Page 12 of His Dark Purpose

“He helped me with my taxes.”So far, no lies.He was better at negotiating the truth than he’d given himself credit for.

“Oh.” Her brow rose. “He never mentioned that.”

“No.” Kyle was far from surprised. “He owed me because you were always so far behind on your rent.”

He wished he could reach out and hold her as he raked over the past, but somehow, it didn’t feel right. He was the one baring his soul, the one about to potentially unleash a new storm over her. Could he also be the one to offer comfort?

“He worked for you as payment?” She gasped at the question, as though pieces of the puzzle were starting to fall into place in her head.

“Yes,” he confirmed. “But honestly, there was only so much he could do for me to cover your debt, so…”

He hesitated, still unsure whether to rip the entire scab from the pus-filled truth or whether, even at that juncture, to hold back.

“So?” Her voice wavered as she, no doubt, sensed his rising trepidation.

“So, we reached the conclusion I’d have to evict you.”

There was no pleasure in articulating the decision, especially since they both knew where it had led Amy, though he couldn’t shake the feeling that without his action, she might never have been his. He’d never dwelled on it until then, but perhaps it was the escalating pressure of the arrears that had pushed Graham into an early grave.

“Wait.” Her brows knitted. “You planned to evict us even before Graham’s death?”

“That’s right.” Reaching for her free hand, he fought the urge to keep her at bay. To hell with convention. He loved Amy, and what she was about to hear would likely upset her.

Her gaze fell to his fingers, but she didn’t reject him.

“I went to see him at the house and discussed it all with him. He told me he couldn’t afford any more money, and I told him if he didn’t have anything else to offer, then I’d need you guys to leave.”

“Anything else to offer?” Predictably, she seized on the only clause of his explanation that required further explanation. “What does that mean?”

“Well, like I said, he’d paid me previously with his professional expertise.” If that was what he called it. As far as Kyle was concerned, a few hours fumbling over his tax bill was far from expert proficiency.

“So, why didn’t he continue with that?” Her eyes were large, as though she could sense what was coming.

“My income grew, little girl.” His tone was almost apologetic. “Graham’s skills were no longer sufficient, so I employed others.”

“Of course.” Her eyes closed for a long moment. “He was always just a run-of-the-mill accountant. So, after that, you decided to evict us?” Her stare drilled into him, though he saw no obvious recriminations.

“I went to the house that day to see if there was anything else he could do for me…” His heart sped up as he neared the crux of his shame. “Any valuable possessions he owned that he could pass my way.”

“We had nothing like that.” Her voice was etched with sadness.

“He had you.” His voice was uncharacteristically quiet. “I saw a picture of you in the hallway and commented on it…”

If he wasn’t mistaken, her chest was rising and falling faster than before.

“What do you meanhe had me?”

“I suggested he could share you with me.” His words had slowed, as though saying them carefully would lessen their impact. “As a means to pay what you guys owed.”

“Shareme?” She seemed caught somewhere between disbelief and disgust. “What the fuck, William?”

“Amy.” His tone deepened in an instant. “That’s not how I want you to talk to me.”

“Well, I’msorry, sir, but you can’t just march into someone’s home and demand to fuck one of the tenants as payment for the rent!”

He didn’t like her incredulous tone, but his lips curled at her description. “It wasn’t quite like that…”

“But you wanted it to be.” She tugged her hand away, her face blanching as she continued. “Didn’t you? That’s why you bandied the concept. You’d have been happy with the arrangement, sir?”

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