Page 115 of Darling Psycho

Breathless listening to him, Angela’s heart beat out of her chest, “What would you have known?”

“She was mine. And I wouldn’t have hesitated to steal her. Just plucked her right out of her life and brought her into my darkness without a second thought about what I was taking her from or who. Because monsters find each other, angel. I would have met you on a terrible fucking day and ruined your life because it’s what unrepentant pricks do.”

Touched by his unexpected show of sweetness in his Lawless way, Angela chuckled and rested her head on his chest. “Are you unrepentant?”

She knew the answer, and it loosened the tension in her chest. She loved that new version and would love to believe she would have met him another way.

“I wish I could look at the trees and not dread that my parents are in there somewhere.”

“They’re not.”

“No one can know that. Only the men who killed them, and they aren’t here to tell me.”

Lawless turned her around, looking stoic as always. His deep eyes and unsmiling face were her haven. Having him near brought peace.

Then he floored her again.

“I know they’re not there. I had the forest searched extensively years ago by experts who know how to find unmarked graves. Your folks aren’t in these woods, Angela. So you don’t have to be afraid of them.”

Whatever she thought she might feel hearing words of that nature, Angela didn’t expect the windy emptiness through her chest. She’d never get closure or to say goodbye, and that was just heartbreaking all over again.

“I hoped to give you some resolution to it, but that’s as much as I got. We won’t ever know where they are.”

Something in his careful tone spiked her ear, and she asked, “but you have a theory, don’t you?”

She loved him even more for not sugar coating.

“Hades used to pay a guy at a crematorium in Denver to get rid of his bodies. It’s a simple way to make mistakes disappear. My closest guess would be they were taken there. Unfortunately, the guy died of a heart attack about six months after my search started, so I couldn’t ask him if he remembered anything from that night.”

Her emotions exploded harder than ever.

“You really are the greatest chess player, aren’t you, grumpy? You move pieces I haven’t even thought of.” And he was wonderful because of it. “Thank you for trying to find answers for me. I feel better knowing they’re not here.”

His lips were severe when they pulled tight like that. She supposed it was why he scared many people. It was a frightening look when you added in the deathly razor stare. But all Angela wanted to do was check what inside his mouth tasted like. She wanted to dig her tongue in and just taste him, so she went up on her tiptoes and met his closed lips, pressing tightly to them. “Big bad manipulator, thank you.”

“Kiss me like you’re grateful,” he growled, grabbing her by the hair and he took over as was Lawless’ way, and she freaking loved when he did.

He did it by sealing his mouth to hers, forcing her lips open, and he slid inside to own her.

He kissed her as though he was carrying her to hell on a bed of flames.

It was hot, consuming, and it swallowed her soul.

When he was done—and Lawless took his sinful time—she was not herself. She had no bones left in her legs, and something was wrong with her heart. It was going way too fast. She felt the beat in every strand of hair.

He’d taken her sadness away and replaced it with palpable love screaming through her ears. Jesus, looking down at her in that intense way he had of looking at her, he’d never been sexier, and she wanted to rip into his clothes to get at the meat of him. Her teeth tingled to bite him all over.

“Let’s see about getting you over this aversion of the forest.” He stated and grasped her hand, walked her into the place she was terrified of.

What? Hell no.

Pulling on his hand, it was like trying to stop a hurricane from being a hurricane.

“Lawless, hold up,” she about shrieked, probably scaring the woodland creatures. Thankfully, six trees deep in, he stopped and turned to tower over her. “I don’t want to do this.”

“My mouthy badass isn’t scared of anything, least of all twigs, branches, and darkness. She faces shit head and battles on. This place holds horrific memories for you, Angela, but it can’t hurt you. It doesn’t hold any power to strip your skin off or pour your blood on the ground.”

“Graphic much,” she grimaced at his honesty.