Page 69 of Midnight Secrets

“Nigel has been dealt with,” Jordan said from beside me in a low voice.

I raised one eyebrow in question. “Hopefully, he’s still in the land of the living.”

“Unfortunately, yes. If he annoys me again, that will not continue to be the case.”

I nodded once and moved my attention to the next person who wanted to place an order for Lucrezia’s designs. Jordan and I had made it known with Fred’s help that Lucrezia was shy and all orders or enquiries were to go through us. It stopped the vultures from flirting with her as well.

The night had been more than a success, and Seth nudged me on the way past. “I expect to see you soon, Ash.” The asshole would be wanting another car at this rate.

“Lucrezia is exhausted,” I said to Jordan. “I’ll take her home.”

“I’ll ensure the assets are secured. What do you want done with the display?”

I studied it for a moment because its creation had been cathartic for me. “Have it sent to my townhouse. I’ve no idea if Lucrezia wants anything off it.” I was probably going to keep it just so I could torment myself with it every single day.

She was pale, the events of tonight starting to take their toll on her. I touched her arm. “Time to go.”

Relief flooded her features and she went to retrieve her cape. We never left anything where bugs would be placed on it, so our security details held it with the rest of our stuff. Lucrezia wasn’t used to this life, and it was yet another reason why I should let her go free to find the happily ever after she deserved.

When she moved away from Jordan and me, I watched men flock to her and the panic flare in her eyes. Lucas thought he had been keeping his daughters safe, but all he had done was leave them innocent to this life and unable to defend themselves.

I surged forward to take my place at her side, my arm snaking around her waist. Yeah, I noticed the covert looks at my familiar body language with her, and the way she instinctively leaned in to me. No, I didn’t give a fuck because they needed to piss right off and stop looking at her breasts. I picked that dress to showcase her necklace. Now I was kicking myself. I should have ordered her a polo neck or a halter neck.

Watching her from the corner of my eye, I texted our chauffeur to bring the limousine around to collect us. He was the same driver I used to bring her to my warehouse that day she arrived because he was on our safe list and had been vetted by Jordan personally.

Lucrezia was pale and a little shaky as we left. If I was to guess, she hadn’t eaten again. Francis had phoned me to tell me she hadn’t left her room and had been refusing to eat. For an hour, I sat and fumed at his phone call thinking that she’d made her own bed and could lie in it. But Lucrezia had found the last remnants of my humanity and there was no way I could ever watch her suffer. So, I recruited Jordan in my mission and stormed around there to drag her out of bed.

Her eyes were huge as she sat and watched me in the back of the limo. “What?” I glanced up from my phone.

She shook her head and quickly looked away.

“Just spit it out, Lucrezia, then you can stop staring at me as if I’ve ruined your life.”

She swallowed. “Why are you still here? Why not just sell the pieces and let me go? Those diamonds won’t lose their value raw or set in jewellery.”

I studied her frailty, her vulnerability calling to me. She was the only woman who dared to walk away from me and the only woman I had ever followed. The Midnight Rooms had made me lazy because there was a ready supply of willing women who wanted nothing in return and didn’t plan out your life together just because you fucked them.

What remained of my conscience screamed that I should let her go and allow her to remain the Lucrezia that still retained some of her innocence of this life. But my conscience was overpowered by the beast inside me that claimed her and her polka dot panties long ago. All those men circling tonight just reinforced that possessiveness.

“I don’t give a fuck about the diamonds,” I replied with a shrug. “They were pocket change to me. It was you who insisted on a contract so that you bound yourself to me.”

Her eyes fluttered closed for a few seconds. “You need to let me go, Ash.”

“Why?”

Her eyes flew open to stare at me, her tongue darting nervously across her lips.

“Every time I told you that we couldn’t be together, you flung yourself at me. Then when I finally give you a place in my life, you ran as fast as your legs could take you.” It was twisted and cruel, but I wanted her to see what she’d done to me. Ever since I was a child, I never let anyone close to me except Xavier and Jordan. If I didn’t care, then father couldn’t take it from me.

“If I tell you what happened, will you let me go?” Her voice was barely more than a whisper.

Considering that she belonged to me, I had no intention of agreeing to any such ridiculous plan.

Taking my silence as consent, she began in a shaky voice. “I spent hours worrying about you that night you left the house with a gun. That was the night that I realised I was in love with you. Then you came home and told me again that we could never be together. I could stay and have sex with you until my heart was at risk, Ash. Now I need to protect myself.”

Technically, protecting her was my job. She kept poking the beast and now she had his attention.

Lucrezia continued to babble in the background about how she needed her freedom and she deserved someone who could love her in return. I let her get all her frustrations out of her system since she seemed to have worked herself up to give her speech.

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