Page 8 of Graveyards & Greed

My smile faded, and I placed it back into the velvet-lined box as I remembered Drakos telling me I might be pretty enough to fuck under all the dirt and makeup, just so he could get me out of his system.

If I kept the scalpel, I needed to reciprocate so I didn’t feel like I owed him anything. But nothing too personal or sentimental.

Over the next few days, I wracked my brain. On my lunch break, I made another trip to my favorite secondhand store. I didn’t find anything this time, but before leaving, I browsed through the used book section, my fingers brushing over the worn spines. I saw a collection of poems by Oscar Wilde and remembered reading his short novel,The Picture of DorianGray.

I’d been fascinated by the eerie story of the charming, handsome, but morally corrupt man who sold his soul for eternal youth and beauty. I found a 1910 leatherbound edition online, annotated a few passages, and sent the book to Drakos. I hoped he got the dig.

My phone buzzed as I finished up some paperwork in my office a few days after I sent him the book. Glancing down, I saw Drakos’s name on my screen. My heart jumped as I read his text.

Drakos: Thank you for the book. So you think I’m handsome and charming?

Sylvie: I think you missed the point

I walked into Luigi’s alone for dinner that Friday night. Both my roommates were neck-deep in midterms, but since the authentic Italian restaurant was just around the corner from the mortuary and I craved carbs like my next breath, I went alone. The place bustled on a Friday night, but I’d called ahead and asked Sophia to save me a table.

She glanced up from the hostess desk and smiled. “Hey, Syl. Your date is waiting for you in your favorite booth.”

I quirked my head. “Date?”

“Yeah. He showed up about ten minutes ago and said you were meeting him here.” She raised an eyebrow in question.

My roommates and I came here almost every Friday night to celebrate the end of the week, but I’d never brought a date here. I walked toward our favorite booth where she’d pointed, and Drakos Creed sat there, casually studying the menu.

My jaw dropped as I stared down at him. “What are you doing here?” I hissed. He looked up and his beautiful lips tipped into a cheeky grin.

“Hello, Killer. I wanted to thank you in person for the eccentric gifts.”

Glancing around, I slunk into the seat opposite him. “How did you know I’d even be here?”

He raised an eyebrow as he studied me. “Because you’re here every Friday night with your roommates.”

“Are youstalking me?”I asked incredulously.

“Stalking is such a harsh word.” He leaned forward and set his elbows on the table. “We didn’t get to finish our conversation.”

“If my cousins see me with you, shit is going to hit the fan.”

He shrugged. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

“Have you ever met Fennick? He doesn’t cross bridges, he blows them up.”

He grinned and laid his arm across the back of the booth. “Eat with me, and I’ll tell you why I was there that night. Unless you’re too scared.”

The bastard pushed all my buttons by challenging meandpiquing my curiosity. A server came by to take our order, and I didn’t look at the menu or take my eyes off Drakos. “Hey, Cid. I’ll have the medium meat lovers, pineapple on half, breadsticks with blue cheese dressing, and a glass of the house red.”

Drakos’s lips quirked, and he turned to Cid. “I’d like the risotto alla Milanese, and bring a bottle of your bestAramoneinstead of a glass of the house.” He handed his menu over and thanked her as Cid hustled away.

My eyes involuntarily soaked up his muscular frame in his beautiful custom-made suit. Several women in the restaurant gave him an appreciative side-eye, and I didn’t blame them. The man oozed testosterone.

We needed to keep this meal brief. Leaning forward, I set my hands on the table. “Tell me.”

He bent toward me and lowered his voice. “When he stole the bike, he maimed one of our employees and shot his dog just for the hell of it. Sasha was an eleven-year-old golden retriever who didn’t have a mean bone in her body. The fucker deserved a painful death.”

I studied him in the dim light. “You seem more upset about Sasha than your employee.”

“I like them both, but unlike Sasha, Todd doeshave a mean bone in his body. Now, he also has a traumatic brain injury and months of rehab ahead of him.”

The server set two glasses and a bottle of wine on the table as I absorbed what Drakos told me. “I’d have done the same thing,” I admitted. When the server left, I watched him deftly pour the rich red wine.

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