“The Count,” he finished.
She swallowed heavy enough I could hear it from the other end of the bed. “What do you want from me?”
He leaned forward, opening his hands, trying to put her at ease. “I’m going to take down your old boss. I just want information.”
She stared between us, not believing we weren’t some avenging angels here to mete out punishment.
She closed her lace robe, covering herself from belly to neck, armor against the memories no doubt. “What do you want to know?”
He leaned in, a predatory glint in his eye now. “Tell me when you were first purchased by Fernand Mondego and Gerard Villefort.”
Ten
Eddy
Three Weeks Later
After the new girl told me everything, I gave her another $1000 and led the way out. Mercy followed. She’d been silent during the entire exchange, but I caught the surprise and pain in her eyes when she heard her cousin’s name on each of their lips.
She’d managed to make it through several of these interviews now. Three weeks’ worth, without so much as a peep. This one must have been different.
We got in the car before she broke down. She cried silently, facing as far away as she could. I reached toward her. She pushed my hands back, but I persisted, and managed to drag her to my lap.
“I didn’t know.” She said between sobs. “I didn’t know. That poor girl.”
I ran my fingers through her hair trying my best to soothe her even though I had very little experience at it. “It’s ok.”
She pushed away so she could meet my eyes. ”No, it’s not. I’m not a good person. I’ve never been a good person, but she suffered. I can’t fathom that level of depravity.”
I murmured to her softly in Italian, then Latin when I ran out of things to say.
She froze and looked up at me. I traced my thumbs under her eyes to remove the last of her tears.
“What language is that?” she asked.
“Latin.”
She laughed. A loud guffaw. “When did you learn Latin? Why did you learn Latin?”
I still ran my hand down her back. It was for myself now. “In prison. A friend and I studied it together.”
Not an outright lie.
I liked the sound of a laugh coming from her. It chased about the darkness in my head for a while.
Impulse pushed me to lean out and kiss her gently. She didn’t push me away, but leaned into the kiss deepening it until our tongues tangled and I had to shift her on my lap away from the erection threatening to bust my zipper.
She moaned into my lips and I pulled her head away from mine.
Control. Control. Control. I chanted in my head to keep me from laying her flat on the black leather and taking her hard.
“What?” She asked breathlessly.
I licked my lips and she tracked the motion with her eyes. “We still have more work to do.” I let myself count the buttons on her blouse with my fingers. “But don’t doubt for one second I intend to finish this later.”
She wiggled and I cursed. “I noticed.”
I growled and lifted her back to her side of the car. “Behave.”
