She shakes her head. “He did this to himself.”
“Yeah, baby, he did.” My kiss lingers on her forehead, hating that I have to say the next part. “I need to deal with Jack.”
Deal with.I should’ve dealt with the fucker the moment he started messaging her.
Mina latches onto my wrist when I turn to leave. “I—I’ll help.”
Tensing reminds me of the pain growing in my side. This is my fuckup to deal with. I was angry and impulsive, and look what happened. I’m the one who’s supposed to be “slaying her demons,” not the other way around.
“You should shower and stay?—”
“No,” she says adamantly, tightening her grip. “We take it as it comes.Together.You and me. That’s what you told me.”
With each breath she takes, she draws herself straighter with a detached calmness. I can’t help but stare at her, remembering all the times I’ve seen her break down. It isn’t until she says the next part that I understand what’s happening in that mind of hers. She’s pulling herself together because in her eyes, she’s protecting me and not herself. I’m the one in crisis. Not her.
“We can’t call the cops because they’ll start investigating you, and who knows where that might lead.”
My lips part. I shake my head. “I can’t ask you to do that for me.”
Her hand drops from my wrist, her fingers threading through mine. “You’re not asking. I’m telling you that I’m going to.”
I try to see through her conviction, but it stays there, unwavering, and that one singular look has the power to ease some of the tension from my chest.
We have each other’s back.
We’re as crazy as each other.
Still, I give her a couple more seconds to change her mind. She doesn’t.
Pursing my lips, I try to come up with a rebuttal or demand that she stay here to protect her from more harm, even though I’ve spent the past month telling her that she can make her own choices and decisions. But I can’t.
If I make her stay, I’m throwing my promise back in her face and showing her that she needs me, not the other way around—even though it couldn’t be further from the truth.
I take a deep breath, then nod once. “We need to get rid of the evidence. His car is probably still outside too.”
She looks to the side of my head, and the muscle in her jaw twitches as she thinks. “We... we should dump his body by where he lives, so our alibi holds. We’ll also need to leave his carin Detroit to avoid triggering any kind of federal investigation from crossing state lines.”
My brows hike. I never thought there’d be this type of benefit to being with an author. Mina has graduated from stalking to body disposal.
She frowns at my chest in consideration, and I wait for her to tell me what else to do.
“It might be a good idea to post something to social media to strengthen your alibi as well. Nothing overly complicated. On the couch watching TV or something.”
If I didn’t know everything about her, I’d question whether she’s done this before. It’s hot as shit.
“Anything else?”
Her eyes dart to the side again, and she studies the wall as the cogs turn in her head. “We’ll need an oxygen-based cleaner, hydrogen peroxide, and bleach so his blood can’t be detected, and to kill any traces of his DNA.” When I don’t respond, her attention shifts back to me. “What?”
“How do you know this?”
She grimaces. “I write dark romance novels, Leo. You don’t want to see my search history.”
Under a different circumstance, I’d laugh. “Will you be okay going back down there?”
Taking a deep breath, she hesitates for several moments before nodding. “It’s just a body.”
It’s not just anybody. It belongs to the person who’s tried ruining my life, time and time again. I’ve been dreaming of killing him for years. Imagined it in a hundred different ways, and weighed up the pros and cons of different methods.
