“Do your thing,” he encouraged her.
Lucky headed for the door to answer the bell. Hawk was right behind her.
Desiree stood on the porch, her hands behind her back, face a mask of composure.
Lucky waved her in. “I’m glad you came. It’s in Krystal’s best interest to have her father in her life.”
“Why? It wasn’t in your best interest to be with your father,” Desiree shot back.
“Neil is nothing like my father.”
“He betrayed you. Again and again and again.” Her voice grew breathy, like she was remembering their intimate time together. Or simply trying to stick it to Lucky.
Lucky’s stomach churned.
Desiree zeroed in on Mason and Lyric canoodling in the kitchen. “Who are they?”
Hawk chimed in. “That’s my cousin and his wife. They just arrived for a family visit. Kind of a babymoon before the baby arrives. Don’t worry about them. They’re always in their own little world.”
Lucky held her arm out toward the couch. “Sit. Let’s talk about the bomb that got dropped yesterday and about Neil seeing his daughter.”
Desiree sauntered past Neil, a gleam in her eyes. “He’s not her father. He’s the deadbeat drug dealer who knocked me up. That’s all.”
Lucky snagged Desiree’s wrist and halted her. “Don’t be like that. We can have a civilized conversation. Can’t we?”
“I don’t think you’re going to like what comes to light. Like how your boyfriend used to fuck me hard and deep, like he couldn’t get enough.”
Neil brushed past Desiree and took a seat on the couch furthest away from the window. “How about you tell her that you had to blackmail me into sleeping with you at all and how every time I begged to get out of it.” He gave her an insincere smile. “Every. Time. Because I didn’t want you. I lovedher.”
Lucky and Hawk took the chairs across from the couch, leaving Desiree the far spot on the couch with her back to the kitchen and dining area where Mason and Lyric were still pretending no one else existed but them. Not that Desiree could see them now. She was too focused on her and Neil.
Lucky steered the conversation. “Why won’t you let Neil see Krystal, spend time with her?”
“Because she’s mine. He doesn’t deserve to see her after he left us.”
Neil scoffed. “Left you? Seriously? I went to jail because you set me up.”
Desiree laughed. “Are you still high on what you stole?”
Neil leaned toward her. “I never used the drugs I stole. But you did.”
Desiree sneered, keeping the bravado going. “I did not.”
“You had access to them every time you came to my house and crawled through my window, looking to fuck me and fuckover your best friend. That night, I turned you down. For good. I wasn’t going to take it anymore.Youdruggedme, because I hated you and wanted her.”
Desiree exploded. “You deserved it! You pissed me off. We had something good and you had to mess it all up. Why couldn’t you see that?”
Lucky couldn’t believe this was actually working.
Neil’s eyes glowed with victory. “Right. You drugged me. So how did I kill Lucky’s family? How did my fingerprints get on the knife?”
Desiree seemed to catch herself and clammed up.
Lucky came in for the kill. “Desiree, answer the question. If you drugged him…Did you do it for me?” She tried to make it sound like she’d appreciate it, but feared her revulsion leaked through.
“Of course I had to do it! This lame-ass didn’t have the balls. He kept stalling, making excuses. You were going to be dead at your father’s hand before he did anything to stop it.”
“So you did it to save me?” Lucky wanted there to be something good inside Desiree.
