Page 28 of Locke 2

“Why not?” He tried to make it sound like a bored question, but I caught the way his breath caught at the end.

I studied his back, his every movement. “I didn’t have an audience anymore.”

Caught off guard by that response, he fumbled and one of the papers fell from his hand. He turned his head and watched it float to the floor. I quickly glimpsed his profile, his lips were pressed tight, his nostrils flaring. Had I stunned him into silence?

He recalibrated fast and turned around, forgetting all about my bills and useless mail. I stiffened now because I could see him entirely. All that the year and a half had done to him. And, to be honest, it wasn’t much. He looked the same, except there was more of a hardness. More of an emptiness. More of a nothing in his gaze as his dark eyes bore into mine.

He looked utterly soulless.

His brutal fuck spoke of it, but I needed to see it for myself.

“Does that bother you?” I wondered.

“It flays me,” he returned.

“Why?”

“You know why.”

His past words ignited me. “If I could split your head wide open to listen to your thoughts, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”

I swallowed, fighting to find words. The silence said more than our words did, and I didn’t like it.

“I’m a teacher’s assistant,” I said, trying to sound blase, like I was simply offering him the information he was looking for. I was panicking though. Trying to strike up a normal conversation, if that was even possible. I’d never had a single normal conversation with this man. I continued, “I enjoy it. I also take in animals that are sick—”

“I already know all that,” he cut in, mildly annoyed. “I knew it the second I learned where you were.”

I huffed. “You could have waited until after I filled you in to tell me that, instead of interrupting me.”

“Then it’s pointless banter and makes this take longer.”

“What’sthis?”

“This process.”

I furrowed my brows. “I don’t understand.”

His eyes didn’t leave mine. “You called for me.”

He said that like it was all I needed to know. I felt heat in my face again and took a breath, trying to settle my heart. “You’re going through my papers like you didn’t know what was happening—”

“I’m looking for something else.”

“Like what? Just ask and I’ll tell you.”

“You share this house with a man.” A cold statement.

I nodded, carefully. “His name is Hal.”

“Actually, his name is Harvey.”

I fought to keep my eyes from rolling. “Hal suits him better.”

“How friendly are you with Hal?”

I swallowed a scoff. “He’s gay, Locke.”

His tone remained cold. “Yes, that’s why he’s still breathing.”

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