Perfect Villain (Dark Lies Duet 1)

“Taj. What time are you planning on getting here?” she says to his voicemail.

“He’s not coming.” My deep voice startles her.

Kyla jumps, sending the phone to a shattering mess on the floor. “W-What? How did you get in here?” she breathes out, her eyes wide and chest heaving.

“I warned you not to test me,” I say, then lunge forward and wrap my hands around her neck.

26

SIN

I sort of wish Christian could’ve waited until morning to do whatever has to be done for his father, but whatever it is must be important if he hurried out of here the way he did. It’s stupid to worry about being alone. I’m as safe as I’ll ever be all the way up here. Even without him here.

Even so, the silence that spreads through the spacious loft unnerves me before long. The high ceilings and hard floors make for an acoustic miracle or nightmare, depending on a person’s perspective. Right now, with every tiny noise echoing and reminding me how alone I am, I’m not a fan.

That’s why I turn on the TV. It doesn’t matter what’s on—I only want the sound, the sense of not being so alone while paging through my textbook. Cynthia always wondered how I could study with the TV on.

The thought of her makes me lose my breath for a second. Why doesn’t anybody know where she is? Even Christian, with all his resources, can’t seem to find her. I eye my phone, wondering if I should text her again just in case she’s been some place with no signal, but a breaking story steals my attention away from her for the time being.

“We have breaking news out of the downtown area,” the news anchor announces in a grim voice. “Early reports point to the discovery of a dead body in an abandoned car parked behind what is rumored to be a drug den. The presence of the unidentified male was reported to police earlier in the hour, and by all indications, there was foul play involved. Police are currently gathering information from a witness who claims to have seen a dark-clad figure hurrying from the scene.”

And Christian wonders why I don’t want to be left alone? Now I wish I hadn’t turned the TV on at all. I don’t need to be reminded of how dangerous life can be, of how many people are out there just waiting to hurt somebody.

Rather than flipping the news off, I get up and go to the kitchen for a glass of water, then consider taking a shower while drinking the icy liquid. That way, when Christian gets home, I’ll be fresh and clean and ready for whatever he has in mind. I can’t help but smile a little to myself. He’s turning me into a sex addict, but who could blame me when it’s so good? Not to mention how natural it feels to be with him that way. Never once did I feel so connected to Taj.

I wish I could stop thinking about him. It feels unfair to my current relationship, constantly returning to the last one. Time will fix that, right? I hope so, since every time I so much as picture his face, I can’t help but wince a little. What was I thinking?

Maybe it’s the effect of wanting to push the past out of my mind, but all of a sudden, I need to be doing something. Anything. A little pampering might ease my nerves some. A face mask and new nail polish. Once it’s dry, I’ll take a shower and wash off the mask. Christian’s bound to be back by then. I don’t want to fall asleep alone.

My beauty products live in a pair of drawers in the bathroom vanity, which is where I head now that my mind’s made up. Out of the handful of nail colors available, I choose a pale pink with a pearlescent swirl. Normally, I’ll grab a few Q-tips and a bottle of nail polish remover to clean up any little accidents, only there aren’t any Q-tips available.

Christian might have some among his things. I make it a point not to pry into his personal items, but this is fairly innocent. It’s not like I’m searching for banking information. What could I find in the bathroom? I open the top drawer and bend down, peering into the back.

Which is when I catch sight of something shiny among a few combs and squeeze bottles of hair product.

It’s reflex, the way I reach back to grab onto the shiny object. Who wouldn’t give in to their curiosity in a situation like this? Whatever it is, I’ll put it back. It occurs to me as I close my fingers around the cold metal that I crave a deeper understanding of the man under Christian’s beautiful exterior. I want to know him in all ways.