Page 96

It was as simple as that.

I hadn’t slept for a single second. I didn’t stop once. Not even after I set fire to the body. A cleanup crew would be dispatched anyway. And it wasn’t like I was an amateur at covering my tracks.

Nothing, no fear of being caught and no need to linger or sleep, would keep me from seeing Louisa.

After speaking to him at all, I was desperate to have some goodness restored in my dark heart.

Adrik called me on the drive back, and he checked that I was all right to drive the rest of the way.

“I can send Viktor to get you and drive you.”

“No.” I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. This tension from facing that asshole still darkened my soul. “I’m good to drive.”

“I sent a crew out to handle the cleanup,” he added carefully.

I nodded, too wired to reply with a word.

Nothing more needed to be said between us, and I focused on nothing but getting gas, ignoring the people at the gas station as they gawked at me, then continued to head home.

When I pulled in, I was glad that no one seemed to be around. The SUV that Paloma used sometimes was missing, which probably meant that she had taken Brady back to the bookstore like she promised him she would.

No other cars were in the drive, and I looked forward to resetting myself, recalibrating with Louisa. No interruptions.

I found her in our bedroom, but when she spun around to face me as she folded laundry, she gasped. “Nik!” Her blue eyes opened wide, and it was only then that I took a second to check myself over.

Blood coated me. Up my forearms, my hands, clothes. I had to look absolutely deranged, but she didn’t hesitate. She proved that she could accept me, the good and the bad, the light and the dark. Approaching me carefully, she furrowed her brows. “Are you hurt?”

I shook my head.

She swallowed hard and took my hand. “Then let me help you… clean up.”

I’d scared her, but it wasn’t until I walked past the mirror and saw the full effect that I cringed.

What if Brady saw me like this?

I shook my head, taking my clothes off and letting her help me. She started a shower, but when it seemed like she would let me get in alone, I tugged at her shirt.

“Hold on.”

I did, stepping under the water and letting the hot liquid pound down on me. She joined me and didn’t wait to soap up her hands and wash me.

“I guess this means you found him?”

“I did.” I let out a deep breath. Feeling her hands on me soothed me, bringing me back to the living.

“And did he tell you what you needed to know?” She was calm. Cool. Perfect for me.

“He did. It wasn’t anything useful, though.”

She grimaced. “That sucks.”

“I recorded it, if you want to⁠—”

“No.” She shook her head. “No way. I never want to hear his voice ever again.”

“You won’t.”

She paused, rubbing the soap over my knuckles. “I can see that.”