Page 54 of Beautiful Revenge

“Why are you doing this? Are you trying to scare me?”

“I am. You need to be scared of me, princess. I’m a man who does bad things.”

“I know. That’s why I hate you.”

“Then why did you seem to lean into my touch tonight? When I took your wedding dress off.”

I shake my head. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“But you do. We both knew. We both felt it. There was a moment between us. Did you consider letting me touch you? Fuck you?”

“No,” I gasp.

“No? Tell me the truth, princess.”

Lying to Finn never ends well so I force the truth out. “Maybe for a moment. But it was a moment of weakness. You’ve gotten into my head. I don’t want to be with you.”

“So, you would be upset if I held you down and fucked you right now?”

“Yes.”

He nods. “That is the truth. But what if I told you I didn’t kill that woman? What if I told you I didn’t kill that baby? What then?”

“But you did kill them. And besides, you don’t win brownie points for not murdering someone. That’s not how that works.”

“But I’m a hitman. And if a hitman doesn’t kill someone he was hired to kill, isn’t that a good thing? Doesn’t it show growth? Wouldn’t that make the man worthy of his princess’s touch?”

“Why are you talking like this? What’s going on?”

With a sharp inhale, he backs away from me, raking a hand down his face. “I was sent to kill Sarah Williams tonight. I had my gun trained at the back of her head and if I had pulled the trigger, she would have died. Her baby would have died.”

I clutch the blanket to my chest. Finn is scaring me. I’ve never seen him this frazzled and shaken up before. Normally, he’s so confident.

“But I saw her. I saw that baby. Jack never mentioned a baby, that fucker. I don’t kill children. You might think I’m some terrible asshole – and I am – but I draw the line at kids. It’s the one thing that would make you happy, I’m sure.”

“So, you didn’t kill the baby,” I say with a release of breath. Thank god for that.

“I didn’t kill the baby.” He gazes at me with so much intensity, it leaves me breathless. “I wasn’t hired to kill the baby but I was hired to kill the woman. Sarah.”

“Did you?” From the way he’s speaking, I can’t tell if he did or not.

Finn huffs. “What the fuck is happening to me, princess? What spell do you have over me?”

“Spell?”

“Maybe you’re not a princess. Maybe you’re a witch in disguise who casted a spell over me.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Just speak straight.”

“I didn’t kill her.” He bows his head, like he’s ashamed of that fact.

I stare at Finn for a long time. Here is this man, a hitman, who kills people for a living. I know he killed that female doctor a few days ago. I know he’s capable of murder without even blinking.

So why is he acting like this?

“Why?” I whisper. “Why didn’t you kill her?”

“I thought you’d be happy.”

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