Page 67 of Beautiful Killer

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Zeke

The low murmur of her voice stopped abruptly, so I headed down the hall to the kitchen. I needed her to pack her shit so I could get her out of this fucking house. The lead Tomas had given us had come up empty. Maybe this Kyle asshole wasn’t who he said he was, or maybe he had nothing to do with the robbery and it was some crazy coincidence. Only problem was, I didn’t believe in coincidences. There was too much about this I didn’t know. Too much that didn’t add up. And even with all the security in the world, Sunny wouldn’t be safe here on her own. Or at her stepsister’s. Now not only did I have to worry about some faceless fucker coming back to hurt her, but Bobby as well. I refused to think about why all of a sudden it was safe for Julia and not Sunny, why I hated even the thought of her going there and not with me.

I walked into the kitchen. Her back was to me. “Sunny?”

She didn’t answer.

Rounding the counter, I got in front of her. She looked, shit . . . in shock. “What the hell’s going on? Who was that on the phone?”

She jolted, snapping out of it. “I’m fine,” she said.

“You say that a lot,” I said, reaching for her. “And I’m not buying it.”

She stepped back suddenly, away from me. “It’s true.”

Jesus. She was so far from fine it wasn’t funny. She’d just had her twisted fucking brother-in-law in her house threatening her, and now whatever that call was about, but she was fine. The woman was hiding again, her shit buried as deep as mine. Like if she said she was fine enough times, she would be. Right then she looked pale, freaked. Goddamn fragile. I got the feeling she wasn’t going to talk about whatever was bothering her, though, not now anyway. I’d get to whatever that call was about when I got her home. When I had her in my place and safe. “I need you to go pack, Sunshine. Now.”

She nodded, absently. “Okay.” Then she finally looked at me, those usually vibrant eyes blank. “Then I want you to drop me at Julia’s.”

I gritted my teeth. “She can’t keep you safe. I can.”

Her shoulders straightened. “I’m not going back to your place, Zeke.”

My gut tightened. “What the hell are you talking about?” I said, though I thought I knew, and fuck me, I wasn’t ready to hear it.

She glanced away, tucking her hair behind her ear, throat working. “It’s been . . . fun, but this part . . .” She motioned with her hand between us. “It’s over. Staying with you now will make things . . . awkward.”

“Over?” The word hurt coming out, like it slid out on sandpaper.

Even though I thought this might be where she was going with this, my brain was struggling to process what the hell she was saying. Over. We . . . this, was over?

She twisted her fingers together in front of her. “I’m sorry, but I think it’s for the best.”

“Why?” I bit out, unable to keep the desperation from my voice.

She swallowed again, drawing my eyes to the way her pulse fluttered rapidly under her skin. “It’s just, we’ve come to the end. That spark between us has . . . burnt out.”

“Bullshit,” I fired at her. Like fuck it had burnt out. It was just as strong as the first night I met her, stronger. I wanted to go to her and shake her, make her stop goddamn lying. “You were just as desperate for me as I was for you this morning, darlin’, and don’t even try to deny it.”

Those blank eyes met mine. “It was just sex, Zeke.”

Her words hit like a battering ram to the sternum. And I couldn’t afford to think about why. “Who the fuck was on the phone?” I said instead of what I wanted to say, because this sudden withdrawal didn’t make sense. I had to believe it had something to do with whoever was on the other end of that phone.

She shook her head, hair sliding over her shoulders, the smell of vanilla filling the room. “This has nothing to do with that. I made this decision earlier . . .”

“I’m still waiting for a reason, a real one . . .”

“This was only meant to be casual, right?” she fired at me. “No feelings, no emotions.” One of her hands went to the counter and her fingers curled in. “Am I wrong?”

Jesus. Fuck. Fuck. I couldn’t speak, so I shook my head. She wasn’t wrong. That’s exactly what this was meant to be.

“Right.” She wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I’m going to pack then I’d like you to take me to my stepsister’s, please?”

“Sunny . . .”

“It’s what I want.” A smile lifted her lips, false as hell. Hiding. “And you know it’s safe there, so you don’t have to worry.” Then she went to pack.