His Favorite Sin

THREE

WRONG CONTINENT

Nine Years Ago

Lance rarely stepped outside the confines of the mansion or its surroundings.

His dad, as per his wife’s wishes, had ensured that everything he needed or desired was brought to their home, including his education. However, Mr. Dvorak now had other plans and wanted Lance to stroll out more, and helping him get used to the public was part of my job.

‘His mother was overprotective and cuddled him too much. I, however, think it’s time he came out of his shell and got more comfortable in social settings like his siblings. He will be fifteen by next month. I want him to start his junior year in the formal school setting with his peers and not be penned up in this old house. He’s been homeschooled long enough. I will need your help in making this transition easy for him.’ Mr. Dvorak had informed me in his study. ‘I won’t be around much, but you have my email and number in case you need anything. I prefer emails, but if it’s urgent, call.’

First, I needed to get acquainted with the town myself before taking Lance out there. I had never gone past the Dvorak Mansion, and I decided it was time to finally explore this inconspicuous town that I had never heard about before coming here.

Mr. Dvorak told me to inform Tim, his driver, to take me, and although I nodded along, when I got outside, I only asked Tim for directions into town. After a long, quiet walk to the bus station and then a twenty-minute drive on a near-empty bus, I was starting to think there was no human settlement when, finally, we got to the busier part of town.

‘Wow.’ I couldn’t help but expel a breath as I got off the bus, noticing the vast difference between there and where the Dvoraks lived. There were a lot more people cheerily walking around, local businesses on every corner, kids on holiday doing skateboard tricks on the clear roads, and farmer trucks being the most popular vehicles on the streets. There was nothing excessive, just a serene environment that looked like it came out of a kid’s cartoon book.

It was honestly not what I was expecting. Living in that isolated mansion, where everything appeared gray and somber, I had expected the town to look the same, but not this. Everything here looked perfect, divine even.

The thick stormy clouds followed me from the house, though, and I have come to realize that rain falling in this town was as often as the sun rising. Dark clouds, drizzles, and downpours are second nature here. More time here, and I will surely start to lose my melanin.

I barely had anything to eat when I left home, so when I spotted a pastry shop, I went in. The shopkeeper’s bell chimed, alerting my presence. The aroma of deliciously baked goods hung in the air, causing my mouth to water instantly. The staff at the counter was attending to a sweet old lady, and they talked in a familiar manner as the staff sneaked an extra donut into her bag. She beamed with a smile in return before leaving.

‘What can I get you, pretty lady?’ His smile instantly turned flirtatious as I walked up to the counter.

‘Hi... Derek.’ I read his nametag, then pointed at some chocolate-covered donuts and asked for a cup of coffee with it.

‘Haven’t seen you around before. Are you new in town?’ He asked as he prepped my order.

‘Sort of. I work with this family at the edge of town. Heard of Mr. Ben Dvorak?’ I replied, and he paused just as he was about to pick up my donut with the tong. He looked back up at me with an emotion in his eyes that I couldn’t decipher before he shook his head.

‘I’m sorry, did you just say Mr. Dvorak? You work at his house?’

I slowly nodded. ‘And live there.’

He stared at me for another second before returning to what he was doing without another word, except that I could sit and wait a minute for my coffee. His demeanor had instantly changed, which was strange, and when I wanted to pay, he shook his head so forcefully that I thought it would detach from his body.

‘No need for that. It’s on the house.’ The weather was slightly chilly, but his forehead seemed to be gathering sweat. It didn’t seem like he was flirting any longer, and I was beginning to think the emotion I couldn’t decipher before was fear.

‘Oh no. It’s alright. I’ve got....’

‘Please!’ He cried, startling me quiet. ‘It’s on the house.’ He repeated, leaving no room for argument as he handed me my order.

I found somewhere to sit in a corner, and from my table, I watched him as I drank my coffee, but he never met my stare. When I did look away, I felt him staring.

‘D-man!’ The bell chimed as a girl strolled in a hoodie, all bubbly with pink highlights in her brown hair, as she headed to the counter.

Derek groaned, ‘Already told you not to call me that, Nancy.’ They had a quick banter, but then his eyes shifted in my direction briefly. He leaned in and whispered something to her, which caused her to look in my direction, so yeah, they were definitely talking about me. Uncomfortable, I stared down and drank my coffee, confused about why they were acting so weird. What was wrong with working for Mr. Dvorak?

