She moved away from him back there, when he was reaching for the bottle. Imperceptibly, but he caught it. It was clear that she was uncomfortable because of how close they were, which makes Damien wonder if what she said the previous day had any truth in it. She never seems to make an effort to be closer to him, to touch him in any way. In fact, she looked scared. He's had countless women in the past, and all of them that were attracted to him acted that way.He wonders if Yara Huxley is a liar for the hundredth time today.He's torn between believing and not believing her. She's a walking contradiction. She's outspoken, yet she's shy. She seems confident, but she has her moments of self-doubt that are quite evident. She appears weak minded, but has endured a handful of awful experiences in a matter of weeks. Not everyone reacts well to having a gun pointed at them. Yet, she's oddly fearless. He saw it in her eyes when he had his gun pointed at her. There was no fear there, but there
Turquoise.It's all I see at first when I first open my eyes. My heart's beating uncontrollably. I climb out of bed and rush to the bathroom. I think of splashing water in my face, but I change my mind and take a cold shower instead. Last night's events affected me more than I expected. Damien truly wasn't himself. Almost as if someone—or something—took over his body. The alcohol played a role, of course. I can't stop thinking about what happened. I turned and twisted in bed before I fell asleep just processing everything, hence the dream. I haven't had a dream like that in a long time, since high school I think. When I close my eyes, I can still feel his lips on mine. The fact that my entire being is up in flames is the most degrading part for me. I'm too old for this. I can't believe that my subconscious would trick me like this. The cold shower helped.I turn the tap off and pad into the bedroom. I wrap my towel around my body and dry myself quickly. It's still early, but I want
Damien walks past her table at 8 a.m. sharp.She isn't in, which he finds strange. He woke up late this morning; a rare occasion. The woman he slept with last night was still lying on top of him. For a second, he didn't know where he was, but slowly, last night's events returned to him.What was he thinking?He rarely regrets a decision but he allowed himself to act recklessly. To go to a known place like Ned's with his secretary is asking for trouble. In his inebriated state, he didn't mind. He thought it would be good for Elizabeth to find out.The only problem is that Elizabeth shouldn't know about any of this. Not now, when she believes that everything is perfect between them. She has no idea that he knows, and neither does Ethan. Yesterday, when they were both in his office, he tried his best to remain calm and act naturally. Elizabeth didn't suspect a thing, and he's hoping that Ethan didn't either. Because if he did, Damien won't be able to keep this hidden for long.And that i
I walk past the security guard and murmur a greeting. Is it weird that every time I walk past him, I expect him to grab me? Once I'm in the lobby, I hold my breath.Now that I'm here, my courage is trickling out of me. I don't know if I'll be able to ask him up-front why he defied Eduardo Pascual for me, but I'll see when I get there.I knock on the door, but there's only silence on the other side of the door. Is he not in yet? That's impossible. He's the first person arriving and last person leaving. I have no idea of what I'm going to say to him, if I should apologize for being late or getting straight to the point. The situation is slipping from my hands; I've lost complete control. I don't have much time left to figure this out, but I couldn't be farther away from discovering the name. I never thought it would get so complicated. Devon admitted to sugarcoating, but I have faith that before time runs out, I'll give him what he wants.Ethan opens the door, and I'm surprised to see h
I can't wait for five.The energy surrounding this place today is unbearable. Every time I come across Ethan, he looks like he wants to shoot me. It's upsetting. I've wasted so much time and energy on this, and it didn't work out. All that happened was Elizabeth was dumped in the worst possible way and from what I can tell, Ethan and Damien's relationship is normal. I thought this would destabilize them. That's the only reason why I decided to go with this in the first place. But nothing productive happened and I nearly got caught.I'm running out of ideas, and without Devon's help, this will get even more complicated. One thing I'm absolutely certain of now is that I can't target their relationship with each other. It's weird, there's no other word to describe it. They stick together no matter what. If I plan on taking advantage of their weakness to get ahead, I'll have to find something else. Sneaking in his office is impossible, because he always has his key. But what if I manage t
Once they're gone, all of them, Nate asks, "That was her, right?"Malcolm nods. "That's her. I have her picture right here." He takes the folded photograph from his pocket and passes it around. The men nod. Sebastian is the last to take the photo. There's no denying it. It's her. She'd been standing right in front of him just now."I was optimistic," Nate says. "I was hoping it wouldn't be her.""There's got to be a rational explanation," Danny interjects. "We all know Crooks. He wouldn't do this to us. He's never betrayed us.""This is fucked up. Something doesn't fit. We talked to Crooks just yesterday. He'll be here in a week's time. Do you think he'd be this cynical? Come on, Sebastian. You knew him better than we did.""I met him a long time ago," Sebastian says. "People change.""I have to say this" Malcolm begins. "It's pretty clear that she's fucking the big guy, no doubt about it. I was outside just before they left. He started fucking kissing her in the car. Right in front o
Aaron William George, also known as Crooks, slams the phone down on the receiver. He pinches the bridge of his nose and takes a calming breath that doesn't calm him for shit. It's like his ears are betraying him. Did he hear that shit right? Did he?"Hey," the inmate behind him taps him on the shoulder. "Are you alright there, Crooks?"No, he's not alright. He isn't out yet and there's already trouble knocking on his door. Amelia, what the fuck are you doing? "Just fine, man."He's escorted back to his cell. All the while, he's thinking of how he wants to kill something. He wants to use his hands to wreak havoc and tear whole lives apart. This is bad. He hasn't felt this way in a long time.His cell mate looks up as he approaches. They're good pals, but he knows not to mess with him and especially not to ask questions. Not on days like this, when he feels powerless. It's like his life is spiraling out of control. He pinches the bridge of his nose again, feels the reassuring bump there
I rush up the flight of stairs to Jason's apartment.My fingers tremble as I unlock the door. My heart's in my throat. Why do I have the feeling that he will follow me up here? In fact, I can feel his hands on me now. They're on my shoulders, then slowly moving down my body until they settle on my ass.I throw the door open.I walk around in circles. I want to hide, but there's nowhere I can go. Unless I heed Devon's advice, abandon this mission and go home. I'm seriously contemplating it after what happened today in the backseat of his car. I never expected things to go this far. And it did, undeniably. Irreversibly. Irreparably.If Ethan hadn't interrupted us, how far would he have gone? He already had his hand up my thigh. Five more minutes and he would've had me naked on his lap. We sprung apart as soon as we heard the gravel crunch beneath his shoes. He entered the car, cursing about what a pigsty the bathroom was. He didn't seem to notice a thing. Damien and I shared a heated lo