Pretend You're Mine(133)
“You abused children under your care.” Luke didn’t have to add the revulsion to his tone. It was already there.
“Like I said. I’ve served my time. In the eyes of the law I’m rehabilitated.” Perry fingered the edges of the envelope. “Tell me, what did she say when she opened my letter? How did she take my news?”
And there it was. The hunger. Feed him just enough.
“She assures me that you’re no threat. You’re just a crazy, frail old man who blames her for your own crimes.”
“She took twelve years from me,” Perry said, slamming his palm down.
Luke gripped the table. “You raised your hands to those kids. You beat them, neglected them. No one made you abuse them. You deserve to be in jail for the rest of your life, and if you even think for one second that I’ll let you near Harper when you’re released, you’re even more senile than she thinks.
“You’re confident you can protect her.”
“Just try and get through me. You’ll learn what fear feels like,” Luke said quietly. “I won’t rest until you’re dead or behind bars for life.”
“You’re awfully cocky in your ability to protect. Tell me, where were you when that man broke into your home? Where were you when he held that blade to her throat? Were you there to protect her then?” He licked his thin lips.
“How did you know about that?”
“I could have read about it in the paper,” Perry said, stubbing out his cigarette. He raised his gaze to Luke’s. “Or I could have sent him.”
Luke stood so quickly his chair flipped over. He put his hands on the table. “You’re fucking lying.”
“Oh. You didn’t know that Glenn and I are old friends? That I was able to get him released in exchange for a small favor? It’s dangerous to underestimate your enemies, Captain.”
“That’s not true.”
“All he needed was the motivation of freedom. I secured the money for his bail and had it delivered to his mother.”
“You have nothing. You made jack shit before prison. Where did you come up with the money for Glenn’s bail?”
“Prison is an excellent marketplace for entrepreneur. I merely find a need a fill it. Some want drugs. Others need higher priced items that feed their, shall we say, singular interests.”
“Kiddie porn?” Luke’s gut churned.
Perry shrugged. “Whatever the customer requires. I can get it and distribute it. For a fee.”
“You expect me to believe that you spent twenty grand to send someone into my home to scare my girlfriend?”
“Of course not. I sent someone into your home to kill her.”
Luke lunged across the table and grabbed Clive by the jumpsuit, yanking him out of his chair. “You failed, asshole. Talk about the dangers of underestimating someone. You or your lackeys will never lay a finger on Harper again. Because if you get lucky enough to get through me, she will take you down just like she did when she was twelve.”
He released Perry and straightened.
“You have no control. No patience,” Perry sighed with disdain. “No finesse. Just brute force.”
“Oh is finesse what you call burning a twelve-year-old with a cigarette? Or is it hiring a fucking drunk to do a job that you’re too week to perform?
“Hiring Glenn was a mistake. But at least I got the pleasure of imagining him holding the blade to her throat.”
Luke slammed his fist on the table.
“Patience is what I call biding my time until she feels safe. Finesse will be me taking away everything she values, one by one. I’ll start with the dogs. And then when she’s all alone, when she has nothing left, then I’ll take her life.”
Luke growled and fought for control. The manic light in those sick blue eyes made him want to snap. To crush the man’s face.
“You’ll never get through me, asshole. You’ll never get out of here alive.” Luke kept his voice low.
“You have no say in that. I’m being released.” He smiled through thin lips. “And when I am, I will end her life. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Luke’s fist plowed into Perry’s face. Cartilage crunched, and the man crumpled to his knees.
The door flew open and Detective Rameson strolled in. “Christ, Garrison, I thought you’d never get around to doing that.” She nodded to the man in a suit on her right. “We got enough, D.A. Willis?”
The man shoved his glasses up his nose and nodded, “Oh, yeah. There’s no way he’ll see the outside with this.”
“You have no evidence!” Perry scrambled to his feet, still clutching his nose. “These rooms aren’t bugged!”