Deciding that I was tired of being gawked at, I stood and walked over to the counter.

‘For real?!’ Nancy asked.

‘Yeah. I was just as shocked. I don’t think... oh shit.’ Derek was whispering back, then both went hush when they noticed me approaching. My stare shifted between them as they tried to act natural, which they were terrible at.

‘Do you need something?’ Derek asked when I remained quiet.

‘Yeah. Another donut, please.’ I paused and then added, ‘And also a side of whatever you two were whispering about me. Yeah, you weren’t so subtle.’ I threw an accusing glare at Derek, who shifted guiltily on his feet and looked away.

‘You work and live at Mr. Dvorak’s house?’ Nancy inquired beside me, her curious gaze unwavering.

‘Yes. What’s so bad about that that has you two gossiping? Doesn’t half the town work at his farms, too?’ That’s what I had read in those articles.

‘Yeah, but you know the stories surrounding that part of town... You don’t because you’re new.’ She nodded as the realization hit her.

My eyebrows drew together in puzzlement. ‘What stories?’ She shared a look with Derek, who looked even more uneasy as he combed his fingers through his hair. ‘Will someone say something?!’ Their mysteriousness was getting me exasperated.

‘Derek? Isn’t your shift over in about three minutes?’ Nancy checked her wristwatch.

‘Yeah...’

‘Good. Come on,’ she turned to me. ‘Let’s take a table and wait for Derek over there.’

‘I don’t think that’s a...’ Derek was saying.

‘Take off the apron, D man. We’re waiting!’ Nancy ignored his excuse and pivoted me back to where I was seated. He groaned, massaging his temple like he was in pain. ‘And bring my cupcake and her donut.’

‘What’s your name?’ She turned to me again and asked.

‘Dahlia.’

‘Like the flower. Nice. I’m Hannah.’

After we left the restaurant, Derek and Nancy showed me around. It was a nice town, easy to navigate, not so small but not so big either. Honestly, I didn’t see the need for exploring anymore because, all the time, I kept withdrawing into my thoughts and thinking about returning to the Dvoraks’ home, packing my stuff, and getting the hell out! Especially after the stories Derek and Nancy told in the café, the ones involving gore, death, and taped crime scenes in the woods surrounding that house.

*******

Present

For most of my life, I’ve experienced fear. It’s cold and haunting, never truly leaving you, even when the cause is gone, and especially when the cause is still very much around.

Instinct kicked in. The card dropped from my hand as I instantly swiped out a knife from the block and held it in front of me. My gun wasn’t close by, so this would have to do. With my heart pounding and my grip tightly wrapped around the knife’s handle, I compelled my feet forward, taking one wary step after another.

It was quiet once more, and only the living room’s light was on. I kept to the shadows as I walked towards the bedroom where the sound had come from. Just as I was an inch away from the room, the door swung open, almost knocking me in the face if I hadn’t recoiled like a whip. I quickly recovered and was about to strike the intruder when I heard a familiar voice as they waved their arms, alarmed, in front of them.

‘Woah, woah, what’s going on? Christ! Cora?’ The light stung my eyes as Drew turned the switch on, so now we could both see clearer, him in a hoodie with a startled expression, and me holding a knife, ready to strike.

‘Drew? What are you doing here? I could have hurt you! I thought you were... a burglar.’ I carefully chose my last word.

‘I’m not. Now, can you bring down the knife?’ He slowly requested, his eyes shifting cautiously between me and the weapon I still had pointed at him.

‘Sorry.’ I shook my head and brought the knife down. My eyes scanned around, taking a peek into my room to make sure there was no one else, before releasing a sigh of relief.

‘If you thought it was a burglar, why didn’t you call the cops?’

Reason caught up as he said that, and I facepalmed myself, realizing that would have been the logical thing to do. ‘Right. I should have done that.’

‘I thought it was okay to wait here till your meeting was over. Why didn’t you call me to come pick you up?’ He had a key to my apartment, which I had given him as an alternative means to take our relationship to the next level.

