I gesture for her to come to me, spin her around, and hold her in place with a hand on her hip as I zip her up.
“Thank you,” she says softly. “I know that you’re wealthy, that much is obvious. I know that you own property in Corsica and Paris. Your family is a powerful one, so much so you suspect foul play when it comes to the plane.”
“So Gwen didn’t tell you then.” I half suspected she would at least warn her.
“Well… she told me you’re a man who becomes obsessed,” she says, but she doesn’t meet my eyes when she looks at me. I watch her swallow, turn from me, and start rummaging through her bag for shoes.
“True. That’s fair. But she didn’t tell you who I am? And you didn’t look me up?”
“I’ve hardly had time,” she says. “And I want your side of the story. If I were to look you up, what would I find?”
I doubt this is the full truth, but I don’t push for an answer.
It’s a complicated question with an even more complicated answer. I hold her gaze. “Will you run if I scare you?”
A beat passes as she pauses, her hand on a strappy sandal. “Have I run yet?”
“No. Have I scared you yet?”
She swallows. “Yes.”
Good girl.
She’ll either stand her ground or run when she hears what I tell her.
“I’m not going to lie to you, Nicolette.” Even this is a lie. She doesn’t know that I have reams of records on her, that I’ve investigated everything about her. But about this—my ultimate purpose, who I am—there will be no lie.
“Thank you,” she whispers. “But I’ll have you know that whatever you tell me won’t scare me. I promised to be yours for the weekend. I promised to stay with you. I don’t go back on my promises. And Fabien, you know I need that money, and that… well, that there are very few things that would be a dealbreaker for me.” She laughs, though the laughter doesn’t reach her eyes. “You know where we met.”
I nod. “Good. But I’d like you here, beside me, when I tell you.”
Now’s the time to tell her everything.
She sits on the edge of the bed and tips her head to the side curiously. “Alright, then.”
“Gwen told you the truth. Yes, I’m someone who becomes fixated and obsessed. She knows this because everyone knows what happened with a woman I was dating.” My throat tightens. “Her name was Adele. She was killed in a robbery when she was working as a waitress in Paris. She didn’t need to work, but shewas independent and headstrong and insisted she earn her own money.” I take a ragged breath. “After her death, I didn’t eat. I didn’t sleep. And when I found out who was responsible for her death, I hunted them down and dealt with them personally.”
She swallows hard but nods and doesn’t look away. “The same way you dealt with the man that assaulted me?”
“Yes.”
Another intake of breath. “Which was?”
“A bullet through the head.”
She slowly blinks. Licks her lips. Nods. “I see. I’m so sorry.”
“My family is the Gerard family. We come from a long line of descendants straight from the great emperor Napoleon himself.”
Widened eyes but no response other than another small nod. She doesn’t recognize our name.
I reveal a little more to see how she takes it. “The Gerard family runs organized crime in Paris.”
“Organized crime, like… the mob. Mafia?”
She’ll find out soon enough.
“Exactly.”
