Chapter 38 Villain #2
I’m terrified. All the time. I’m going to kill both of them, because that’s the only way they’ll be safe.
Even you. There’s no way Philippe won’t hunt you down the second grandfather stops protecting you.
” I shook my head and put his knife back down on his plate.
What was wrong with me? “Sorry about that. I’m terrified that I won’t be able to do it.
The last time I tried to shoot someone, I froze up, and…
” I rubbed my sore arm. “It was messy. Like my mind. I’m taking therapy.
I’m sure you can see how much I need it.
I’m crying again. Is there anything more annoying?
” I wiped my face and tried not to feel self-conscious about the people watching us.
It didn’t matter. I’d be in the paper for something much worse next week, and they could gossip about how I’d gone completely unhinged after trying to get back with my ex after my husband dumped me, and then gone on a killing spree taking out my family.
“You could hire someone to shoot whoever you’re killing.”
I nodded absently. “Yes, but I want it done right, and who else could get close to them?”
“Ah. But you aren’t really a killer any more than you’re a dominatrix.”
My hands were shaking so hard. Could I take a clear shot with these hands? “What am I?”
“I think that we can all safely agree that you are a musician.”
I flexed my left hand and winced. “Not at the moment. Philippe shot a rocket at me and messed up my arm. He says he didn’t know I was there, but how likely is that?”
He pursed his lips slightly. “Your grandfather would be quite irritated if you were damaged. Your cousin does wish to inherit, doesn’t he? I imagine if you were killed after you were married to Dirk, your grandfather could do the unthinkable and give everything to your husband.”
I smiled at him. “Then it’s a pity the car was reinforced so well.”
“You don’t mind dying?”
“If it destroyed Philippe? Hardly.”
He pursed his lips again. “Daniela, or I should say, Mrs. Dagger, since it seems you married him for that name as you like knives so much, not the respectable name that goes with his mother’s dog, I have a deal for you.
I’m not going to give you my shares, but I will use them as you direct until your cousin is defeated.
It seems to be in everyone’s best interest. No one wants a rocket shot at them.
The one thing I ask in return is the answer to a very personal question.
I’d prefer as many details as you can remember, and absolutely strict honesty. ”
I blinked at him while my heart pounded. “Truly? Aren’t you furious with me for using you and then throwing you away once you had an independent thought?” He raised a brow while I winced. I shouldn’t have used Horse’s exact phrase. “What is the question?”
“I want to know what your sexual tastes truly are. I apologize for the indelicacy of the question to a married woman, but I’m notoriously deviant.” His smile was sharper than before, but there was some honesty in it.
I cleared my throat and folded my hands in my lap. “You want to know my preference?”
He nodded.
“Oh.” I had notebooks filled with his preferences, but I hadn’t ever thought about mine. “I suppose I liked secretary sex after we went to a concert. Do you want details of what I remember best? I didn’t write anything down.”
He cocked his head. “I am not your preferred sexual partner. I want you to tell me what it’s like with someone who is more to your taste.”
I frowned at him. “I don’t know. I’ve only been with you.
I mean, I somewhat kissed Philippe after he drowned me, but that was more vomiting up water than anything else, and of course kissing Dagger on top of the tower which started this whole mess of Philippe’s obsessed psychopathy which led to Dirk’s sister’s death, but other than that… ” I shrugged.
He gripped his knife with an intensity that matched the burning in his eyes. “You’re saying that our time together was your first and last?”
I opened my mouth and closed it. “I took lessons, but they weren’t entirely hands-on. I didn’t want to touch more people than was necessary.”
“You hated touching me?”
“No. I didn’t hate you at all. I was surprisingly content with you, and while I started having issues with Thursdays, the rest was perfectly pleasant.”
“Issues with Thursdays?”
“I was heading towards a nervous breakdown before you betrayed me, I mean…” I sighed. “It felt like betrayal. I didn’t want to leave my comfortable haven and have to face my grandfather and failure.” I winced. “The last time I failed, he put Toni in the hospital.”
“Toni? One of your BDSM trainers?”
I shook my head, almost laughing at the thought of Toni in black leather. “She’s an artist, and a thief. I met her in the Juvie I escaped to when my grandfather insisted that I go to Harvard instead of the Music Academy.”
