LITMIR.BIZ

      Chapter Six

      The streets of Manhattan were not the depths of the ocean. Staring down Broadway was not the same as looking down into the icy, never-ending water. But to Logan Black it felt about the same.

      It was late, after dark, and the lobby of the Black Book was mostly empty. There were a few staff members of his hotel wandering around very deliberately keeping their eyes averted.

      And there were a couple of guests seated in the cluster of chairs in the corner of the lobby, laughing and having drinks, and generally too interested in each other to notice him.

      “Okay, Logan, what do I need to do?”

      Addison’s gentle agreement to help him get a handle on his panic attacks still rang in his mind. He didn’t want to do this. Didn’t want to admit how broken he truly was. But he had no choice now.

      Tonight was the first step.

      His limo was idling out front, parked against the curb, as close to the door as possible so as to minimize the time he would have to spend outdoors.

      All of this was designed to minimize his anxiety. It was a shame it wasn’t working.

      He’d stood in this position far too many times, and he was well aware of how it would end. In blinding, black, terror. In the floor wrenching to the side, and turning to waves beneath his feet, sending him down to his knees. Making him vomit as if he were back on a ship that was splintering apart beneath the punishing wind of a hurricane.

      The only difference was that this time he had a guide. A slender, blond guide, who almost resembled an angel aiding his passage into the beyond.

      Of course, she wasn’t an angel. And that was really just as well. For his purposes, he didn’t require an angel. He needed a socialite, and Addison Treffen was exactly that.

      Addison cast him a sideways glance, concern evident in her blue gaze. “Are you okay?”

      Logan reached up to straighten the lapels of his jacket, then ran his hands down the front of his time. “Hell no. But I fail to see what being okay has to do with any of this.”

      “I suppose if we had your mental well-being in mind, we would just keep you cloistered upstairs.”

      “Sounds like a good idea to me. Only I think my mental well-being may be far beyond help, so we might as well try to help Black Properties.”

      He did a sharp breath, as if he were preparing for a dive. In many ways he was. Going out into the open, even at night, felt a lot like getting ready to go underwater. And while, during his time on the island, it’d been necessary, he had never enjoyed it.

      And when he had done it, it had been in the interest of his survival. Which seemed fitting, since what he did now was in the interest of the survival of Black Properties.

      He looked at Addison. “Sometimes, Addison, to survive you have to do things you hate.”

      Then he stepped outside, moving to the limo as quickly as possible, jerking the door open and getting inside, closing the door behind him quickly. Dimly, it occurred to him that in his former life, he would never have gotten into the car before the woman he was with. And he most certainly would’ve held the door for her.

      But he was reduced to survival tactics now. Seduction, softness and the desire to impress a woman had no place in his life.

      Addison rounded the back of the limo and opened the door opposite him, sliding inside and shutting the door behind her. She kept an expanse of seat between them, and he was grateful that she did.

      “So, where is it we’re going?” she asked.

      “Black Pearl. Cheesy, I know. My father’s name for his flagship hotel here in the city. It’s where this big event is being held. I’ve not been there in…probably not since I’ve been back. When I first arrived my mother and sister held a party for me there. But I was numb enough then that I could handle it.”

      “Is that the problem? The shock is wearing off?”

      “Possibly. I imagine, though, that we’re dealing with problems plural, rather than problem.”

      “So, tonight we’ll get a feel for the layout of things. Survey the perimeter, as it were.”

      “Sure,” Logan said, feeling the familiar nausea start to rise as the car began to move down the street.

      “You don’t sound very enthusiastic.”

      “Would you feel very enthusiastic about the idea of having your skin peeled away from your bones?” He looked over at her, at the predictably horrified expression on her face, and he had a feeling he’d gone too far. And for the first time in his memory, he regretted it. Regretted the possibility that he might touch her with his darkness. She was so beautiful, so perfectly forbidden to him.

      “Is it that bad?” she asked.

      “I’m not trying to be poetic about it. Or dramatic.”

      Addison

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