Read Online Diamond by Tigris Eden - Free Book Online Page B

part of Inwood do you reside?”
    “My family and I stay closest to the marsh.” Her answers were too quick. Practiced.
    “How is it you’re dirty. I thought those closest to the marsh faired the best.”
    “Misconception.”
    “Really?”
    “Really.” She snorted right before she rolled her eyes.
    “How old are you?”
    “I’m going to be twenty-five.” Her eyes darted left then right before she looked past his shoulder. She either didn’t know how old she was, or she was lying. He was going to pick the latter.
    “Aren’t you a little old to be a virgin? There are girls younger than you selling it for their next meal. Why haven’t you?”
    She fiddled with the sash on the robe for a moment before answering.
    “There weren’t any men I wanted to give that to. Having sex with someone is intimate and makes you vulnerable. A person has to open themselves to another. Share their soul. There is no one to do that for me. Not now.” There was some truth in what she’d said. Or, it was truth for her, anyway. He shared his soul with someone every damn day and twice on Sundays. Sex wasn’t intimate. It was a way to release pent-up energy and aggression.
    There had been someone at some point. He could hear it in her voice. He would have laughed at her. Probably should have. Instead, he asked her another question.
    “What happened to the man you wanted to give your soul to ?” He said the last with derision.
    Her eyes tracked him as she swallowed. She was going for innocent, and she was doing a stand-up job of it. Lavarious found himself staring at the delicate column of her throat as she tried to come up with an answer she thought he wanted to hear.
    “The truth, girl. Don’t lie to me. I’ll know if you do.”
    Her eyes snapped to his, and for a second, he could have sworn he saw some sort of challenge. But then it was gone.
    “He was infected. There was nothing we could do. He knew he was changing, and he left. Didn’t even say goodbye, just left.” Her voice wavered, and he could tell she was struggling to hold back her tears. Sympathy was for the weak, and Lavarious always made a conscious effort to be sure and show none.
    “The boy wasn’t very bright, then. And there are no such things as souls. If there were, that would imply there is some sort of higher power, leaving people to believe there is hope after Biel. There is none; when you die, you die. Your life is no longer of any value. Since we are on the topic of such trivial things as souls and life, you do know all who sign contracts with me are subject to a clause written into the agreement? When you no longer have use of your body and are on the verge of meeting what fools call the afterlife, you are to relinquish your organs to me. If all you say is true, and Emerald confirms, that’s what you will be agreeing to. Among other things.”
    She gave a non-committal shrug.
    Lavarious watched her closely. Wanted to know if she were really willing to take this game of hers further. People knew what it meant when their organs were harvested by him. It wasn’t a pleasant procedure. It was archaic and extremely painful to the person that was being harvested. Eightball had yet to come up with a way to perfect the procedure. They didn’t have drugs that could put a person under. They’d used up that supply a long time ago.
    “I have some conditions of my own.”
    The laugh she coaxed from him was almost heartfelt.
    “Do you now?”
    She nodded slowly. “Yes, when Emerald confirms my status, I want my mother and sister to be brought here to live at the Quarry.”
    That was not something he did. Ever. His contracts didn’t extend to family members. This female wore her emotions on her sleeve, or pretended to, at least. There was something missing from her request, however. It was the lack of emotion behind her eyes. Did she even care for her family? Or was this just an agreement for her? In his line of work, he had to know how to read people. He