Descent (Black Heart Romance presents Heaven & Hell)

Chapter Twenty Five
Calvin
My lovely Hallie is not nearly as happy to see me as I am to see her.
I suppose I should have expected that.
Not only because I sent Arson—who’s not terribly good company—to retrieve her, or even
because I had him shoot her date, which she probably wasn’t thrilled about. I’m sure both things
contributed to her displeasure, but the real problem runs much deeper than those little road bumps.
I like her more than she likes me.
That’s the real problem.
That’s never happened to me before, so I’m not entirely sure how to navigate it.
She’s lovely as always and wearing the red dress she wore the night I first saw her. How
appropriate. We’ve come full circle.
I should have just kidnapped her that night and been done with it.
Serves me right for trying to do things the right way.
Well, sort of.
Hallie’s sulking terribly when Arson hauls her in. She doesn’t even speak to me. This time she
doesn’t seem surprised that Marie is here, but since Arson picked her up for me, I imagine she has
figured out that I sent him, and any illusion of safety she had from me was just that: an illusion.
Ignoring both of us as I hand Arson his payment envelope and he responds with a cursory,
“Pleasure doing business with you,” she walks over to Marie’s bed and sinks down next to it so she
can hug her cat.
“I’ll let you know if I need anything else,” I tell Arson, and then he leaves.
Hallie sits on the floor with her legs curled behind her and Marie curled up on her lap. Chef
Ryan is gone and Hollis isn’t here, so it’s just us and the silence.
She knows I’m standing here, but doesn’t feel like looking at me. Without looking up from Marie
as she strokes her, she speaks in a cooler tone I know is meant for me. “You’re a monster.”
“I told you not to go on the date,” I remind her. “I warned you.”
Her gaze snaps to me, her big blue eyes wide. “You didn’t tell me anyone would get hurt!”
In my mind, it seems she should have been able to puzzle that out, but I don’t want to insult her
intelligence, so I don’t say that. Besides, it might be unfair. I know her mind doesn’t work the way