Page 68 of The Monster and the Masochist

“Well, I guess Mr. Cross will be waiting a while. I think I’ll spend my day doing external research and background on the reverend. I’ll be in the library if you need me. Please do not disclose my location to Mr. Cross.”

Alyssa gave me a sly grin and nodded.

“You got it!”

I smirked at her, pleased once again with how loyal my little minion was. Now, all she needed to do was make sure Theo ended up in my condo by the end of the day, and I would make sure she was set for life.

“Thank you, Alyssa. Let me know immediately when the movers arrive at my condo.”

“Will do!”

Alyssa bounded off as I called the elevator back to take me down to the legal library Edmund and Vivian had built for the firm on the main floor.

While background research was an important part of kicking off any new case, it was usually a little dry and boring. I was going to need to really compartmentalize to avoid obsessing over what Theo was doing while she was out in the wild without me.

The way she’d effortlessly made that barista blush had turned my blood to liquid fire.

She’d called her pretty girl, and then referred to me as her friend.

Ew.

I was going to need to put a stop to that behavior. It just wasn’t appropriate if we were supposed to be convincing the world we were in love and happily married.

I tapped my foot impatiently, doing my best to convince myself that once Theo was living with me, this obsessive need to know where she was and who she was with at all times would settle down a bit.

Yeah.

I would feel calmer once she was safely where I could keep an eye on her.

She couldn’t flirt with people and put our little facade at risk if she was spending most of her time at home with me in my penthouse.

The elevator dinged, and I grinned.

The more I thought about it, the more I loved the thought of it.

Once she was moved in, everything would be better.

Maybe she could have her planning sessions with Jerry in my condo.

If I could get that espresso machine working, she wouldn’t even need to go to that cafe…

Even better… Maybe if she had everything she needed in the condo, she would realize she didn’t even need to fight for whatever tiny scraps of winnings she probably earned in that shitty league, and she would stop fighting for good.

Then I wouldn’t have to suffer through the rage I felt every time I saw a new mark on her face.

Oh yes.

Everything would be so much better once she’d moved in.

Don’t fuck this up, Alyssa.

Iwas standing in my already pretty empty guest house, scratching my head as I tried to figure out what I was going to bring and what I was going to leave behind.

After seeing Cassandra’s condo, I had a feeling she wasn’t going to want me to take my mostly thrifted and hand-me-down furniture with me. It would fuck with the whole cozy-but-elevated Scandinavian vibe she had going on.

I wouldn’t need to bring my TV or appliances. She already had all that. So I settled on just packing up my clothes, toiletries, and my Nintendo Switch.

The trouble was, I didn’t have any boxes or anything. I just had garbage bags and the duffle I used for the gym, and I was trying to make a mental game plan for how I was going to get all my shit together in time when there was a knock on my door.