Page 16 of To Curse A Knight

Groomers. That word… That despicable, disgusting word. I froze in my chair, willing the memories to remain under the surface. I was the one interrogating Lucky; I would not fall apart in his presence.

He blew out a harsh breath, shifting in his seat uncomfortably before his gaze finally met mine, his eyes crinkled with sorrowful regret.

Finally, a genuine emotion from his carefully crafted façade; The raw agony in his features took me back–a mirror of my pain.

Still, I stayed silent.

“She ran away at sixteen. Came to America, with two men younger than me who’d sold her on the land of opportunity, when they’d just sold her body to the highest bidder. Alvarez.”

A raw timbre shook from his throat on the last word, as if Alvarez had stolen a part of his soul—just as he’d stolen a piece of mine. I tried to swallow the golf ball of emotion firmly embedded into my throat, but the bitter feelings only lodged deeper into my chest.

Mournful green eyes remained fixed on the rug, his hands clenching and unclenching in his lap, as if squeezing out his hidden hurt.

“Took me years to find out—to track down her whereabouts—and she was last seen in Chicago. And then she was a Jane Doe in the morgue. Da used a contact on this side to confirm it—pretty sure the heartbreak killed him.”

Glossy eyes rose to meet mine. For a second, we were trapped in time, our tragedies inextricably intertwining our heads and our hearts.

A rosy flush crept up the sides of his neck to the tops of his cheekbones. He shook his head emphatically, as if clearing himself of the haunting memories and the ache that came with them.

I knew that pain. The rawness of it; how it scraped across every part of your insides with violent claws. I buried all the feelings that needed a much deeper grave, giving him the gift of grace to pull himself. No one could pretend to hold that kind of agony without truly knowing its flavor on the tongue. I believed him.

Despite it all, I couldn’t deny how deeply my heart hurt for him, his loss as acutely felt within my soul as it was in his. We’d both lost women we loved to brutal men who stole innocence as easily as they breathed air. The parallels were… uncomfortable.

Was it possible Lucky wasn’t actually the bad guy?

“So, you’re here to avenge her?” I asked gently, needing to hear it from his own lips. Desperate to hear more truths instead of the charming, cocky bullshit he normally spewed.

I needed this moment of vulnerability to last just a second longer, to know this side of Lucky was actually real.

Steely determination entered his gaze.

“Something like that. Vengeance for her. For me. For Da. Opportunity presented itself and I seized it.”

Opportunity. Interesting word choice. Was I the chicken, or the egg in this scenario? Whichopportunitycame first? Did it matter? Could I ever trust him regardless of the running order of events?

“I see.” Setting down my coffee mug on the glass table in front of me, I stood from my space on the chair opposite and moved beside him on the settee. I was careful not to touch him. Comforting him wasn’t an option, not with the boundaries of subterfuge between us, but I could offer my presence.

“And what is your plan for Alvarez?”

His body tensed beside me and his hands fisted into his sides. For the first time, I saw true, powerfulangerin Lucky—his usual restraint by the wayside.

“Access to everything he holds dear to his black heart. I’m halfway into his system now. When I get full control, I’m going to expose all the shyte he’s been up to—the lives he’s ruined. And I’m bleeding him of every cent he’s got.”

Pausing, I thought through several scenarios simultaneously. If I brought Blackbird in to speed up the process—

Could I trust Lucky enough to even make that offer? Had we considered all the avenues to make this possible, or were we relying too heavily on Kellan’s ties to make our strongest play?

I’d have to sit on that one for now.

“Okay.”

I stood and smoothed the creases out of my skirt, turning around to face my house guest.

“I’ll help you with this.We’llhelp you with this,” I amended and folded my arms across my chest, staring down my nose at his brooding presence. “But don’t for a second think you have the upper hand here, Lucky. Fuck me over, and I’ll fuck you twice as hard.”

An impish glint entered his eye, the Lucky I knew depositing himself back into his body.

“Kellan said the same thing, Blondie, but he proved it. Care to do the same?”

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