She dodged him. Cut him out.
She believed him capable of awful things.
Damn right he was capable—but only if she let him down.
Only to those who deserved it.
Briefly, he squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn’t, wouldn’t let this happen. Not again. Thoughts of Jenn haunted him, and at the same time... excited him.
Finding one perfect woman shouldn’t be this challenging. He’d failed with Jenn, but he wouldn’t fail with Glory.
Remembering Jenn, how she’d last looked, the gurgling sounds she made, assured him that he had to get to Glory now. No more waiting. Going through that level of disappointmentonce was bad enough—not that he would balk at what he had to do.
Glory would either measure up, she’d understand and accept their connection and what he needed from her, or he’d deal with it. Today.
The slashing of rain against the window drew him. As he lifted aside the blinds, a great flash of lightning ripped across the dark turbulent sky, followed seconds later by the rumbling growl of thunder. Perfect timing. The weather would hinder others, making it easier for him to get to Glory.
Her choices would be slim: She could either accept her destiny—or join Jenn in hell.
To get the ball rolling, he packed the few things he had with him and set the suitcase by the garage door. He gave the rented house a cursory glance but didn’t see anything out of place other than overflowing garbage. So what? He wasn’t a housekeeper. He was a man of means who usually had others serving him.
It was because of Glory that he was here, slumming it in this outdated, humble home in a town just outside Hoker, Kentucky. The mere thought had his lip curling.
More than ready to put it all behind him, he picked up a new prepaid cell phone and called Shara. Three rings sounded, then four, and his rage ratcheted up. Jenn had once dared to ignore his calls.
Worse, Glory had his number blocked.For that, she’d pay.
Did Shara now dare ignore his calls? Images of the three women floated in and out of his vision. Glory, a blonde. Jenn, raven-haired. And Shara—who didn’t measure up to either of them, with her plain brown hair...
Why, that miserable little bitch—Mike caught himself. With the new number, Shara might not know it was him. Certainly,she wouldn’t deliberately avoid answering. She, at least, was rightfully terrified of him.
Unlike Jenn, who’d grown insulting at the end.
And Glory, who pretended indifference to their obvious connection.
He was still stewing, fury expanding to every pore of his being, when he heard a tentative, “Hello?”
The fearful squeak of Shara’s voice grounded him back in reality. Amused, even mollified, he smiled. “Shara, Shara, Shara. You took an awfully long time to answer.”
“Leon?” she gasped. “I... I didn’t realize...”
God, he was sick of hearing that alias. “If you’d known it was me, you would have answered right away?”
“Yes.” Then with bitterness: “You didn’t give me a choice.”
No, he didn’t. He’d told her in explicit terms the consequences of snubbing him. Glory got by with it while she came to grips with things, but any other woman, especially a useless bitch like Shara? If she tried it, she’d find the same fate as Jenn.
Mood lightened, he stood by the window looking out. “You went to Kam, didn’t you?” It was an easy assumption. Terrified women naturally sought a protector. Very soon, Glory would seek him.
“I... No.”
“Shara,” he scolded with silky menace.
“I mean, yes, I did.” A small sob escaped her. “I didn’t know what else to do!”
He smiled at her uncertainty. “You want this over and done with, don’t you?” When she didn’t reply, likely unsure of what he meant, he steered her along. “I assume you’d like to get back to your life with me out of the picture?
“Yes,” she breathed in a rush. “I mean... What do you want me to do?”