His eyebrow rises skeptically.
“You know the address you drove me to the other day?” My hands focus on Persephone, as if I’m hoping it will give me courage. “It’s not my real address.” He’s still silent, so I continue. “It’s just one of the things I do to keep myself safe. I give away fake addresses to people I barely know. Like the men you had drive me home.” I glance up at him, but his expression is blank. “Thanks for the gorgeous flowers, by the way.” I shoot him a smile.
He clears his throat. “If you don’t live there, where do you live?”
“Oh, it’s just a few blocks away from there. I don’t have an apartment of my own. I moved into my cousin’s apartment when I got back from Vegas. If you remember, I mentioned she’s my best friend.”
He nods.
“It’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about.” Hiseyes narrow. “My cousin has been missing from her home for some time, and I think she might have visited your casino?” He glances at my purse sitting on the floor next to me. “Maybe one of your men saw her.”
His gaze lands on me for an uncomfortably long second before he breaks into a sardonic laugh. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“How stupid do you think I am?” He kicks my purse a few feet further, just out of my reach.
I stare, wide-eyed, not sure what the hell is going on. My belly fills with unease as I realize I don’t fully recognize the man in front of me. The man I just started to feel safe with. My feet decide to get up on their own, inching backward, but he stalks after me. With both of his arms crossed in front of his chest and a harsh set to his jaw, he looks even more imposing than I’m used to. Especially since his anger is now obviously directed at me.
But why? Is he so mad because I hid my address?
“Look, I’m sorry…” I start.
“Sorry? You’re fucking sorry?” He huffs. “What for? You managed to do your job.” His hands drop to his sides, turning into fists. I struggle to get air into my lungs. “You succeeded in seducing me without me giving it a second thought. Just like you succeeded in kidnapping my brother. Are you sorry for making a fool of me? Or sorry for getting caught?” He spits the words out with so much disdain that the blood freezes in my veins.
It makes no sense. His words don’t make any fucking sense. Playing him? Kidnapping his brother? “Leon, what are you talking about?” My voice is shaky. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I shake my head.
“Of course, you don’t, baby.” His body only a few inches away from mine, his finger reaches out to trail my cheek. The goosebumps that arise are fueled by fear. “You thought you could play me like one of the idiots at the poker table and I walked right into your trap.”
Tears form rapidly in my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. “I-I honestly don’t know what you’re saying.”
“Drop the fucking act!” he roars out.
I hear a sharp bark and drop my gaze to notice Persephone, rigid and barking at her owner as if issuing a warning.
He lets out another forced laugh. “I guess I’m not the only one who got played.”
“I-I don’t…”
“Fuck you, Alexandra Landers. You and your cousin who tore apart my family,” he bites out, his face transforming with anger, a look I know all too well.
Persephone steps in between us and growls at Leon, standing tall and proud. A single drop of liquid falls down my cheek, grateful for the dog’s mercy. Leon takes a step backward, lifting his hand in a surrender motion. He glares at me with contempt. “I guess it’s your lucky day. Get the fuck out of here.”
Grabbing a half-filled bottle from his kitchen, he starts for the hallway, and I hear the rough slam of his bedroom door. I release a sharp breath, along with a flood of tears. My heart is still racing. I don’t know what happened, but I need to get the hell out of here. I rush to grab my purse, hugging it to my chest.
“Thank you,” I whisper to Persephone, giving her a quick scratch behind the ears, and leave Leon’s apartment for good.
As soon as I step outside, I bump into the delivery driver bringing us food and it only makes me cry harder. I walk five blocks before getting a rideshare, my tears wetting the pavement beneath me. The ride home is a blur of sobs and quiet wails.
The volume of the wails turns louder as soon as I’m behind closed doors of Sophie’s apartment. Far away from the scene of the crime, my adrenaline is finally dropping, but the despair it leaves in its wake is debilitating. A body-numbing mixture of confusion, anger, grief and betrayal. Where did all that come from? He acted like I was the one to blame for something, but I have no clue what. I rip the dress off me, desperate to get under the hot spray of water.
With a small squeak, I turn the faucet on and let the water drip over my head. I don’t care about the makeup on my face; the shower is the closest thing I have to a safe space. It’s where I used to wash the blood off my body, and it’s where I’ll try to wash off my emotional pain today. The water turns from scorching hot to cold before it happens. There’s a boulder sitting on my stomach, killing all the butterflies that used to reside there. How could I trust a man again, something I vowed myself never to do? How did I end up in a situation where I was fearing for my life in front of the man I fell for? Again.
What would have happened if Persephone hadn’t stood up for me? Would he actually hurt me? My heart says no, but it obviously doesn’t know shit.
I’m only half-dry when I slump onto Sophie’s bed, wrapping myself in her comforter. This is what I need today. I need to feel her scent and imagine her arms around me, telling me everything’s going to be okay. Both of us would know it’s bullshit. But it would make us feel better.
Her pillow is soaked with my tears by the time I drift off to sleep, my dreams filled with an excruciating montage of the way Leon used to look at me — like he couldn’t get enough — before twisting into his disdain for me.
