Chapter 25
RHETT
There’s a volcano in me, lava burning, swelling, pulsing. Every instinct I have is screaming at me to throw myself at him and smash his face in, to end this here. It’d mean prison for me with so many damn witnesses, but maybe it would be worth it.
I think Elle has got the message. Play along. Make him believe.
I feel sick, but if we’re going to do this, we need to take every opportunity.
“I’m only here with Rhett because I can’t have you,” she whispers.
My hands curl into fists as her words wash over me.
Lucian raises his eyebrows. “What?”
“You went away, and I was so lonely and… and I was going to give myself to you, Lucian. That night. I was going to do it, but then all that stuff happened with Mom and Dad and…”
Lucian swallows, leaning in closer to Elle. My heart pounds so hard I’m surprised they can’t hear it. If he touches her, it’s over for him, prison or no prison.
“I never wanted things to end like that,” Lucian says. “If you’d just told me you loved me sooner, none of that would’ve happened.”
“Maybe we should go,” Elle says. “Get out of here.”
Lucian turns to me, snorting. “You hearing this, cop? Your woman is hitting on me right in front of you. You haven’t got anything to say about that?”
I grit my teeth. “I guess your hold on her is stronger than I thought.”
“It’s not a hold,” Elle murmurs, almost sounding convincing even to me. “It’s a connection.”
“A connection,” Lucian repeats, as though mesmerized. “That’s what I’ve always tried to show you, tried to prove to you. There’s nothing wrong with the love in my heart. I know I’m… unconventional.” He winces, looking across the restaurant.
I follow his gaze to find two waitresses huddled near the entrance to the kitchen, both of them looking over at us.
“I might have to leave,” Lucian says, shaking his head. “Fuck. You know, I came here ready to fight, spill blood, and let the chips fall where they may. But now that you’ve…”
His eyes begin to glisten. I study him in shock and disgust. Does he believe Elle? Is he tricking himself or us? It’s impossible to tell. Clearly, he’s a sick, broken individual. He doesn’t have a firm connection with reality.
“Can we make this work?” He says, forgetting that I’m here as he gazes at Elle.
“I believe we can,” Elle says, her voice cracking, eyes glistening.
Jealousy twists through me even when I know this is a game, a play. This is what I told her to do, and yet, hearing it makes me want to smash his face in.
“But how?” Lucian says, more urgent now as his gaze tracks a waitress moving across the room. “Where? When? You need to promise you mean it, Elle. You need to swear.”
Elle’s hand trembles as she reaches toward Lucian. My soul splits right down the middle as her hand comes to rest against his. It takes every shred of discipline I have not to leap to my feet and ruin him.
“I swear, Lucian,” Elle says, tears sliding down her cheeks.
“I’ve had a lot of time to think, and ever since that night, I wished I’d told you sooner how I really feel.
My family poured poison in my ears, convinced me I could never be with you because they said you were a criminal.
But it wasn’t fair. I wanted you from the start. ”
Lucian gasps, eyes widening. He looks like a boy on Christmas morning who’s discovered he’s getting everything he asked Santa for.
“The truth is,” Elle murmurs, “I wanted you from the start. I was just never allowed to admit it.”
“So why…” Lucian gestures at me. “What the fuck is this about then, sweetheart? Why would you laugh with, joke with, … and date this man? This cop? Why would you do that?”
She sniffles. “When you were in prison, I felt so alone. I felt like I had to be someone I’m not, to pretend. So, yeah, I tried dating, laughing, and being normal with Rhett. But it’s all fake. You were always the man for me.”
Lucian turns to me, raising an eyebrow. “You hearing this, cop?”
“It’s all news to me,” I snarl. “But if this is what’s going to make her happy, I can’t stand in her way.”
Lucian kneels and takes both of Elle’s hands. “Is this a trick?”
“No,” Elle says, so convincingly that even I almost believe her. “Lucian, I’m sorry I didn’t say this sooner. But I love you.”
When Lucian smiles, he looks ill somehow. Like a little boy who’s spent the afternoon burning ants with a magnifying glass and is sick with the thrill of it.
Then he leans toward Elle as if to whisper in her ear. I stiffen with rage, sitting up and ready to take his head off. Elle glares at me for a split second, a moment of desperation punching through her facade.
Stay where you are.
He whispers something in Elle’s ear, then quickly stands.
“I have to go,” he says. “But we’ll be together soon, sweetheart.”
He turns and strides across the restaurant. When he’s close to the exit, two men walk into his path. They’re young and have a do-gooder look about them. My guess is they’ve recognized him, or the waiting staff told them, and now they’re taking it upon themselves not to let him leave.
The violence is immediate. Lucian slams one man into the wall so hard I hear his nose break from here and trips the other and stamps on his face.
Elle gasps and buries her face in her hands. I stare at the brutality, the viciousness of it. I stare because I have to. Because when the time comes, it will be a reminder that he deserves everything that happens to him.
Several people are recording as Lucian, blood-spattered and manic, stands over the beaten men.
He waves his hands erratically. “Don’t ever step to the goddamn prince!
” He roars. “Don’t even think about stepping to the fucking prince.
Do you know who I am? Do you know who my father is?
I’m a Conti, you dumb fucks! I do what I want. ”
He runs from the restaurant as sirens fill the air.
The second he’s gone, Elle sinks against her chair, drawing in ragged breaths. I quickly hurry around the table and kneel beside her, taking her hands.
“You did good,” I tell her. “You knocked that out of the park, Elle. You should be proud.”
She looks at me, her breathing slowing. “He hurt those men s-so casually,” she stutters. “Like it wasn’t even a big deal.”
“That’s who he is. That’s what he is. He can’t even help it. I’m proud of you, Elle. That must’ve been the hardest thing you’ve ever done.”
She nods. “It was.”
“What did he whisper to you?”
“He wants me to meet him at my cabin,” she says. “Tomorrow evening. He said I should bring a bag and come alone. He thinks we’re going to run away together.”
I consider this. “Do you believe him?”
She nods. “You heard him. You saw. He’s broken, Rhett. He doesn’t know right from wrong. He doesn’t live in the real world. I think he honestly believes that I would be with him, even after everything.” She shudders. “How can he believe that? How?”
“My job isn’t to get in his head,” I growl. “My job is to put him in the ground and keep you safe.”
“I’m putting him in the ground, remember,” she says. I must make a face because she tilts her head at me. “What?”
“When he attacked those men—”
“Just because I find it difficult to watch such disgusting violence, Rhett, doesn’t mean I’m some small, fragile little thing. When the time comes, I’ll be ready.”
I hope I will be too.
“What now?” she asks. “Should we get out of here before the cops arrive? People saw him at our table.”
“No,” I tell her. “We give a statement, say he must’ve followed us here, explain what happened. But we lie about what he said. We say he was vague and possessive… and make it seem like it was a coincidence, him being here. If the cops think he followed us or targeted us, they might want our help.”
Which means Lucian will return to prison for a few more years or break out again before he gets a second chance to tear her life apart.
“Okay.” She sniffles, nodding, wiping her face. “We can do this. Together.”
I scan the room, making sure no one’s watching, then lean in and kiss her on the cheek. She wraps her arms around me and pulls me down, hugging me close, breathing in deeply like my scent is somehow bolstering her.
“Together,” she repeats.