The sexual attraction I feel for her has floored me. Guilia refers to it as insta-lust. Something mentioned in many of her romance novels. She mentioned it the one time I asked her what she was reading, effectively ensuring I wouldn’t enquire again.

I know little of this woman except for the accidental slip of her true name. Inquiries have given me a small glimpse into her life. She is twenty-nine, divorced, and living on her own. She has no family or friends that I can find. The one saving grace is that she is nothing more than a bartender at Nocturn. I don’t know how I would manage her being one of the escorts.

“What are you thinking about?” Allegra asks.

Shaking all thoughts of Lira out of my mind, I try to focus on the ledger in front of me. Allegra wanted to show me the books and make sure that we are satisfied with her work.

“Why do you think I’m not paying attention”? I ask.

“Well.” She smiles. “I asked you if you wanted a drink, and you didn’t answer. Also, you have a murderous look on your face.”

Lifting my gaze from the numbers, I stare at her. After long moments, Allegra bursts out laughing.

“If I hadn’t known you for two years, I would fear for my life. But I know you don’t hurt women or children. Is there something wrong with the numbers?” she asks softly.

“No, no. The numbers are better than ever.” I sigh.

“Is there something I can do to help?”

Allegra is a sweet girl. From the first moment I met her, that was clear. She is driven, smart, and caring. Which is exactly the reason I drove four hundred miles and shot her father in the head. That man broke her, mentally and physically. I couldn’t stand to know that he was alive somewhere while she still suffered the effects of the damage he had wrought on her.

“Maybe you need to get laid,” Allegra says thoughtfully.

“Fucking hell.” I rub my hand down my face.

“What? I’m eighteen. I know what sex is. For heaven’s sake, I manage a brothel!”

She looks incredulous. Of course, she is right. But that doesn’t mean I have any inclination to talk to her about my sex life.

“I don’t want to talk to you about this,” I say, instead rising from my seat to leave.

“Don’t be that way,” she calls after my retreating form with a laugh.

That girl is going to give me a stroke one of these days. She is also spending too much time around Guilia. Her love of giving me shit about anything and everything already rubbing off on Allegra.

I don’t look around as I leave Nocturn, too afraid to lay eyes on Lira again. I don’t know how much control I have around her.

My blood spikes as I round the corner into the alley where my car is parked to find a man with his hands all over Lira. I know for a fact that she doesn’t have sex with any of the men who come around here. She is only a bar lady. When she starts struggling against his hold, the last control I had snaps.

“Come on, girl,” I hear the man say. “You can’t tell me you’re not interested.”

“I said no,” Lira says.