Page 75 of Lethal Attraction

He shrugs. “Give or take.”

Taryn comes up behind me before placing a hand on my shoulder. “Sorry, detective, this is just so sudden.”

He nods. “I understand, trust me. Hopefully, you get the answers you’re looking for.”

Once he’s out of earshot, I whip around to my friend.

“You don’t even have to say anything,” she mutters. “We’re both thinking it.”

I place my hands behind my head as I pace in front of her. “There’s something I need to tell you. Before this happened, Galene confronted me in the hallway and assaulted me.”

Taryn’s eyes widen. “What?!”

I nod solemnly. “She grabbed me.”

“Oh, that fucking cunt!” She rages before taking a deep breath and pressing her fingers to the sides of her nose. “If this were Thalia, I’m on her side.”

A startled laugh escapes me as I shake my head in disbelief. “Is it crazy that I am too? Are we insane?”

Taryn throws a hand in the direction of the office. “Are you kidding me?! Galene touched you without your permission, Reed. If anything, she was the insane one.”

I release a breath I didn’t know I was holding until now. For some reason, I expected Taryn, my friend of ten years, to look at me differently after this. Instead, she’s enraged by it…

“Thank you,” I say quietly.

Her face softens. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

She nods in understanding before her attention is called back to the now vacant office. It smells strongly of pungent cleaning supplies, and more people are beginning to wander over into this part of the hospital again.

“So, what do we do now?” She asks.

I catch sight of Burton across the walkway, his hand moving animatedly as he argues low with someone on the phone. “We go to a gala.”

I stare out at the bustling city through my kitchen window, listening to the honks and sirens of life continuing all around me. My hands tighten on the edges of the counter, biting into my skin unpleasantly as a reminder that today has been very real.

My mind hasn’t stopped since I clocked out. Every possible dot is connecting to a truth I can’t quite grasp, yet I can’t ignore.

I’ve never been the type to praise violence—I’m a natural pacifist unless it comes to those close to me. But it doesn’t stop me from turning over the inevitable in my psyche.

Am I okay with Thalia’s lifestyle?

If this is true, can I see past the bloodlust and be with someone who kills for a living?

Yes, the little voice in the back of my mind whispers without a thought. Why would that change a thing?

It wouldn’t. If this insane possibility has at least a speck of truth behind it, I don’t think it would change a single damn thing for me. Hypothetically.

Am I really this stupid?

I still can’t believe the truth when it’s sitting right in front of me…

I groan as I rest my forehead against my palm. I’ve lost all of my morals when it comes to her. I remember a time when I told Burton I would never support senseless violence. Apparently, my exception is Thalia. Because I’m weak for her. So very weak.

Hands slide along my shoulders, making my whole body coil tightly as breath fans the back of my neck.

“You seem tense,” Thalia whispers softly in my ear.