that had only a few seats inside and even fewer outside.
There were still a few customers inside, probably regulars, chatting happily with each other.
“It’s nice out. Take a seat, and I’ll go order.” She helped me to an empty table and even pulled out my seat for me. I caught sight of her eye bags under the restaurant’s light. The makeup artist had done a great job, but after a full day of filming, it was starting to wear off.
I didn’t mention it. Instead, I watched her from outside, looking as she greeted the staff with a friendly smile. She was so at ease with them, falling into her charismatic role in seconds.
Would I have fallen for the same act if she hadn’t revealed herself to me ?
But she had. I had known from the start. And I still allowed myself to relax. I let her touch me. And even the night before I had allowed myself to sleep in the same bed as her… again.
If I were being honest, I was looking forward to doing that same thing tonight too. Either to sleep or… whatever else.
The warm air was nice against my exposed skin.
The headache had all but disappeared, but there was a slight buzz from the last drink I had allowed myself while they were filming.
That, combined with the excitement of being able to nail that bastard of a manager of hers, was enough to make me believe I was on vacation.
To bring myself back to reality, I pulled out my phone.
There were a few client emails and some forwarded documents from my various ongoing investigations, but I didn’t feel the need to reply to them.
I’ll get to it tomorrow.
My gaze traveled up to the entrance just as Harley was coming out.
“They won’t take long,” Harley said with a tired smile. “Sorry for making you wait again. I know you’re probably starving.”
I merely shrugged and watched her as she sat down. The tiredness was even more apparent. Her shoulders were slumped, and while her tone was mostly joking, it lacked the energy it usually did.
“The director was hard on you today,” I noted, my eyes traveling her frame.
“He’s hard on me every day. But he’s good at what he does, and I don’t mind it as long as the outcome is good. Small bit of suffering for a large payout.”
“Did you get good footage today?” I asked, remembering how many times they had to start and stop filming mid-sentence because the director said “something was off.”
She let out a sigh and ran her hand through her hair.
“Well, yeah. Better than yesterday. The other actor seemed more focused too,” she added. “The director wanted to reshoot some stuff tomorrow, but we don’t have time for that. We have too many sunset scenes and not enough days here.”
“One and a half days left,” I reminded her.
“Counting down the days until you’re rid of me, my love?”
Her words caused a sudden flush of heat to rise in me.
“Per our contract, we have to see each other every few days,” I reminded. “There’s no getting rid of you.”
For the first time, I noticed I wasn’t bitter about it, though.
“When will you come to terms with the fact that maybe you just don’t want to?” There was a cocky smile on her face. “That maybe you feel the draw too. That maybe this is the best time you’ve had in years?—”
“Whoa, don’t get too ahead of yourself, Killer.”
The nickname caused her eyes to narrow.
“What?” I asked. “Don’t like it? Don’t want to talk about it?” I leaned closer. “ Too public ?”
It might not be smart to goad her like this, but I couldn’t really stop myself.
“What do you want to know?” she asked, leaning forward to match my position. “Want to know why I do it? The rush I feel? The urge when it’s been too long? How it feels to have taken so many lives that I have literally lost count of how much blood has stained my hands?”
The air felt dense. It wasn’t just her words, but the way she said them. The darkness they hid. She wouldn’t hurt me. I knew that.
But the danger still caused a shiver to crawl up my spine. And it wasn’t a bad one.
She could if she wanted to .
That was the feeling. She wouldn’t hurt me, but she was capable of it.
And there was a part of that danger, as much as it had my fight-or-flight instinct raging, that had something else churning in my stomach.
Something warmer.
Something needy .
It gave me an idea. One I had been playing with all day but never really got the nerve to fully flesh out.
Our stare down was interrupted by the staff coming out with our plates, both piled high with delicious-smelling food.
And just like that, the danger was gone. Like a light switch, Harley had done a one-eighty, and I was left with someone much more… docile .
It wouldn’t last long, and I knew that. I also didn’t mind it.
Yes, fucking a killer had probably been my most reckless idea yet…
But I was willing to take that chance.