Revenge: A Bad Boy Romance by Jessica Ashe

assumptions and I never bothered to correct them. As far as I was concerned, it was no one else’s business, so I didn’t talk about it.
    Not even Mom and Dad knew. Dad thought she was just another woman I fooled around with, while Mom just assumed she was a casual acquaintance. I didn’t care what they thought. I didn’t care what anyone thought, yet for some reason, I sat here opposite Chloe, about to tell her everything.  
    Why did I find it so easy to trust her? Sure, she looked a bit like Kara, but once the initial shock of that had worn off, it didn’t bother me so much. Chloe gave off a vibe of honesty and integrity, like she was the most trustworthy person I could ever talk to about anything.
    When I looked into her eyes, I knew that whatever I told her would not be repeated to anyone else. I suppose this was how some men fell for honey traps. A beautiful woman could have a powerful effect on a man’s senses. But I never fell for that shit. I had pretty women throwing themselves at me on a daily basis. Although Chloe was sexier than any of them by far, and she didn’t even try.  
    “The story is not actually that exciting,” I began. “The mystery makes it all seem much more dramatic than it really was. You’ve probably heard that we were lovers?”
    “Variations on that story,” Chloe agreed. “Most people think you were a couple, but some think it was just a friends with benefits kind of thing.”  
    “God, I hate that phrase. Kara was a friend without any of the sex, and that relationship had more than enough ‘benefits’ for me.”
    “So you never…”
    “No,” I insisted. “We grew up together as kids. We went our separate ways after high school, but I bumped into her again about five years ago.”
    “And you offered her a job as your personal assistant?”  
    “Eventually, yes. When I met her, she was in a bad way. She’d gone to college, but never graduated. Ended up with a bit of a drug habit. Believe it or not, there are worse people to be acquainted with than me. At least I stay well away from the drug game. Those things have killed far more people than my dad ever has.”
    That was one of the ways I justified my actions. I’d done horrible things over the last ten years, and no doubt I would do more, but at least I wasn’t out there peddling crack and heroin to addicts. It was a pathetic way to defend what I did, but it helped me sleep at night.
    “How did she die?” Chloe asked.  
    “What does the office gossip tell you?”  
    “That she was attacked on her way home from a night out. Most people seem to think it was a random act of violence.”
    “Most people?”  
    “Some people speculate that you had something to do with it.”  
    I took another swig of my whiskey. That’s why I didn’t go down to the cafeteria. I knew people gossiped about what happened to Kara and my involvement, but as long as I didn’t hear it I could pretend it wasn’t happening.  
    “I don’t believe you had anything to do with it,” Chloe added quickly. “I’m sure it was an accident.”
    “No,” I snapped. “It was no accident. And they’re right about it being my fault. I am to blame.”
    “That’s ridiculous. From what you’ve told me, you loved her--as a friend--so I’m sure you did everything in your considerable power to save her.”
    I shook my head. “After the first time, I tried to have her leave town. But she was stubborn. She insisted on staying put.”  
    I should have tried harder to persuade her. I should have forced her to leave the country. That had to have been some way to keep her safe. I’d failed.
    “The first time?” Chloe asked.
    “Someone tried to kill her before. They shot at her.”
    “Holy shit, I had no idea.”  
    I stared at Chloe who for the first time look genuinely surprised by what she was hearing. She’d taken all the other information in with barely a raised eyebrow, but now she looked shocked. “Why would you have