Page 39 of Affliction
“Let’s go home.” He says and grabs my bruised hand.
“Ah.” I whisper-shout and instinctively pull my hand back and clutch it to my chest. Preston looks at me for a moment before his eyes soften and he lowers his head. He walks over to the car and opens the door for me. I slide in the seat and he buckles my seatbelt. He goes to pull away but stops to plant a long kiss on the top of my head. I keep my eyes down at my knotted fingers in my lap as he rounds the car then gets in the driver's seat.
We ride home in silence. Preston keeps his hand planted on my thigh and I stare out the window. I’m glad he apologized and doesn’t try to push meto talk. I just want to get home and curl up in his arms in the bed. We can talk tomorrow. We pull back into the driveway and Preston exits the car then comes to open the door for me. We walk to the front door, his arm wrapped around me. He opens the door and I make my way up the stairs and to our bedroom. After removing my cardigan I slide into bed and he lays down beside me. He puts his arm around me and pulls me into him. I lay my head on his chest and he releases a breath. He pulls me tighter to him and I close my eyes.
“I’m really sorry again, Lizzy. I love you so much. Thank you for coming home.” He whispers and drops another kiss on the top of my head.
“I love you too.” I whisper. I feel myself start to drift off to sleep and he speaks again.
“I hope you had a good visit with your uncle. And I hope you said your goodbyes. You won’t be seeing him again.” Preston says in a low, menacing tone; a one-eighty from the soft, sweet whispers just a moment ago.
My eyes flash open and panic grips my chest. I try to pull away but he squeezes me tighter. Tears gather in my eyes. I keep them at bay and soon, Preston starts to softly snore.
I stare blankly into the darkness for hours before my eye lids start to get heavy.
I shouldn’t have left Nick’s.
Chapter twenty-one
It’s been two dayssince my trip with Parker to the mountains. I made sure she got home safely from her dinner and watched closely for a while before deciding to go back home and start trying to see what I could find on Hazel on my own. What I could find didn’t throw any red flags, and I resolved to wait for Slater to let me know what he finds on a more in depth search.
Yesterday, I got tied up with some work related bullshit I had no patience to deal with which kept me away from her most of the day. I watched her leave her shift at the bar and made sure she got home. I love when I see her realize she’s not alone. The way her body responds to my presence even when she can’t see me. She’s tried to catch me every time but never has. At this point, do I really need to keep doing it? No. But I enjoy the thrill of it. Eventually I’ll need to stop but for now, I’ll continue watching her from the shadows.
I sit behind the desk in my home office at the computer looking over the files sent to me about one of our newest potential clients, when my phone rings. Looking down at the clock on the monitors, I see it’s almost two in the afternoon and I smirk.Right on time.
“Cain.”
“Maverick, it’s Troy.”
“How did it go?” I ask.
“It went just fine. I told her everything was working just as it should be. Even offered to install new ones if she wanted for peace of mind, but she declined.” Troy tells me. Parker called her home security company this morning requesting a tech. Lucky for me, the owner, Troy, is a long time business partner of mine. He didn’t question it when I told him if she called to tell her there was nothing wrong with her cameras.
“I appreciate it.”
“Any time.” Troy ends the call and I place my phone down on the desk. I go back to reading over the files pulled up on my computer when my office door is pushed open and Karson strolls in like he owns the place. He plops himself down on the black leather couch that sits across from me and throws his arms across the back of it. His cold, grey eyes lock with mine and his signature devilish grin pulls at his lips.
“What are you working on?” He asks and pulls the cigarette from behind his ear, stuffing it between his lips.
“Going through files for a new client. Can you do that shit outside?” I sigh with irritation and walk to the glass door that leads to a balcony, stepping outside. Karson grunts and I hear him stand from the couch to follow behind me. He pulls a lighter from his pocket and lights the cigarette, a steady stream of smoke leaves his lips as he leans his arms on the railing next to me.
“Anyone good?” He asks and I lift a shoulder.
“Michael Rovina. The owner of Perdition. One of the new casinos that’s about to open up. He’s looking to hire a company to come in and train their security guards.” I tell him and he cocks an eyebrow.
“Hell of a name for a casino. Well, that’s different.” He says and I nod. “We’ve never done anything like that before.”
“I know.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I just got the files from Slater, we’ll see if it’s something we can handle.” Karson nods and takes another pull of his cigarette.
“I say fuck it. Why not? Might be fun. Gamblers, drunks, it’ll keep things interesting.” A sadistic grin pulls at his lips. I had a feeling he might say that. I shake my head and chuckle.
“Ifwe go in there, it won’t be to train their security. It will be tobetheir security. I’m not going to spend six months to a year training a bunch of kids straight out of high school only to walk away. If we do this, we’re bringing our guys and running the place.” Karson grins and nods in agreement.
“I like the way you think. I’m sick of these rich, snobby ass fucking lawyers and politicians. And sick of the fucking suits.” He flicks the ash off of his smoke over the railing, rolling his eyes. Not at all shocked that he’s on board with my plan, I release a puff of breath and turn to him.
“I need a favor.” I tell him and turn my head to look at him.
“Name it.” He says and takes another drag.
