Do not cry. Do not cry. Do not cry. I bit my lip to keep the tears from falling, my breath from sobbing. "Good night, Willow," he said. Get the fuck out so I can breakdown! Just leave! I raged at him mentally. I needed this man and his ulterior motives out of my life. Not only did he want to have sex with me, but he also didn't share any part of himself outside of surface information. I didn't need those kinds of people in my life. And certainly not from someone who wanted to use my body for his own pleasure. The door snicked shut softly. Like the dam had burst, tears flooded from my eyes. I pressed my face into the back cushion and screamed as long and as loud as I could. He'd let me believe, for just a sliver of a moment, that I was...not important, really. But wanted. But he didn't really want me. Or certainly not all of me. He wanted the package I was wrapped in. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted me for the connections to the Amatuccis. As much as they we

I scrambled to pull the boyshorts up my legs before he came back in the room. Getting my dress off and my tank on had taken entirely too much of the one minute he'd given me. With a wince, I crashed back onto the bed as I heard his footsteps reach the outside of my doorway.Holy cannoli that had been close. "Where are your extra towels?" he asked.I looked over at him. He was stirring something in a bowl, his gaze fixed to my body. And not my legs. I glared at him. Not that he noticed. I snapped my fingers. Waited until he raised his gaze to my eyes. "Friends, Ten. Friends."He grimaced and glared. "I already hate that nickname. Towels?"I pointed him back towards the bathroom. "Same cabinet, lower right." I was keeping that nickname until a better one came along. It was so very fitting. In a number of ways. Ryker came back out of the bathroom. A towel draped over one arm, a glass bowl with something white in it. He set both on the floor next to my bed. Reaching dow

I hurried to sit up. My body was mostly mush, so it took a hot minute. I grabbed onto Ryker's leg to help. He shoved me away like I was a leper.I fell back against the pillows. "Minus five points," I said under my breath. "Jerk."He sighed, reached over, and helped me sit. "Can I have them back now?"I narrowed my eyes at him. "Maybe.""What are you two whispering about? Why is Ryker on your bed?" Tali asked, arms crossed, one hip popped out. She tapped her long red nails against her opposite arm. "I'm waiting.""He was helping me with my legs. Apparently there's a type of massage that helps move fluid around. Lymphatic massage." I looked at Rafe, glared. "At least he didn't drug me."Rafe ducked his head, scooted away from the doorway. "That's not going to save you, Rafe. We're going to have words, you and me," I yelled after him. I looked at the other Amatucci siblings. "How's Momma?"Tali shook her head. "Nope. Still on you and Ryker."I rolled my eyes. "He

"Chase, you've got a visitor," Tali called from the door. I looked up at the clock over the oven. Shit. I hadn't planned on losing that much time to baking. I grabbed the hotpads and pulled the cupcakes from the fiery depths of the oven. "Let him in, Tali. Thanks," I called. I eased the cupcakes from the pan and settled them on a cooling rack. I still needed to get the frosting put together. Hopefully this affidavit nonsense didn't take too long. I turned around and eyed my official visitor. He was one of those guys who was utterly forgettable. Poor thing. "Come on in. Can I get you anything to drink? Dom should be here soon."The DA's assistant tugged at his tie. "No, ma'am, but thank you. It sure smells good in here."I smiled. "Thank you, and please call me Willow. I'm not old enough to be a ma'am yet."He smiled politely as he set his briefcase down on the high top counter section of the kitchen island. "What are you making?" He gave a dramatic sniff of the room.

It was a good thing I had an industrial sized mixer. I would have beaten the cake batter into unusable lumps if I'd had to do it all by hand. Instead, I sat back and glared at the mechanical arm that sliced through the batter like it was a hot knife through butter. Shame and embarrassment slid through me again. My stomach soured as I thought of the idiot I'd made of myself. Now, I was going to have to act like we could still be friends. That I hadn't insulted him with my disappearing act.I shuddered as the humiliation surged through me again. The black hole that lived inside me grew and pulsed as my inner asshole rose to vibrant life. No one will love you. How can they? You're a murderer. You helped a serial killer destroy countless lives. You killed daughters, sisters, mothers, aunts, cousins. You're worthless. He should've just killed you. Then all those other women and girls would still be alive. They're better than you. Even as society's trash, they were better than you.