Virtue & Vengeance

by Tabatha Vargo

  He was a murderer.

  I’d spent the night with a killer, and yet, I’d never felt so safe. Something about his confession wasn’t right. I couldn’t believe that a man like him could do something so terrible unless it was in self-defense or to protect someone he loved.

  “Is it because of what you said last night?”

  I felt his muscles harden beneath my fingertips and then he was gone.

  He moved away from me, and as he crossed the room, he began picking up things from the floor. It took me a full minute to realize it was my things.

  My shoes.

  My dress.

  My panties.

  All things I’d dropped on his bedroom floor, and yet, they were in his living room as if he had them ready and waiting for me to leave.

  “Zander?”

  “What?” he snapped.

  Still, he didn’t stop to look at me.

  “Aren’t you going to answer me?”

  “No.” The word was final, and his tone dared me to keep going, but that’s precisely what I did.

  “Well, that’s too damn bad because you’re going to answer me and you’re going to answer me now.”

  He paused, turning to look at me. His brow lifted at my audacity to speak to him that way, and then he said, “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me. You brought it up. You wouldn’t have said anything unless you trusted me. You told me your secret because you wanted me to know.”

  “The hell I did!”

  “Then why did you even say anything?”

  He stormed toward me; his movements were angry and jerky. “To get you to shut up,” he growled.

  He shoved my things into my chest and then took a step back. His breathing was accelerated, and when his eyes finally found mine, he sighed, raking his fingers through his hair.

  “Fuck, Eden. I…” He lifted his hand in the air and then let it drop to his side. “I told you I wasn’t a good guy. I told you I didn’t want anything more than this with you, but you didn’t listen.”

  He was right.

  He had told me he wasn’t a good guy, but I knew differently. I had to follow my gut, so I hadn’t listened to him. But seeing his expression and the way he looked at me, I couldn’t help but listen to him now.

  And what I was hearing was he would never be able to give me more than a good fuck.

  His words.

  Not mine.

  It didn’t matter if I’d stupidly fallen in love with Zander because the fact was, he was never going to love me back.

  Gripping my clothes to my chest, I turned away from him before he could see how much he was hurting me, and then I left the room and walked to the guest bathroom. There was no need to return to the master bathroom because I was just that … a guest in his home. I would never be anything more.

  I refused to cry inside Zander’s bathroom like a pathetic lovesick schoolgirl, though. I still had my pride left, and I was going to hold on tight to it with greedy hands.

  I got dressed, splashed some cold water on my face, and opened the door. It hadn’t taken me long to get dressed, but during the time I was in the bathroom gathering myself, Zander had managed to change his clothes. He was waiting for me in his gourmet kitchen when I came out.

  “I’m taking you home,” he said.

  He made sure I knew there was no arguing with him, but he didn’t need to worry. I had no more fight in me when it came to Zander. I finally understood what he had been trying to tell me all this time.

  I meant nothing to him.

  I was just an employee stupid enough to sleep with him

  Another reason for him to have to change his sheets.

  Oh, and I was also Kennedy’s niece, which he made sure to remind me of every chance he got.

  We rode the elevator down to the back entrance in silence. He was on one side of the elevator, and I was on the other. The tiny space felt cold, yet the air was humid and thick, making me feel like I couldn’t breathe. I took a deep breath when we finally stepped off.

  Thankfully, we didn’t pass anyone during my walk of shame from Empire Sevens to his car. And I was glad he hadn’t called a valet to get his car for us. The fewer people who knew about my embarrassment, the better.

  I got into his car, and he closed the door behind me. Not once did we make eye contact with each other. It was as if the night before had never happened.

  The glitzy ballroom.

  The amazing dress and the words he had whispered to me as we danced.

  The night in his bed when he started out hard and fast but ended soft and sweet as if he loved me.

  It never happened.

  It had been a dream, one I was sure I would replay in my mind every day for the rest of my life.

  As we drove to Kennedy’s condo, my mind was a whirl of questions with no answers. But the biggest unanswered question was, how would Zander and I co-exist now?

  Working with him.

  Being around him.

  Seeing him every day was going to kill me.

  I was in love with him, and he didn’t know how to love.

  The fact was, it wasn’t something I could continue. It would hurt too much.

  When we reached the condo, I took a deep breath and turned toward him without allowing my eyes to land on his face.

  “Please don’t follow me, Zander. I finally hear you. So don’t make this any harder than it has to be. I’ll stay away from you, and you’ll stay away from me. No more stopping in and checking on me. I’m no longer your responsibility.”

  “Kennedy’s not back yet.” His response was tight.

  “And if you want to keep it that way, you’ll stay away.”

  He turned toward me, and I could feel his gaze on my face. “What the fuck does that mean?”

  “It means if you don’t stay away, I’ll tell Kennedy everything.”

  “I doubt that.”

  “If it’s the only way to keep you away from me, I promise you I’ll do it. When I get out of this car, it’s goodbye for good.”

  He chuckled, the sound unfriendly and cold.

  “Whatever you say, angel.”

