Page 116 of The Quiet Witness

Chapter 48

The Haze

Brown liquid sloshed in a cup. Kate watched it fill up in a daze with her hip leaning against the kitchen counter, lost in thought. Goddammit.

She waved her burned hand around. Brown drops flew towards the cupboards and slid down the white cabinets. With a sigh, she popped open a drawer to fish out a dishcloth, wiping away the smudges before Lucien had a heart attack at the sight.

Lucien… The son of a gun who had offered her weed and was nowhere to be found on this fine morning after, leaving her alone to deal with the aftermath of their… combined actions. There had been nothing but a good old note to inform her he was off to do whatever he did. And Ghost, she’d woken up to find the giant lying next to her on the bed. When they had been driving up to this place, she’d thought Lucien was free from ‘work’, apparently, though, there was no such thing as a break from killing.

His work, the reason they had met, and why he was now driving somewhere with the full intent to kill someone. Because most likely, he hadn’t left this early in the morning or night to pick up a cake from the local bakery.

What if he did come back with a cake? He’d do it if only to make me laugh, to evade the wrath of my upcoming period. It would be one damn smart decision.

With a hand plastered to her aching lower belly, she put the steaming hot mug to her lips, desperate to feel relief from the haze in her mind. But the first sip told her she would end up with a burned tongue as well if she continued with her impatience.

Fingers ticking against the ceramic, she tried to figure out what had happened last night and what had hopefully been part of a fever dream… or nightmare.

“What music does her Queen demand?”

“Feeling light?”

Light as a feather she’d murmured, if she got that part right. There was nothing to go on but the flashes of Lucien grinning, his eyes trained on her with the laugh lines in his face wrinkling.

“I want you to want it, just as much as I do.” That sentence… want what exactly? Kate pinched her eyes shut, trying to form the memory and force it into the light. But… nothing, it taunted her from the edges of her mind, just out of reach.

“I bet you won’t tell me what happened, huh?” She whirled around to Ghost, who sat watching her from the couch with his tail slapping on the beige fabric, the light thudding of which had her wincing. She’d slept better alright, like a baby even, and her limbs, they were… relaxed. But this morning’s headache, paired with a sore throat, would make her think twice about touching weed again.

“I’m not going anywhere.” Another sentence that made her head hurt, because for some reason the second she’d woken up, the room had been shrouded in darkness with the curtains drawn tight. And as far as she could tell, they had been open when she’d sat there combing through her hair.

There had been this… expectation to find Lucien slumped over on a chair she could swear she’d seen him pull out, but it was placed neatly underneath the table.

How did I even get upstairs? Judging from the last half an hour, no answers would be announcing themselves.

She glanced at the piano, envisioning her would be killer behind it. Saw fresh in her mind how his fingers had danced over it, the smug grin after she’d apologized and… the way they had been sitting with their thighs touching.

Hesitantly, she crossed over to the instrument, wood creaking beneath her chilled bare feet while she let her hands slide over the white keys. Just as I did last night, right?

She huffed, shaking her head to try and dispel the confusing thoughts. Sinking down onto the bench, she admired the silver lettering that told her this was a Steinway. It was the best of the best, paid for in cash that was soaked in blood. It would have been her blood if it had dripped down her nose the way it had with her foster father, pooling together on the Christmas table, staining the little white snowmen in red.

I survived. And still, maybe it had been the smoke she’d sucked into her lungs, making her feel this… confused or rather ill at ease. But she couldn’t shake the thought that something was wrong, that something was coming her way, waiting for her to trip up and pull her into its claws.

Would it be Lucien? Breaking down my high walls before making his move?

Her hands clenched together, nails waiting to pierce the sensitive skin of her palms. Because even though her heart had started to thump harder in his presence lately, and all she wanted to do was lean in against him, wanted to find out how his lips would feel against hers. A thought urged on by her treacherous heart. He had never told her she was safe… from him.

The DNA beneath her fingers had saved her life, but that evidence had long since dried up and gotten lost in the world.

The promise she’d made him swear on that first day to warn her before attempting a hit on her life had been a desperate move on her part. She could only hope that Lucien Alexander Evans held promises in the same high regard as she did.

She stared out the glass window and could see the tiny cars racing by the lake, all those people living their lives. Was that what she was doing now? Living life? Or have Lucien’s kindnesses made me forget about that one crucial promise I made myself? Freedom.

Still sliding her hands absentmindedly over the smooth white keys, she felt something scratch against her fingers. A piece of paper?

Kate frowned, prying out the parchment, she flapped it open, eyes speeding over the text.

There is a black dress in the closet of your room… wear it. I’ll be here to pick you up at 8. Oh and, you’ll also discover that some fine black heels will… find you. Good luck practicing! X Lucy.

She just sat there, dumbfounded.