What he doesn’t know, what I’m still trying to figure out myself, is whether this is spook-worthy. Because I can’t tell if I’m dealing with danger… or foreplay.
Is it a threat dressed in temptation? Or temptation laced with a warning?
Either way, it’s crawling under my skin, and I can’t decide if I want it gone… or want more.
Tobias stays about an hour, asks the right questions, takes a few notes, snaps a photo of the napkin.
He tucks his old-school notepad back into his coat. “I’ll file the report on Monday. Nothing earth-shattering, but it’s worth having on record.”
“Appreciate it.”
“I’ll swing by a few times this week and monitor things.” He hesitates. “You should think about staying with someone. A friend or family. Just until we know more.”
I shake my head. “I’m fine here.”
“Laurette.”
“I said I’m fine.”
He studies me for a beat, then nods. “At least keep your doors locked. Cameras running. Eyes open.”
“You already said that, T-man.”
He gives a small sigh and heads for the door. “Don’t be brave when you don’t have to be.”
“Too late for that.”
He gives me a disapproving look, one I’ve seen too many times before, then steps out onto the porch.
I lock the door behind him and just stand there. My house is still. Too still.
And I don’t know what’s worse?—
That this man, B, found me…
Or that some part of me—dark and breathless—hopes he does it again.
Chapter 7
Bastien Montclaire
Obsession burnsbrightest in the dark. And last night, mine caught fire.
I haven’t slept. Not even close.
I left Laurette’s house, went straight home, and cracked open everything I could find on her. Public records. Court dockets. News archives. Social media profiles scraped and stitched together.
Laurette Devereux.
Assistant District Attorney for Orleans Parish. High conviction rate. Sharp, respected, and ruthless in court. Defense attorneys hate her. Judges praise her. Victims trust her. And under that impeccable record and spine-of-steel reputation is a woman who has carved her place in a city that eats the weak alive.
A woman like that doesn’t survive. She dominates.
The deeper I dig, the harder it is to breathe. Not because I’m surprised.
Because I’m not.
I expected brilliance, but I hadn’t anticipated this level. Her mind. Her drive. A dangerous elegance she wears the way other women wear perfume.
