The Man Who Has No Heart (Soulless 2)

Of course, she thought about herself…not our son.

“Yeah, I think it would be fun. What a great idea.”

When we were together, we’d hardly ever done things as a family, because I preferred to be away from her…even if that meant I didn’t spend time with Derek either. “Over a weekend would be ideal, since I work.”

“How about this weekend?” she asked. “Or is that too soon?”

I did not want to see her fucking ugly face. She was a beauty queen to everyone else, but I saw past the big hair, heavy makeup, and fit body. I saw the goddamn devil underneath, the evil in her soul. She was the ugliest person I’d ever seen in my life. “No. That’s not too soon.”

Twenty

Cleo

Jake kept texting me. Blowing me off again?

He’d texted me a few times, and I’d thought ignoring him was the best way to shake him. Guess not. Jake, stop.

You come over and then ditch me?

That was a one-time thing. Let it go.

You know me, baby. I never let anything go.

Ugh, why the fuck did I go over there? I’m seeing someone.

So, he dumps you, then you run back to him?

I didn’t tell him the specifics. I didn’t even tell him Deacon was the guy. I’m sorry I led you on, but that was a one-time thing. I was depressed, okay? And we didn’t even sleep together, so just forget about it.

I might feel a lot better if we did sleep together.

I rolled my eyes. Jake, don’t text me again.

Sleep with me, and I won’t.

Go fuck yourself.

I’d rather you fuck me. I rolled my eyes so hard they almost got stuck in the back of my head. I put my phone aside and refused to entertain the conversation further.

I sat at the table across from Tucker. “Thanks for meeting me.”

He was in jeans and a shirt, his arms still muscular, his eyes still playful. “Anything for you.”

I stilled at the sweet thing he said.

“Because you’re Deacon’s girl,” he added, noticing my reaction. “I’d do anything for my brother, and by extension, you…even though it’s still a little weird.”

“Well, I appreciate that.” When Tucker had come by my apartment, Deacon was the only thing he’d wanted to talk about, so there wasn’t an opportunity to feel awkward around each other. But when we went to lunch, it felt weird…because we used to go to lunch together. Now we were in the coffee shop, where we’d spent a Saturday afternoon getting to know each other…so that made it more awkward. It was close to my apartment, so that was why I picked it.

He already had his coffee in front of him—black. “Deacon’s been really happy.”

“Yeah?” My eyes softened, wondering what he’d said about me when I wasn’t around.

“Yeah, he’s crazy about you.”

My heart sprouted wings and flew away. “What did he say?”

“I can’t tell you that,” he said. “But I will tell you that everything he said was fucking romantic.”

My life felt like a fairy tale. Deacon was the key to my happiness, the man I’d wanted for months before I’d had the courage to tell him how I felt. And now that we were together…I couldn’t believe we’d been nothing but friends for so long. The intensity of our physical relationship told me we were supposed to be together, that we were better lovers than we ever were friends—but we were amazing at both. “I’m really sorry about everything—”

“Don’t be,” he said quickly. “I’m really happy for both of you.”

“Thank you.”

“So, is that what you wanted to talk to me about?”

“No…but it relates.” I was never intimidated by anyone and rarely lost my confidence, but I was dreading Valerie’s visit. “I’m not sure if Deacon told you, but Valerie is coming to Manhattan for a visit with Derek.”

“Yeah. When is that happening?”

“Friday.”

He grimaced. “That’s gonna be a shitty weekend.”

Tell me about it. “I’m not her biggest fan, and she threatened me to stay away from Deacon—”

“Why didn’t you punch her in the face?”

“Because—”

“Deacon wouldn’t have cared.”

I knew he wouldn’t have. “Violence is never the answer. And what kind of example is that setting for Derek?”

“Was he standing right there?”

“No. But—”

“You’d be teaching him to stand up for himself—”

“Let’s get back to the subject.” Tucker was the opposite of his brother—and talked too much. “I told her you and I were dating…even though we’d already broken up. Just to get her off my ass.”

“Alright.” His eyes narrowed.

“If you’re comfortable with it…I was gonna suggest we continue to act like we’re together.”

He raised an eyebrow. “And Deacon is cool with that?”

“No… I haven’t told him yet. I needed to see if you were okay with it first.”

“I’m happy to do whatever I can to make this easier for both of you. But I promise, Deacon will not go for it.”

“He will if I talk him into it.”