Page 258 of Chandelier Sin
“Why?”
“Why?” She sat back dramatically. “You saved my daughter.”
“You did that, Eve.”
She looked around. “Are we truly alone?”
“The staff are discreet.” I leaned forward. “I mean, kings dine here.”
“You’re my king, Atticus.”
“I’m glad you realize it,” I said, amused.
She let out a sigh. “I think we should talk about it.”
“I’m listening.”
“Don’t say it like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re silently judging me.”
“Eve, I’ve done nothing but adore you from the moment I saw you. I followed you down to the wine cellar.”
“Oh, I didn’t know.”
“Well, one look at you and I was…” I couldn’t bring myself to say smitten. I didn’t want to embarrass myself.
She scraped her spoon along her plate. “I need to know how it was done.”
We held each other’s gazes.
I studied her calmness even with the weight of the question.
I chose my words carefully. “Roper had some nefarious enemies.”
I didn’t want to use his first name; didn’t want to alter the taste in my mouth.
“So, you didn’t…” She paused, her eyebrows knitting together. “Finish him?”
“I considered it,” I admitted. “A million times I imagined injecting him between his toes with insulin. It was like I’d done it in the end. But no, I want a track record of saving lives, not taking them. That will be my legacy. Should you and I ever be more, you deserve an honorable man.”
“You don’t mind me asking?”
“After years of abuse, you deserve honest answers.” I sat up straight. “Build up your faith in the world again.”
She frowned. “He admitted owning that house in Bangkok. All those years I thought he’d rescued me as a teenager. All lies. He’d kidnapped me as a child. Made me believe my relatives were dead. Kept me in a house as a prisoner until I came of age. One thing to be grateful for, I suppose. Then, he brought me to the States.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“I’m going to search for my mother.”
“We can help.”
She nodded, looking grateful.
“His malevolence was an insidious shadow that never left you. An infliction of cruelty that was both physical and psychological.He was abhorrent. I say that because it’s important for you to hear I understand all you had to endure.”
