Locke 2 (Blackwater Boys #4)

Thirty

Kali

I was pretty sure I had spooked Jem away. He left me alone in the bedroom. He came only once to ask if I was hungry, and even then, he didn’t look me in the eye. I passed on the food, and he hadn’t been back since. When he’d left, he kept the door ajar, perhaps a sign to let me know I was free to roam, but I didn’t.

I sat on the bed, staring distantly out the window. The sky was darkening. It was mid-afternoon and the wind picked up, making the glass tremble with its force.

I was alone. Truly alone. Aurora had gone quiet, and it made me twitchy and nervous. The only company was my thoughts, and they were centred on a suited man that kept looking at me like I was his everything. I didn’t know if I could trust it. It could have been in my head. When you gave your heart to someone, they wielded the ultimate power. They could give you everything in the world, and in the same instant, they could take it away.

My everything had been Aurora, and I’d never filled that gaping hole ever since. She got taken away from me. I watched her leave, and there was no farewell, no closure, no final words to hold onto. It was a violent end, and with a man like Locke, who lived a violent life, the same could happen at any given moment.

I couldn’t endure that loss twice.

I wouldn’t survive.

The door swung open, followed by his spine-tingling voice.

“What did you do to Jem?”

Relief flooded me. I turned away from the window and looked at Locke. My lips curved upwards. He was holding Dahlia to his chest, his face twisted in confusion. He came to me and placed her on the bed. She instantly ran up to me, burying her head into my stomach.

“Jem learned I’m a little crazy,” I admitted as I stroked her fur.

“That doesn’t spook Jem.”

He watched me for a few moments, his eyes heavy on my face. I kept mine focused on Dahlia. I had questions. He’d said some things that needed to be cleared up, but it felt sort of trivial right now.

Plus, I was concerned that Jem was right. That if I asked, Locke really would be forthcoming about it all. He’d been open since the second he’d placed that gun to my head a few short days ago, so full of anger and anguish and…

Are you capable of more, Locke? Or do you just want a bird for your cage?

I’d never feel brave enough to ask.

“What spooks Jem?” I asked, steering the conversation to safer ground.

“These days, it’s either his guilty conscience or things beyond his understanding.”

If I applied that logic to what happened earlier, I’d wager Jem couldn’t figure me out. My honesty for once had come to my rescue. If I’d dodged that jerk’s questions and kept arguing back, he’d have danced rings around me, feasting on my evasive anger.

My smile pulled wider. “I bet the house has never been so quiet.”

Locke let out a sudden laugh. The sound drew my gaze up at him. At the smile he rewarded me with. When he did that—when he truly smiled–-he looked significantly younger and boyish. “Your bet is correct.”

“Then you’re welcome.”

Now he was the one that didn’t know what to say. He glanced between the dog and me. Then he buried his hands into his pockets and moved around the room. My heart jumped, thinking he might leave me yet again, but he drifted to the window and at the light spatter of rain sliding down the glass.

“I forgot to tell you something,” he said quietly, his gaze trapped on something distant.

“What?” I asked, stilling. Panic hit me like a bullet. Was it about Lenny? Or about what he let slip between him and Conor.

I wasn’t prepared for either.

“When I found you asleep in your bed the first night, just before I’d put that gun to your head, I couldn’t believe how beautiful you looked.” He paused and cleared his throat. I saw the grimace in his face, his lips pressing hard on each other before he parted them again, adding, “I’d nearly forgotten how breathtaking you are. I almost wanted to leave you like that.”

My heart sped fast. My skin warmed impossibly. That had to be one of the most amazing compliments someone had ever said, and it was delivered by a serial killer. “What changed your mind?”

“My want for you…and this vicious urge to see the look in your eyes when you opened them to find me there, hovering over you like a monster in the night. Except…maybe monster isn’t the word I’m hoping for anymore.”

He didn’t want me to view him as a monster.

That admission astonished me.

I quickly collected myself and kept my voice casual. “Monster is not the word I’d use for you, Locke.”

“No?” he wondered, tilting his head almost in my direction, but he still didn’t look at me. “What word would you use now?”

“I think you’re a wolf.”

Now he really did look at me, and he didn’t appear pleased. “A wolf.”

“Wolves have strong instincts. They’re dangerous and wild.”

He frowned. “That is true.”

“They’re also fiercely loyal and protective of their pack.”

His dark eyes lit up and a soft curve pulled at his lips. “That is also true.”

“So, imagine how they fuck.”

He gaped at me, his chest stilling.

I laughed and leaned back comfortably, my back relaxing against the headboard. “Not that I’d have to imagine it. You’ve shown me exactly what that’s like.”

His sensually curious voice made my chest tighten. “Is that a good thing, Kali?”

I grinned, a bit sheepishly. “Sometimes, a woman likes to feel owned.”

I quickly added, “ Sometimes , Locke.”

His eyes heated as they trekked over me, his sudden desire palpable. Even I couldn’t resist a look like that. The passion emanated from him, clashing with ferocity and softness. I wouldn’t be able to resist him if he stepped toward me, if he uttered a single demand. I’d be goo in his hands.

“Wolf,” he said again, testing the word on his tongue.

“Do you like it?”

“I do.” He hummed in thought. “The wolf and his prey.”

I bit my bottom lip. “When I give in. When I don’t…”

His heavy eyes searched mine. “When you don’t, you’re a lion.” He paused. “Right?”

My face burned, but I held his gaze, my smile wistful. “Right.”

That boyish face was so much better than the lethal mask he wore all the time. In front of me right now was a man who clearly wanted me. That was it. He just wanted me. And that felt achingly simple.

He was capable of more, I reasoned. You don’t stare at someone in this heart stopping way if you planned on keeping them and forcing them inside a cage.

“Locke.”

Our heads shot to the door where Jem stood. The familiar amusement in him was absent. If he heard us, he didn’t show it. He stared solely at Locke. “Are we still heading out?”

Locke turned to look at me. “Yes.”

“Tell me Conor isn’t coming. He’s a buzz killer. He’ll make me feel itchy. I’ve got hives on my arms already.”

Locke shook his head. “He’ll be looking into someone for me.”

“Who?”

Locke’s eyes glimpsed me. “Kali’s roommate.”

Floored, I said, “Are you serious?”

He frowned. “I have to be sure he’s not a suspect.”

“But Hal?”

“He’s not home often, and he’s in your immediate circle. I have to rule him out. Anyone who had access to that little boy is going to be checked out.”

My words died in my throat as I gaped at him. It was true. Hal wasn’t around, but he wasn’t out kidnapping kids. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I thought of Hal’s disappearing trips, and they’d only started in the past month. Maybe…

I forced a nod. “Okay, check into Hal.”

Locke appeared satisfied by my response.

Now Jem looked at me, and I sensed his question before he asked it. Locke did, too. “Kali’s coming.”

Jem’s jaw locked, but he stiffened a nod and disappeared out of sight.

I looked back at Locke. “Is this the date with the landlord?”

He nodded. “Are you ready to go in five?”

“I’m ready now.”

“Then let’s go.”