Page 96 of One Night Seduction

“Yeah? What are we celebrating?” I laugh as he cups myface with both of his hands, bending himself over so we’re nose to nose.

“Our new beginning.”

I smile at that before he presses his lips to mine. I’ll never not melt at this man’s touch. His soft lips pull at mine as my tongue tangles with his. He pulls away too soon for my liking, which he seems to echo if his frustrated growl is anything to go by.

“I’ll be back in a few hours, max, okay?”

“Okay,” I agree, making my way to the front door. I pause before going inside, waving to him. He returns the gesture, turning around before heading down the driveway.

I punch in my code into the keypad and the lock releases with a whir. I step inside the house, closing the door behind me as I drop my purse on the entry table. I’m kind of hungry, so I head for the kitchen to get a snack. At least I intended to. My feet pause, an unsettling feeling causing goosebumps to race down my spine as my head turns. I thought I just saw…

“Hello, Arianna,” my mother says with a sinister grin.

She’s sitting in the formal living room right off the entryway. Her legs are crossed, stiletto heels on her feet and a red dress that is far too revealing to be something she wears to work. She lifts the bottle of vodka in her hand to her mouth, taking two large gulps while keeping her eyes on me.

“What are you doing here?”

My mom doesn’t respond, pushing herself to her feet before she staggers a few steps. I look down at the bottle to notice it’s well over half gone. She’s absolutely shit tanked.

“Aren’t you pregnant? Not sure you should be drinking.”

“Fuck offff,” she snarls. “I drank plenty with you, although, you turned out to be a backstabbing little bitch, so maybe you’re onto something.” She cackles, taking another healthy swig as she stares at me, only one eye open as she continues.

“You ruined everythingss, you knows that? That I hate youz. That you costed me the first love of my life and now the second,” she says with a disbelieving laugh. “Whodoesthat?”

I shake my head at the sad drunk excuse of a mother before me.

“I didn’t do anything to you. I’m sorry you fucked a dude that was such a loser he skipped town the moment responsibility came knocking. I’m sorry you’re such a whore you can’t stay faithful to one man and lost the only good one that ever looked your way.”

I shrug like there is nothing else to say. She closes the distance between us faster than I’d have thought possible, her free hand cracking against my face, whipping my head to the side before snarling.

“You don’t know how sorry you should be, little girl. You’re about to find out, though,” she says with a smile so evil it chills me to the bone. I barely have time to wince before she lifts up the bottle, smashing it over my head.

Blinding pain radiates from my head before I feel myself falling. A hard thump to the ground is the last thing I feel before darkness overtakes me.

Chapter Thirty Three

Logan

It took less than an hour to talk my client out of completely torching this case. He’s desperate to get home to his family in Boston and was willing to do whatever it took to get there. Even if that meant taking a plea that would ultimately call into question all sixty-two of his current family’s businesses. As one of the most notorious organized crime bosses to this day, the DA would love to take him down any way they could, even at the risk of losing the bigger fish. Sometimes I feel slimy covering these criminal’s asses. I never represent a murderer or rapist, that’s a hard line that I draw. White collar crime, though…am I an asshole if I look the other way? Probably, but it keeps this firm afloat and allows us to do the work that actually matters, like pro bono cases for domestic violence victims, low-income families, and malpractice suits that take years to go through.

I contemplated stopping by the store to get Arianna some flowers and champagne because I meant it, we’re celebrating tonight. We are both free from her mother, free to love openly, to have any kind of future that we desire, and I intend on making her choice to stay worth it. Instead of stopping at thestore, though, I decided to just head home. I just want to be near her.

When I get to the house, I park my car before coming up to the front door. I punch in my code when I realize the door isn’t actually locked. Shaking my head, I push the door open. I keep telling her to make sure she locks the thing after she comes inside.

Shutting the door behind me, I engage the lock before calling out for her.

“Ari!”

“In here!” another voice calls out.

I frown at the sound, following it to the formal living room. I stop short, in complete disbelief of what I’m seeing. Arianna is tied to a chair, slumped forward with blood dripping down her head and a dazed expression on her beautiful face.

“Logan,” she slurs as Kelly stands behind her, wrapping a chunk of Arianna’s hair in her fist, yanking her head up before pressing a kitchen knife to her neck.

“Welcome home, sweetheart,” Kelly purrs.

The room reeks of alcohol, and I look down to see shattered glass and blood on the cream colored carpet.

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