6. Laszlo #2
The truth was that I grew up in castles, was institutionalized, disowned, discharged from the psych ward, got my trust fund back and started a crypto scam to defraud the Russian mafia.
My dreams were confined to revenge.
“You must be real smart then, huh?” She clapped her hand over her mouth, just as she had when she asked me about the bomb. As if she could take back the words by sheer force. Her cheeks burned pink under the mood lighting of the club.
I couldn’t help but grin. It was adorable.
“There are many kinds of intelligence. I possess a few in abundance.” I paused, looking at her, sat in my lap. Her eyes were nearly level with mine, and she met my gaze. “You know a little something about unexpected intelligence, don’t you, Evelyn?”
She demurred, something changing in her disposition that I couldn’t read. A shadow of something deep and dark and terrible. My jaw clenched, fist tightening, as if preparing for a fight with her inner demons.
“No, I don’t know much of anything. Women are meant to serve, and I’m trying to do that.”
What the fuck? I had not expected such pure indoctrination to spill from her. I took a steadying breath. “Stop that. Stop making yourself small. You’re the most powerful woman in this room right now and you don’t even know it.”
The flurry of micro-expressions that crossed her face was impressive, raw and unguarded.
She was vulnerable, and there was a worrying thread of insecurity inside her that would make her easy to exploit.
She didn’t notice that I had called her by her real name, and that was a concern.
She wasn’t as careful as she needed to be around men like me.
The faster I got her out of Arkham, the better.
Her lack of IDs was proving a problem, though. I’d have to hire a driver to get her out of state, and it had to be someone good that I could trust.
Problem was? I didn’t trust anyone.
Especially not with her.
It was a four-day drive, at least, but it was the only way I could guarantee she got to Idaho, safe and sound.
Selfishly, I looked forward to spending so much time with her before I pushed her out of my life—and my mind—forever. What would it be like to go on a road-trip with someone? An innocent adventure I’d never experienced as an adult.
Her at my side, telling me all about the cool gemstones she knew about, her grandmother’s misadventures. Maybe she’d warm up enough to tell me about what she was running from, why she always jumped when the laughter got too loud, or shrank into me when the men made a joke.
I stroked her back, her smooth skin warm beneath my cool palm, and for a second, I was at peace. She jerked me out of it.
“Are you still afraid I’ll talk?”
I glanced around the room. Most of the men had left for more private areas, and the other couples that stayed were distracted, but Jimmy was in the corner with Fiona. She was down on her knees, giving him a blowjob, and his head jerked violently away as I caught him staring at us.
At Evelyn.
My heart tightened. She was in danger, and it wasn’t from me, but I was the one who had to wake her up to the reality. Her innocence would get her killed.
Or worse.
I put one arm around her back, the other under her knees, and carried her to a private corner of the bar. My hand pressed into the mirrored-chrome wall beside her head, strategically blocking our faces from Jimmy.
“Never ask me about that again in public,” I murmured.
My voice had taken on that dark tone, a tremor of rage beneath the surface, but it was all controlled. She flinched away, nodding, and I fucking hated myself for scaring her. It was for her own good, but that did nothing to assuage the pain in my chest.
“Sorry, I…”
Several heartbeats, and she didn’t continue.
“Eyes on me, angel.” I put my index finger under her chin, lifting her head, forcing our gazes to meet.
“I don’t know what I’m doing here,” she confessed, struggling to hold back her tears. “I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t have seen you that night.” Her lower lip trembled, and I wanted to kiss it, capture it in my mouth, suck on it until she calmed.
I had to resist.
“I’m a nobody. No one will miss me when I’m gone. You could just…”
My blood coursed through my veins. I wanted to kill whoever made her feel like she was nothing, when she should be someone’s everything.
“You are not nobody. You are precious.”
She flinched, her gaze dipping again before she forced it back up, obedient. She shrugged a single shoulder at me, non-committal, and my lungs grew tight at the realization that she didn’t agree.
My emotions were getting the better of me. I couldn’t convince her of her worth, but I could offer her a life where she could find it for herself.
The real estate agreement for her place in Idaho was almost signed, and I needed a few days to get her legal documents, but it was as good as done. Shaking off Bodrov for a few days would be easy. I’d tell him I had a business deal to close. Wouldn’t even be a full lie.
“I’ll make you a deal. Give me a week to make arrangements, and then you will disappear. I will pay for everything. You won’t have to worry about anything for the rest of your life.”
Her brows pressed into a line, and she craned her head back to look at me, searching me for a trace of a lie, and she found none.
“No. What? I can’t take…”
“Shh.” I leaned in, my nose brushing hers, my dark hair wrapping us in a curtain. “Let me be clear: it’s not charity. It’s a payoff.”
“We wouldn’t see each other again?” she said with an ounce of petulance.
“That would be the purpose, yes. You would forget about me.”
“How could I forget you?” Her sincerity was enough to slice through my chest. Why did she care about me in the first place? She should be terrified! Of me, of this place, and mostly of them! She had no idea what the Bratva did to women, and I never wanted her to find out.
I intended to slam my fist next to her head again, but instead I pressed my lips against her forehead.
She looked too fragile, scared and confused as I towered over her.
Fear would break her, but I could control her with kindness.
That’s what I told myself, but even then, I knew… I never wanted her to be afraid of me.
“You will. I’ll give you everything you need to forget about me.”
It was her turn to snort, and then she smacked her hand over her mouth, glowing with embarrassment. I tried not to find it adorable again and failed.
“You’re quitting your job. Stay home this week and daydream about never having to work again. Friday I’ll come collect you at your house. Be packed,” I said, pressing some more cash into her hand. I righted myself, fixing the cuff of my jacket.
I hated seeing her flirt with men for money, but it was easy to convince myself that I was just being cautious so that she wouldn’t tell someone my secret.
“What? No. No! You’re not coming to my house. You could kill me!” she hissed.
Maybe she did understand the stakes, and the peril she was in. I smiled at her, kissing her forehead again.
“That’s right. Good girl, I’m proud of you.”
Tears glittered in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Her lashes fluttered down, and I laid a gentle kiss on each of her eyelids. It was the most intimate experience of my life, and I savoured it longer than I should have.
She wasn’t mine. Could never be mine.
But for that brief moment, I could pretend.