And I wait.
An hour.
A day.
Two…
Three…
A week.
Nothing.
Chapter Seventeen
Charlotte
My hope didn’t die all at once. It bled out. I’ve sent him everything from the weather to the way he felt inside me.
It’s sunny today. You’d fucking hate it. You made me come so hard I saw stars. Just thought you should know. I miss you. Call me.
Nothing. Not a read receipt or even a "fuck off." I promised myself I wouldn’t call or seek him out with anything more than a few texts. The choice has to be his, even if I’m fucking miserable.
I’m in my office, which Valerio had people come to fix after his crash out. My third appointment is with one of the biggest drug lords in New York, who just lost his four-year-old daughter to his own stash. It’s a heavy case.
The door opens, but it isn’t the drug lord.
It’s Lucian Morelli. He sits without being asked. I push down all the fear I feel. He wants a piece of my mind? He’s going to get it.
“Hello, Mr. Morelli. Now isn’t a good time. I have a client—”
“He can wait,” Lucian says. “I’m sure you’ve seen the news. Massacre after massacre. A possible serial killer on the loose.”
I nod. Valerio has truly been going insane this past week… it’s so sad to see. The people he kills are all criminals, ‘bad people’… but does that really make it any better?
“I’m sorry. I tried my best. But he regressed.”
“He didn’t just regress, Charlotte. He went nuclear.” Lucian’s hand slams onto my desk. My eye twitches. “He got worse after you. He’s crashing out, and he’s taking half the city with him.”
Is this the part where they kill the doctor for failing the patient? “He doesn't want to continue the sessions. I can't force a man like Valerio to talk.”
“You and I both know he isn’t crashing out over therapy. He’s crashing out overyou.”
I feel a hollow laugh bubbling up. I’m too fucking tired for the games. “You knew from the start that I don’t follow the handbook or ethics. It’s why you hired me. Yes, we had a… had athinggoing on. When he’s with me, his murderous urges seem to calm down. I think you can guess why he’s been so unhinged this past week?”
“Did you leave him?” Lucian seethes.
“He left me!” I bark the words out. “I’ve been texting him every goddamn day for a week. He won’t respond.”
Lucian freezes. He looks at me, then at my phone on the desk. A look of genuine, dark confusion crosses his face.
“That’s not possible,” he mutters.
“Tell that to my inbox.”
Lucian sighs. “Do you know about the curse, Charlotte?”
“I’m a woman of science. I don’t believe in hexes.”
