few weeks. I need time. Need it, Lucian. It’s not something I’m going to negotiate. You either accept that I have these boundaries or we go back to the way things were a few days ago. You choose, but I
will not be manipulated. I have a plan and I’m sticking to it. End of story.”
“Why did you need the money, Evelyn? Level with me. I know it’s not about Pearl. Tell me.”
She shook her head. “No. I just . . . needed it.”
“Do you owe someone money? Are you in trouble?”
“I told you it wasn’t anything like that.”
“Then why all the secrecy?”
Her narrow shoulders lifted as she sighed. “Because of all the reasons I already told you. You’ll get
involved and then it won’t be my own.”
“What won’t be your own?”
“Me, Lucian. The plan is to make a better me. I need to be better than what I am and I need to
accomplish that on my own, for my own peace of mind.”
She was being so vague he felt like an idiot. “I don’t understand.” Why did she need money to do
that?
“Do you remember the first time you ever really succeeded in business? Do you remember what it
felt like to do something completely on your own and know that—no matter what—no one could ever
take away that sense of pride because you earned it? I need to earn this. For me.”
His mind played over possibilities. Curiosity ate at him. “Is it a business venture? Maybe there’s
someone I could hook you up with to help.”
Her palms slapped against her thighs and she huffed. “You see? That’s what I’m talking about! No.
Just . . . let it go.”
For the next several minutes they rode in silence. She seemed to relax, but his mind was running
wild over what she could possibly be using the money for. His best guess was something with her
stones and crafts, but she’d left most of that stuff behind and he hadn’t seen any clues to her plans in her apartment. There weren’t a whole lot of places she could hide things.
“If I promise not to bug you about the money, will you come home with me?”
She growled. “Oh. My. God. Will you stop?”
He relented for a split second until his protective nature kicked in. “Your apartment isn’t safe.”
She jerked out of his grip so fast he missed the chance to pull her back. “Did you see the men the
cops arrested? I’m not some fragile flower, Lucian. They grabbed me and I fought them off. My
apartment has locks and I have wasp spray in case there’s an intruder. I also have my phone back if I
need to call the cops. For Christ’s sake, I used to sleep with a shoelace tied to all my belongings with one eye open. I’m a hell of a lot safer now than I was in the past. Drop it.”
He’d drop it. For now. But the argument was far from over. He’d put a man at her door just to be
safe. She may have gotten out of that alley mostly unscathed, but that was only because the couple in
the insurance office heard her scream. The thought of what could have happened was too grim for him
to consider.
Conceding his point, he grudgingly instructed Dugan to drive her to her apartment. Maybe he would
stay the night with her. He inwardly groaned when he considered her tiny bed, wondering if she bought
such a small mattress on purpose.
The limo pulled to the curb in front of her apartment and she waited as if expecting something.
Dugan opened the door and she hesitated again. “I’m walking you in,” he said, making it clear he
would not relent.
She nodded and appeared relieved. At times he simply couldn’t figure her out. She was . . .
independently fragile.
As they climbed out Lucian turned to Dugan. “I’ll be back in a bit. Wait.”
He followed Evelyn through the alley, scowling at the poor lighting and vacant sidewalks. This
wasn’t necessarily a residential area, which made it more dangerous at night. She withdrew her keys
and he took them from her hand. Undoing the lock, he flipped on her lights and escorted her up the
stairs.
When she reached the top she tossed her bag on the bed and faced him with a ‘now what’
expression.
This whole set up is ludicrous.
He sighed. “Come here.” She stepped toward him, which in such a little space wasn’t difficult, and
he cupped her cheeks. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Kiss me?” She offered a cheeky smile, and he sensed she was on the verge of gloating that she’d
gotten her way.
Rather than continue to argue, he did as she asked and kissed her. Her petite body curved into his as
she went up on her toes. His fingers slid beneath her hair, pulling her close as his lips slanted over
hers, deepening the kiss.
Within a minute they were each breathing hard. His fingers pulled at the straps of her dress as his