Page 43 of The Count
“30 years of transitions.”
An interesting find. I wonder who I’d uncover in Danglars’ little black book. I moved around him toward the door.
He stood there looking around. “Leave. Now. I will know if you didn’t and will come back for you.”
Danglars looked up at me and I caught a glimpse of the shrewd smart man behind the Neanderthal act he clung to for others. “Do you still keep Mondego as a pet?”
“Fernand? He shot himself.”
He braced his hands on his desk. “No. The other one. The bitch who never learned her place.”
I surged toward him and he scrambled back. “Leave,” I repeated and walked out.
He called after me. “She’s not what you think.”
In the car, despite the fact Danglars would go off somewhere and do other awful things, I didn’t feel the same guilt as I did for Fernand and Villefort. I’d made the right choice, and for some reason all I wanted to do was go home and tell Mercy.
Would she be proud of me? Did I want her to be?
The car couldn’t drive fast enough. When we made it back I rushed inside the elevator and up to my room. She still lay snuggled in my bed. The remnants of her breakfast sat on her bedside table. Two empty coffee mugs on the floor. I supposed I should be thankful there wasn’t a coffee bean trail to the kitchen.
I left Chef in charge of making sure she didn’t try to get up and do too much today. I covered her up and took the ledger into my office. It looked ancient against the granite. All the edge buckled inward and stained brown.
The scent of something made me curl my nose. I glanced down at my shirt. I must have gotten something on me in Danglar’s office. I stripped quickly, showered, and came out to watch her sleep. She opened her eyes and smiled up at me. “How’d it go?”
I dried off in deference to her injury, not her sensibilities, and climbed over her to snuggle behind. She let me pull her close. “Need anything?” I asked.
She wiggled her ass against my already growing dick.
“No.” I dropped a kiss on her shoulder. “Nope, you need a couple more days of rest and then I’ll take care of that for you.”
“Who knew you were such a nurse? I should have met you before I needed to get my gallbladder out. Things would have been so much more comfortable.”
I slid my hand over her belly and lifted her shirt.
She flinched and started to pull it back down.
I let it go. “Are you ok? I’m sorry. I just wanted to see if you had scars from it?”
“What?” Panic edged in her voice.
I propped up on my elbow and looked down at her. “Hey. Its ok. What’s wrong?”
She glanced away and forced a smile. “Nothing. I think the pain medications are getting to me.”
And with that lie, something broke between us. I stared down at her and eased away. She rolled over drawing into herself. Why did I catch fear in her eyes when she looked at me? Despite her words, did she blame me for getting hurt? After I said I’d protect her. I’d been very keen to point out every time she didn’t keep to our bargain. And yet, on something so important, I failed her.
I didn’t argue with her, or ask any more questions. I scooted off the edge of the bed and went into my office. The ledger called to me. I could easily crack it. But that might throw me back into this world I seemed to just wrench myself free from.
I glanced back at my bedroom door. What changed? Why would she lie? It hit me. Could she be worried about what it meant for her now that my mission had been completed? But after everything we went through and accomplished together, how could she think I’d hurt her?
The evidence was clear. But I wasn’t about to accept it. If she wanted to leave, she needed to ask me to take her home. Only then would I escort her out. Only then would I let her go.
I went back into the bedroom and knelt beside the bed so I could force her to meet my eyes. “Talk to me.”
She hugged her middle and smiled. “I’m fine. Really.”
I asked her outright. “Are you worried I’m going to hurt you now that I don’t need you anymore?”
