Page 46 of Guilty as Sin

Guilt is a weakness, I remind myself. Cora’s injury is that Vanleusen man’s doing, not mine.

That fucking bastard will suffer. As will Seven himself. I ought to sever his spine for what he did.

First, I need to take care of my wife.

Palms shaking with rage, I gather a towel full of ice from the kitchen. When I return to Cora, she’s standing at the window. She’s got my dark blue shirt back on as she looks down at the sidewalk where she was injured.

I want nothing more than to go straight to the pub’s basement. To torture that fuck until he passes out from the pain. But I can’t leave her now.

I stand behind my wife and hold the ice to her back. I take a deep inhale to steady myself. I can’t tell if she’s wearing perfume, but her scent is complex, as multifaceted as she is. It’s not quite floral, it’s deeper and darker. A garden at midnight. It doesn’t fit with the morning light streaming down on us. But it fits with the darkness that I know is inside her.

“Are you familiar with West Park’s industrial district?” Cora looks at me over her shoulder, and it takes me a second longer than it should to respond.

“Should I be?”

“I think Seven has a warehouse there. For cocaine at least but possibly other product as well.” She says it so casually. Now I’m seriously nonplussed.

“And you know this… how?” I can’t help sounding skeptical.

“I had lunch with Seven’s ex-girlfriend yesterday. Alcohol can be as useful as breaking fingers when it comes to getting information.”

“Seven’s ex?” I frown. “Oh, the hot blonde you were with all afternoon.”

My wife gives me a look.

“Finn’s words,” I say, and Cora rolls her eyes.

“So you’re not jealous?” she asks.

“Jealous? Should I be?”

“No.” She pats my arm condescendingly. “What Serena and I had was purely physical, and it was ages ago.”

“You and…” I blink rapidly as a video of my wife with a hot blonde plays in my mind. Cora on a red silk bed, the big-titted blonde crawling toward her, the two of them making out and fondling each other’s breasts.

Yes, I am jealous of that. Jealous I wasn’t there. I clear my throat and adjust my pants. Then Cora’s pouty lips slide into a sly grin. The sexy little liar.

“So what do you think?” she asks.

“That sounds really hot.” This earns me another eye roll.

“About the potential warehouse. Should we go check it out?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Excuse me?” She turns to fully face me and crosses her arms. I let the dripping ice pack fall to my side.

“Cora, you were severely injured in an attack from Seven last night. I’m not letting you put yourself in more danger by going to check out his warehouse.”

“It’s a bruise,” she says. “It’ll heal. It looks way worse than it is.” She sounds like me after every fight I’ve ever been in.

I admire her for it.

That, and the fact that she’s dug up potentially promising information. Though she’s trying to play it cool, I can tell she’s excited about it. She’s keeping it hidden in that puzzle box of hers, but I want to set that excitement free, see for myself what forms it can take. My mind flashes again to Cora spread naked, hot and panting.

“I have an idea,” I say.

Chapter 22