The Lord frowns, noticing. “What’s wrong with you?” His green eyes look me up and down, reading my body language.
I sit in a chair and cross my legs. This dress is shorter than I thought, and I take a quick look to make sure the bruises and bite marks Kash gave me aren’t noticeable. “Nothing.”
“Well, I’m about to fuck your mood up.” He makes it sound like it’s a challenge.
“You can try.” I take the glass of whiskey that Bill is holding out to me and take a sip.Don’t throw it up.
“The police ran your prints. They’re going to question you.”
I frown. They already did, but I ask. “Why?”
Bill shakes his head. “She’s not in the system.”
Right. Because I’m a no one. Never have been and never will be.
“They find it suspicious that you found the woman in the cemetery.” His green eyes meet mine. “You should have burned her body and buried her ashes.”
Yep. One sentence was all it took to fuck up my already bad mood. I slam the drink down on Bill’s desk, making him flinch. “She had a family.” I don’t know if she was a mother, a sister, or wife, but she was someone’s daughter. “She deserved something…more.” That’s the problem with the Lords. Nothing is sacred. A living soul is nothing more than an inconvenience. Something to be thrown away and never thought of again. They don’t value life.
He gives a dark chuckle. “Now that family is seeking justice.”
“Good.” I give him a smile.
His eyes narrow on mine. “They think you did it.”
I snort. “They can think whatever they want. I didn’t kill that poor woman.” And why the hell would the killer call the police? That doesn’t make any sense.
He buries his head in his hands. I wonder when the last time he sleptwas. He looks tired. Adam and I go way back. It’s not a love-hate friendship, just a mutual hatred for one another. He’s like the big brother I never wanted.
“You don’t understand. The public is ramming these bodies down the authorities’ throats. It’s all over the fucking news, just like it was years ago. Random people are picking it up on social media just to get views, and it’s working. The authorities will pin it on someone to get the families off their backs.”
“So you’re saying I’m going to be the fall guy?” I shake my head. “Even the police can’t twist a story that much.”
“They can do whatever the fuck they want,” Adam snaps before lowering his voice. “I’ve been there. They can make the innocent look guilty, and once you’re locked away, you won’t have a fucking voice to argue your side. The media alone will make sure you are painted as the villain they want you to be.”
“What do you suggest?” Bill asks him, and I roll my eyes.
This Lord is his new favorite toy. Bill hangs on his every word. But even I know it’s for his own gain. I am very thankful for Bill, but at the end of the day, he’s just another Lord who is out for himself and world domination. No amount of money or power will ever be enough for them.
“I suggest you get the hell out of town and hide.”
“No. That makes me look guilty as fuck,” I argue. “I’m not going anywhere.” He’s only suggesting that because he’s hiding. Has been for four years now. That’s how we met. I’m not calling him a coward, but I refuse to live that life. I’m already a nobody. I don’t need to hide. No one knows I exist.
“Eve—”
“No.” I get to my feet, interrupting Bill. “I’m not going to run. I did nothing wrong.” Not to the woman anyway. If I believed in an afterlife, then I’d one day have to answer for everything I’ve done, but I helped that woman in the only way I could. I returned her to her family, where she belonged. “Let them take me inagainand ask me as many questions as they want. I’ll?—”
“The Lords will fuck you over,” Adam shouts. He throws his glass against the wall, and it shatters. He steps into me, and I brace myself to knock his fucking lights out if he places his hands on me. “The police start hanging out around the cathedral and your house, the Lords will see that, and they will throw you under the bus so fast to keep the police from sniffing around.”
“You make it sound like she has no choice.” Bill sighs.
He looks over at Bill for a quick second. “There’s another option…” Adam’s eyes meet mine when he speaks again. “Carnage…”
“Fuck no.” I shake my head, giving a rough laugh. “I’m not going near there.” The thought alone makes me break out in hives.
“I can make a call. My brothers can protect you.”
I give a manic laugh. “They don’t give two shits about me.” At least theywon’t when they find out who I really am. “The answer is no.” Shoving my finger into Adam’s chest, I add, “The only way I go to Carnage is if someone drags me against my will.”