  “No!” I snapped, my head turning toward him. I glared at him, feeling ice seep into my veins. “No more calling me angel. I’m done with you. I thought you were different, but I was wrong. I may have been stupid enough to fall in love with a man like you, but I’m smart enough to know when to walk away. Goodbye, Zander.”

  I got out of his car, shutting the door behind me, and I walked away. I didn’t look back because I probably would have done something foolish.

  Like, beg him to love me, too.

  THE NEXT WEEK was pure hell. I worked my ass off to keep myself from thinking about Zander, but seeing as how he owned the Casino, I couldn’t completely put him out of my head.

  I had to forcefully stop myself from thinking about him. It was hard when my heart ached for him—when my soul begged for things he would never feel for me. If I let myself think about him, I let the pain in. I couldn’t do that.

  I wanted to spend my time moping around, but when Aunt Kennedy called, I tried to sound as chipper as I could. Even then, she could still sense something was wrong.

  She finally got a weekend with free time and bought me tickets to New York. I was relieved to get out of Vegas soon. To get away from Zander. Even if it was only for two days. I couldn’t wait until the weekend finally came, but until then, I would stay busy. It was all I could do.

  On my next day off, I stayed in bed all day. And then the following day, instead of going to work, I did something I rarely ever did.

  I called out.

  I needed to recoup from my day off since I spent most of the day crying.

  I made myself get out of bed, even if it was just to plant myself in front of the TV, and I ordered in. An hour later, I was lying on the couch with empty Chinese takeout containers all around me.

  I’d reached a new low.

  It was nearly five when the doorbell rang,
making me jerk. My heart jumped into my throat, and I went still. I listened, remaining quiet and hoping that whoever was at the door would just go away. But I wasn’t that lucky. Instead, the doorbell chimed once again, echoing throughout Kennedy’s condo.

  I stood from the couch, and just as I stepped onto the marble floor, the doorbell rang out again. My bare feet smacked across the floor as I went to the front door with my stomach full of knots.

  What if it was Zander?

  What if he had returned?

  What would I say to him?

  I wasn’t sure what I would do if I swung the door open to find him staring back at me, but I couldn’t lie to myself. A tiny part of me did hope it was him. I wanted him to come back and declare his undying love for me. I wanted him to need me the same way I needed him.

  But if I knew anything about Zander, it was that he wasn’t the kind to make grand gestures.

  Whether he was right or wrong, I was never going to get the closure I felt I deserved.

  Pausing in front of the door, I took a deep breath and prepared myself. I unlocked the door, the clicking noise filling the space around me with a strange, unsettling feeling. The knob was cold against my sweaty palm, and when I turned it, it clicked as if it were somehow warning me not to open the door.

  I did anyway.

  I tugged the door open, but the person on the other side wasn’t who I’d hoped. Instead, the raunchy scent of cigarettes and body odor flooded my nostrils, and my eyes landed on Allen’s rotting smile.

  “Hello, Eden.”

  I backed away, pushing the door closed with my palms, but I wasn’t fast enough.

  He kicked it in, the heavy door slamming into the wall beside me, and then he stepped into the condo. His large, dirty boots slammed into the marble somehow making the room feel as if it were shaking.

  “Did you think you could steal from me and get away with it? You’re going to get exactly what you deserve, you little bitch,” he spat.

  I turned to run from him, but before I could turn away, he lifted his hand, showing me the gun in his in grasp. I paused, fear settling deep in the pit of my stomach.

  What would he do?

  I asked myself the question, but I knew the answer, and the answer was bad.

  I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could get any words out, he brought the butt of the gun down against the side of my head.

  I stumbled back a bit losing my balance entirely. Pain radiated through my brain, shaking me until my teeth chattered as I collapsed to the hard marble floor.

  Rolling onto my side, I looked up just in time to see Allen’s satisfied smile. Then the world around me began to flicker and fade as darkness crept into the corners of my vision. I fought against it, blinking away the dizziness, but it was too late. Everything was going black.

  And just as I dangled on the cusp of oblivion, a frightening thought occurred to me. Allen wasn’t the forgiving kind. He was the killing kind.

  14

  EDEN

  I WAS SURROUNDED by darkness when I woke. My head throbbed, and I knew it was because Allen had hit me. Actually, he had knocked me out.

  My body swayed in the blackness, and then there was a bump, and I was jerked to the right.

  I was in the trunk of a car.

  A familiar scent filled my nostrils, and I gagged a bit. It smelled like Allen.

  Body odor.

  Stale beer.

  Cigarettes.

  I hated small spaces, but I knew I needed to remain calm. More than likely, Allen was taking me back to Mesa, which meant I would be in the trunk for a few hours. The problem was, I had no idea how long I’d been in the trunk already. We could have been halfway to Mesa for all I knew.

  Thankfully, after a few minutes of driving, we stopped, and I heard Allen get out of the car and slam the car door.

  The trunk popped open and fresh air invaded the space around me. I sucked in the freshness and breathed deep, finally letting my anxiety surface.

  Reaching up, I pushed the trunk up higher and moved to climb out.

  “Don’t even fucking think about it,” Allen’s angry voice moved over me.

