Page 34 of Wild Night

Instead, he pierces me with his eyes. Trying to cut me with his look and his words. I try not to let him. I’m not sure if I fail or succeed, but he does stand and close the distance between us.

Tilting my head back, I lift my chin, looking up into his eyes. Searching his gaze with mine as I wait for whatever is about to happen. Because I know he’s thinkingsomething, I just can’t tell what. Because I don’t believe that I ever knew this man.

“Do I even know your name?” I chance asking.

“No,” he states. “Well, you know the name you need to know.”

“And the divorce?” I ask.

Silence. His gaze searches mine for too long. I feel uncomfortable, but I’m not going to tell him or show him any sign of that. Pressing my lips together, I tilt my head to the side as I wait for his response.

“You’re asking for a divorce, but we’re not even married.”

I take a step backward, and my breath hitches at his words. “What do you mean?” I hiss.

He lets out a bark of laughter. “Did you think I would really marry you?”

I press my lips together and roll them a few times. I don’t know what to say or how to respond to him. He’s telling me that I don’t know his name and that we’re not married. So why can’t I just walk away?

“Lucian, I don’t understand.”

He laughs, though it’s without humor. It sounds cruel to my ears. I take another step backward, though I’m not sure why I’m trying to get away. There is nowhere for me to go, especially in this towel, and Lucian knows this.

He reaches up and wraps his fingers around the side of my throat. “You left after I came back. Why?” he demands. “Did you not want me back?”

“I want a divorce,” I state.

He shakes his head a couple of times, never looking away from my eyes. He is focused. Connected. I remember the way I felt when he used to look at me this way. I don’t feel itnow. Instead, I hold my breath, waiting for him to get on with whatever the fuck he’s going to get on with.

Lucian leans forward until his mouth touches mine. A chill of dread slides down my spine at the simple touch. One that I used to welcome. But I won’t ever forget how he made me feel a few weeks ago or how he hurt me.

“I can make you disappear, Posey. You have no family. You have no friends. Your employers will do as I say, the way I say it. There is no divorce to be granted because we were never married.”

“Why did you leave me just to come home two years later, hit me and threaten me, and now drag me back here?”

His lips curl up into an ugly smirk. “I didn’t drag you back here, baby. You came on your own.”

And then his hand squeezes, effectively cutting off my air. My vision begins to spark, to pepper with spots, and then everything goes dark. It’s as if it’s all happening in slow motion. I open my mouth to scream, but nothing comes out. I try to scratch and tug at his arm, but nothing happens, and then there is darkness.

Complete and utter darkness.

IVY

After Lainey and Cidney tell me everything they know, I realize I was right. Posey was hiding some serious fucking shit, the main thing being that she has no idea who the fuck she’s married to.

Not a goddamn clue.

After listening to and thanking Lainey and Cidney for their information, Piggy and I head back to my office to have a discussion and form a plan. The only plan I can even begin toimagine is to board a fucking plane right this goddamn second and go to her.

“We gotta figure out if this fuck will come after us. We don’t need any more heat on the club.”

“We don’t,” I agree.

Piggy and I both nod a couple of times, but I know what I’m thinking, and I can guess he feels the same way, at least somewhat. I want Posey here, mainly for selfish reasons. Piggy wants her here because he knows it will make Bullet and Dakota happy.

Mainly Dakota, but that, in turn, makes our president happy. And a happy president means a happy club. Piggy deals with enough drama at work. The last thing he wants is an unbalanced club. I don’t blame him. I feel the same way.

“So we stay here and research,” I state.

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