Little Black Book(63)

“Sebastian, I’m so sorry…”

A shield of ice fell over his face and he suddenly changed direction. Pulling me up from the chair, he dragged me across the room. “Do not say another word,” he said venomously.

We were out of his office and going through the door of his apartment in seconds. I ripped my arm away from him and rubbed at the tender spot where his fingers had been.

His eyes followed my moment and settled on my reddening arm.

“You hurt me,” I said in shock.

“I’m sorry,” he said, before reaching up and tugging at his hair in aggravation. “I mean, I’m not sorry. I don’t know what I am anymore. All I know is you need to get your things and get out.”

My heart dropped. He couldn’t be serious. Not after the way things had been going between us.

“Sebastian, just listen…”

“No. I need to be alone. Please, Roz. Just leave.”

And just like that, the sound of my name from those lips, no longer brought me pleasure. I nodded, gathered my things, and left without so much as even a glance in his direction.





Twenty-Three

Sebastian





The simple sound of her gently closing my apartment door, slammed into my chest and knocked the air from my lungs.

Roz Harris. Rosslyn Harris. She hadn’t said her first name, but I knew. I don’t know how I knew, I just knew. Leaning against the wall, I swallowed hard and tried to take control of my brain before all the bad came rushing in.

Memories of a night many years before came crashing down, sending me into an instant hell. Every nightmare I’d had for the last twelve years featured her—her and her haunted young eyes. It couldn’t be the same girl. There was no way this could be happening to me.

I went to the door, ready to pull it open and stop her, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. There wasn’t enough strength in my body to even open a fucking door.

Walking away, I moved through my apartment like a madman. Bursting into my bedroom, I stopped when I was in front of my safe. Entering in the combination, I pulled it open.

The little box I kept small personal items in, was sitting there waiting for me. Flipping open the lid, I reached in and pulled out the locket. The broken chain was still attached.

Popping it open, my eyes moved over the baby’s picture first, trying to see if he marked a resemblance at all to Kyle, but once my eyes landed on the girl’s picture… I knew. Actually, as many times as I’d looked at her picture over the years, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed sooner.

The red hair, the green eyes, and the smile on her sweet face—they were all an exact match. I sat back on the bed, clutching the locket in my hand and closed my eyes.

While Vick had moved on with her life, I’d searched and found out their names. It was sick, but I needed to know. Sitting here now, I wished I’d never done it.

What kind of sick fuck had I become? The type who fell in love with the daughter of the people I’d helped murder.

I could deny it all I wanted. I could push the feelings away until I couldn’t push anymore, but I had to come to terms. I’d fallen in love with Roz. She was everything to me, had been from the moment I’d first laid eyes on her.

“You can call me Roz.”

Her words swam through my mind, over and over again.

”That’s my last name.”

Harris. A name I knew well. A name which haunted me for the last twelve years of my life. And would continue to haunt me until the day I died.

What kind of cruel joke was this? Karma was ripping my ass a new one. The exact moment I knew I was in love for the first time in my life, was the exact moment I found out she could never be mine. Ever.





A week. That’s how long it had been since I realized I was in love. I hadn’t seen her face—heard her voice… nothing.

It was the right thing to do. So I blocked the world out and let the club run itself while I got drunk and dwelled in my self-loathing. I didn’t answer the door. I didn’t answer any calls, and I didn’t even think about looking at my text messages.

Vick called and beat on my door constantly, but I wasn’t ready to see her face. I wasn’t ready to find out whether or not she knew I’d been fucking and dominating a girl I owed the world to.

I was the reason her parents were gone. I didn’t pull the trigger, but I might as well have.

Finally, after a week of seclusion, I went to my office. Within minutes Vick was bursting through the doors, claws out, and frothing at the mouth.

“What the fuck, Sebastian?” Fire shot from her eyes. “You just lock yourself in your apartment for a week? Fuck the club? Fuck me? I’ll have you know I busted my ass this week picking up the slack for you.”