  I swung around to see him standing on the side of the car with his hip leaning against it.

  “Where’s my money, Eden?”

  “I spent it all on snacks and gas to make it to Vegas.”

  His dark eyes moved over my face, his brows pulling low in anger.

  “Stop fucking with me. Where’s my money?” His voice grew louder.

  “I swear, Allen. It’s gone. I spent it all, but if you could just take me to get my wallet, I’ll give it back, and you can take it, and I’ll leave, and you’ll never have to see me again.”

  Pulling his arm back, he backhanded me, making me collapse back into the trunk.

  “You expect me to believe you have a hundred grand in your fucking wallet?” he snapped. “I’m going to ask you again, Eden. Where the fuck is my money?”

  I shook his hit from my mind and wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth. Then his words moved over me, and everything stopped.

  “Wait,” I said, sitting up yet again. “What did you just say?”

  He pinched the bridge of his nose, his dirty fingernails digging into his oily skin. “Eden, don’t make me kill you.”

  Panic struck me hard, and I gasped.

  “Where the fuck is my hundred grand?”

  “Allen, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I took money from your wallet, but it was less than a hundred dollars.”

  “Goddamnit, Eden!” he exploded, slamming his fist into the side of the trunk. “The money was under the car and so were the drugs. Where’s my shit?”

  I was going to die.

  He was going to kill me.

  If I thought he would kill me over the few twenties I’d stolen from his wallet; he was going to torture and murder me in all kinds of terrible ways over a hundred grand and drugs. The problem was, I had no idea what he was talking about.

  I’d never seen any money or drugs.

  The car was still in impound after Zander had me pulled over.

  “Allen, listen to me,” I said, holding my hands up palms out as I attempted to stand in the trunk. “I don’t have the car anymore.”

  “Where the fuck is it?”

  “It was towed. I’d…” I didn’t want to go into everything, and I doubted he would care anyway. “It’s been impounded.”

  Allen’s face transformed, turning red and wrinkled with his expression.

  “Don’t you fucking lie to me, Eden!”

  He raised his hand, and I covered my head waiting for a hit that never came.

  “I swear! I’m telling you the truth.”

  He didn’t respond.

  Instead, he shoved me back into the trunk and slammed it, encasing me in darkness and making me feel like I was suffocating.

  We drove for a bit longer, the car turning and taking curves. Then he parked again and the engine cut.

  I wanted to bang on the trunk and scream, but fear had me frozen.

  The trunk was getting warmer the longer the car sat in the heat, and minutes passed, making me worry that maybe Allen had left me.

  Just as I was about to reach up and bang on the trunk, it flew open, and I was greeted by Allen yet again.

  “Don’t make a fucking noise. You come with me without a fuss, and I might let you live.”

  Fresh air filled my lungs as I climbed from the trunk. My eyes settled onto the space around us.

  There were cars.

  Buildings.

  But no people to help me.

  Then my eyes landed on a motel sign.

  The Magic Eight.

  It was a rundown place with rats scattering across the parking lot. The thing was, there were what seemed like hundreds of motels in Vegas. I’d never seen this one in particular, which meant I still had no idea where I was.

  Allen wasn’t gentle as he shoved me through the parking lot and toward one o
f the rooms. We stopped in front of the door numbered one-sixty-two as he fumbled to get the key into the lock and open the door.

  He shoved me inside, and I stumbled falling partly onto the bed and partly onto the floor. My knees stung from the blow, but I refused to show any sign of pain.

  Allen locked the door, opened the side of the blinds, and did a quick sweep, before grabbing me by my arm and dragging me toward a chair and shoving me in it. He grabbed the motel phone and pushed it toward me.

  “Call whoever you have to call to get the car out.”

  I blinked up at him. “How do you expect me to do that?”

  He shoved his face in front of mine and hissed. “Figure it out. Why don’t you call your hot shot lover? I’m sure he could get figure it out.”

  I should have been shocked that he knew about Zander, but I wasn’t. “We … broke up.”

  “Tough shit. I don’t care. Call him.”

  “I’m not calling him. If you have the money, I’m sure we can get it out.”

  “I don’t have the fucking money! This is your problem. You fix it or else.” He pulled the gun from the waist of his pants and pushed the end of it into my temple.

  I squeezed my eyes shut and begged myself not to cry. The last thing I wanted to do was drag Zander into this whole mess, but I knew he was the only way I was going to get the car for Allen.

  I just needed to sound convincing and not give Zander any indication that something was wrong.

  “Give me your phone,” I snapped bravely.

  He glared at me with yellowish eyes. “Don’t take that tone with me, you stupid girl.”

  He leaned into me, and I held my breath as his stench filled my nose.

  “You really are stupid if you think I’m going to let you use my phone to call your boy toy. You think I’m dumb, don’t you? If I let you use my phone, he can track me down. Think again.” He pressed the phone receiver to my face, the cord tugging the base from the desk. “Call,” he ordered.

  I took a deep breath, and with shaky fingers I pushed the buttons on the phone, dialing the number to the main lobby of Empire Sevens. It rang several times, and with each ring, my hand gripped the receiver tighter.