Page 192 of Lethal King

The answer comes spilling from my lips before I even have a chance to consider it.

That’s how I know it’s the truth.

Fuck. Is that what this has all really been about? All of this time and energy, spent just to get close to a thorn in my side? My enemy. The bane of my existence.

Rozalia Dorn.

The truth is obvious, even if I don’t want it to be.

She was worth it.

Hell, that dinner alone was worth it all.

Love definitely wasn’t the right word before, but maybe it is now.

No. It’s not possible. She’s your enemy. The sex is amazing, but it’s the hate that makes it great. And that’s it.

“I know what you’re going through,” Dad sympathizes. “You may think I don’t, but I do. I went through the same thing with your mom.”

“This is nothing like what you and mom went through,” I reply, hoping it’s true. But I don’t dare consider the comparison. Not right now. Not when all I can think of is how good Rozalia tastes. How light her laugh is. How black her soul is.

How much I love it.

Fuck.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Dad says, and I can practically hear him shrug. “But if you never listen to anything I tell you ever again, I want you to listen to this.”

“What?” I huff.

Taking a soft turn, I finally reach the edge of this residential complex. Slowly, my foot pushes down onto the gas pedal.

“Follow your heart. Do that, and you’ll never fail, no matter what happens.”

The advice careens around my thick skull as the sound of my engine grows. But no matter how hard I fight back against it, the words only get louder.

Slowly, the doubt raging inside me fades, and a wave of clarity laps over me.

“I’ll do what I can,” I mutter, blazing down the empty street ahead.

“That’s my boy,” Dad says. “Oh, and one more thing. This brave young man who’s helping you chase these fuckers down, what’s his name?”

My brow furrows.

“I… I don’t know,” I realize.

“You should learn it. Good luck, son.”

I know a goodbye when I hear it. But I’m not ready to be on my own again. Not with all the conflict burning inside of me.

“Wait!” I call out.

“Yes?”

I’m not sure what to say.

“I saw you on the courthouse steps today,” I stall. “… How did it go?”

“Everything will be fine,” Dad assures me, his voice filled with confidence. “As long as I keep following my heart, everything will be fine.”