Page 108 of Villainous Intent

I reached up and pulled the flower free. The petals were velvet-soft against my skin, but when I ran my thumb down the green stem, I found a smooth surface. Every single thorn had been meticulously stripped away.

I dropped the rose on the mattress and reached for the zipper on the garment bag. The plastic parted, revealing a navy blue cocktail dress and a set of soft pink silk lingerie.

It was a direct replacement for the outfit he had ripped to shreds when I dared to wear it for another man. I reached out, rubbing the pink silk between my thumb and forefinger. The lace trim was delicate and obviously hand-stitched. The dress beside it felt incredibly luxurious, cut from a material that would hug every curve.

He had destroyed my clothes in a possessive rage, then replaced them with items worth ten times the original.

I stared at the fabric as a hysterical laugh bubbled up in my throat.

At least he was a courteous psychopath.

CHAPTER 21

ANNIE

I walked down the sidewalk with Dawn toward her car in stunned silence. The rich garlic and heavy cream from Luciano’s curdled in my stomach, battling with the sudden, sharp spike of dread.

Dawn pressed her keys, unlocking her hatchback with a sharp chirp. “He didn’t even bother coming in to give notice face to face. Just an email to HR. Done and gone.”

A teasing smile pulled at her mouth. “Just how hard did you turn Finley down at Hunter’s party, Annie? You must have absolutely crushed the poor guy’s ego.”

I tried to give her a smile back even as I felt sick. Because Cipher didn’t do proportional responses. He did executions. I knew the exact sound his violence made—the wet crunch of bone, the sickening thud of a body dropping to the floor.

He had threatened to take off Finley’s hands just for touching me, only offering a reprieve if he managed to make me wet and he definitely hadn’t. Had he tracked Finley down after I fled the penthouse? Did he slaughter the man just for looking at me?

“Did anyone actually check on him?” My tone came out too sharp, too frantic for a casual conversation about a flaky date. “Did anyone go to his apartment?”

Dawn gave me a bewildered, slightly concerned look. “Darren—the one who works up in the weapons exhibit—messaged him right after the email went out. Finley texted back and said he couldn’t take the constant collateral damage in Chroma Bay anymore. He headed out to take a lead researcher spot out in Argentina.”

I stared at her, my fingers digging into the emerald silk of my slip dress at my thighs. “Argentina?”

“Yeah,” Dawn said, rolling her eyes. “He’d go on and on about it if you let him. It was his ultimate dream job. I guess the opening finally came through and he just jumped at it.”

The suffocating pressure in my chest evaporated and I exhaled a shaky breath. Cipher hadn’t butchered the man. Finley had genuinely just packed up and left to dig up old pottery.

Annoyance quickly replaced my panic.

He’d talked about stability and the women he dated not having their lives together and being too emotional. Then he pulls this random, impulsive crap and just up and leaves.

“You seriously need a vacation, Annie,” Dawn said and gave me a tight squeeze. The scent of garlic knots and her jasmine perfume enveloped me. It was the smell of normalcy.

“I know,” I sighed. “Once this assignment is over. I promise.”

“I’m holding you to that,” Dawn said, pointing a finger at me. Her expression was stern, but her eyes were warm.

I forced a laugh. It was pathetic how easily she’d bought my lies over dinner. I had told her the truth, technically. I was on a special assignment. I would be busy for the foreseeable future. I just hadn’t mentioned that the assignment didn’t require me to not be at home, or that my “work” would likely consist of being edged until I passed out.

“I’m serious, Annie,” Dawn continued. “You work too hard. You need to get laid, get drunk, and forget about Supers for a while.”

My stomach gave a little flip. If only she knew.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I murmured.

She hugged me one last time and drove off. Her taillights faded around the corner, leaving me alone on the curb. I turned to face my ride. My escort.

Four black SUVs idled in a line outside Luciano’s. Their tinted windows gave nothing away but I knew exactly what sat behind that impenetrable glass. More than a dozen of Cipher’s henchmen were crammed into the lead and trailing vehicles, playing the role of my personal security detail.

It was ridiculous overkill since I possessed a perfectly functional driver’s license. But Cipher didn’t care about my capabilities. He cared about control. He insisted on the motorcade for one specific reason: I wasn’t permitted to know the location of the Labyrinth.