His eyes widened. “You went to Juvie? What is that exactly?”
“It’s short for Juvenile Detention Center. I put two tons of pink lemonade into the city’s water, and I was quite proud of only getting caught afterwards. I didn’t get to play cello there, but I didn’t have to do anything I didn’t want to do. I don’t like torturing people.”
He nodded slightly. “Then BDSM is definitely not for you. You know, I could have made your time away from your grandfather more comfortable if you’d told me what you preferred.”
“You wouldn’t want me if you knew me.”
“No? I suppose we’ll never know, but I certainly wouldn’t have minded having a ground-level apartment and getting a dog. I wouldn’t even mind being stabbed every now and again if it’s something you really enjoyed. Does Dagger know you?”
I swallowed hard and gave him a wan smile. “Unfortunately. I was already in the middle of a nervous breakdown when we first met, so I wasn’t able to seduce him properly, or at all.”
“But he still married you.”
“Because he knew that would be the best way to take down my family.”
“Why haven’t you explored your personal tastes with him? You don’t mind him touching you even less than you don’t mind me touching you.”
There was something off about the way he said that.
He was certainly fixated on this, but of course he would be, since he was so focused on sex.
For whatever reason. He should probably go to therapy.
“It was a therapy marriage, so I could use him as a shield from everything I was afraid of facing, and I don’t think he wants me after everything with his sister.
I’m not a good person.” A lump crowded my throat like I was going to start really bawling, but that didn’t matter if Clint was actually going to help me destroy Philippe.
He nodded slowly. “But he makes you want to be better?”
“No. I want to be better for myself. I don’t get to keep him after all of this is over, but I’m keeping myself, and I intend to be something worth keeping.”
He sighed heavily. “It sounds as if your therapy is working. Send me the files about this merger and eat your lunch before your lettuce wilts. You detest wilted lettuce.”
I smiled slightly, sent the files, and started eating.
“Actually,” I said, after three bites. “I don’t like lettuce much at all, unless it’s on a hamburger.
There’s this place in Vegas called Purple Turtles, and it has the best burgers and malts, but you have to watch out for the waitresses, who objectify all the handsome men. ”
“I am very handsome.”
“Much handsomer than Dirk.”
His lips twitched, but he didn’t look up from his phone, where he was scrolling through the papers.
“I’m glad that we agree on the important things.
I have an uncle who has a large ranch in Wyoming.
When I spent summers there, my job was to watch the grill, so the burgers wouldn’t burn.
I’m actually somewhat accomplished at burger making.
Perhaps I’ll get a job at this Purple Turtles. ”
“They’d hire you just to attract customers, but I’m not sure how you’d do on roller skates.”
He looked up at me, one brow raised. “That sounded slightly flirtatious, Mrs. Dagger. I’ve just about made up my mind to let him have you without a struggle, but if you continue to say such things I’ll be tempted to use my newfound knowledge about your true character to seduce you. It would only be fair.”
I stared at him, bewildered by the change in his tone. “You don’t want—”
“A dog? Actually, I do. In fact, I’m going to get one as soon as I’ve decided on the breed.
Perhaps I’ll adopt a mutt at the nearest shelter, one that needs the most affection I can dig out of my poor, deviant chest. You’re shocked.
That’s the second time I’ve interrupted you.
Eat your salad, Daniela. I need to concentrate to make certain you aren’t taking advantage of my good nature. ”
I frowned at him and took a bite. I wouldn’t call his nature good, but I did like his mother.
After I ate my lunch, I stood. “The meeting is at four. You have the address. Thank you, Clint. You don’t know how grateful I am.”
He smiled slightly as he stood. “I’m sorry. I took you against your will. I wanted you, so I told myself that it’s what you wanted, but I knew somewhere down in my conscience, which I try to ignore. I’m glad that I kept you from some of your grandfather’s harm.”
I sniffed and shook my head, for some reason feeling like I was going to cry again. Yep. I hurried out of the restaurant and then stopped abruptly when I saw Dirk’s mother headed right towards me, little dog tucked under her arm like an external vengeful spirit.