He followed me behind as I marched back to the kitchen and placed the knife on the counter. ‘Oh, your kitchen light seems to be broken. I will try to get it fixed tomorrow.’ He was such a sweet and thoughtful boyfriend.

‘I didn’t take the deal.’ I sighed.

‘What? Why?’ He queried, and I turned to see the puzzled look on his face. A picture of Lance sitting in that restaurant across from me, dark shades over his eyes, and a shadow of a smile curling his lips.

I had left Tammy at that restaurant with him. I shouldn’t have, knowing what he was. Maybe I should have forced her along with me. Was she okay?

‘What’s going on, Cora?’ Drew strolled up to me, concern etched on his face as he lifted my chin so I could stare into his unique hazel eyes that were now darker with the lights off.

‘It doesn’t matter who you tell. You would only be digging your grave and theirs.’ The harrowing warning echoed in my mind like a distant voice in the mountains.

‘Cora?’ Drew’s voice jerked me back to the present, but the past still lingered in my mind, and my face mirrored my dread.

‘Let’s run away together.’ I blurted out of the blue.

‘What?’ He blinked back.

‘Let’s do it. It’s what you wanted: move to Spain, get married in Ibiza. We can start over, a new life, just us two. Heck, we can even leave tonight.’

It was dead silent between us, his face blank as he stared back at me.

‘Right...’ He slowly nodded just as something flashed behind his eyes. ‘Oh, maybe that job will still be available. You know, the one with high pay that I had been offered four months ago but had to turn down because I didn’t want to go alone, and the girl I wanted to carry along and start a life with turned me down and instead gave me a key to her apartment.’ He pushed away from me, putting some distance between us.

Yeah, when I said giving him my house key was an alternative, I meant an alternative to not marrying him when he asked me to. I hadn’t known what else to do then. He had been quiet, really quiet, when I told him I wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment. And he had remained that quiet for weeks while I was losing my mind over guilt. When I couldn’t get a hold of him during that time because he wouldn’t let me, I thought he had left for Spain, but Tammy assured me he was still around. Then he showed up one day at my apartment and told me he wasn’t taking the job. There was nothing there for him, he had told me. And to show him I was committed to our relationship, I had given him the key to my apartment, a really weak attempt at an apology. I could have asked him to move in or even move in with him, but even that was too much for me. I do not deserve this man because even with all that, he still took me back.

It was a sore topic for him, and I shouldn’t have brought it up. I hung my head in shame, ‘I’m sorry—’

‘I’m not mad, Cora!’ He whirled around and threw his hands in the air, startling me.

‘I’m not mad.’ He repeated more calmly now. ‘I just don’t understand; an hour ago, you left with Tammy to get that book contract you’ve always wanted. Not even an hour later, you came back, took a knife from the kitchen, and almost attacked me with it because you thought I was a burglar, and now you’re asking me to run away with you, to... to marry you? Is that even what you’re asking, because? I am really confused right now.’ He paced in front of me as he expressed his confusion.

‘What happened at the meeting? Did things not go well? Did they turn your book down? Where’s Tammy?’

The doorbell went off just then, and my breath hitched at the high-pitched sound. I made no move to answer. Another ring, and I still silently remained frozen in my spot while Drew eyed me, puzzled.

‘Are we getting that?’

‘It’s late. Who could it be?’ Death?

‘I don’t know, Cora. Maybe one of your neighbors or maybe even Tammy.’

I shrugged, but still remained rooted to my spot.

‘I’ll get it.’ Drew sighed and strode out of the kitchen.

‘Drew, wait-’ I tried to stop him, but he was already at the door, twisting the knob open. His large frame was blocking me from seeing who it was, but soon, an irritated Tammy pushed past him, and my shoulders slumped in relief. Glad to see she was okay and alive, even though her eyes were firing flaming swords to bury me six feet deep.

‘Oh, Tammy. I’m so sorry about how I reacted back at the restaurant. You just wouldn’t...’

‘Save it.’ She lifted a hand up to silence me. ‘Okay, listen. It wasn’t easy to get them to agree to this. Frankly, I’m surprised he was okay with it because Isabel insisted firmly against it and didn’t like the idea, but he—’

I shook my head, ‘Slow down, Tammy, what are you talking about?’ I was lost on what she was rambling about. She halted, a grave look on her face as she stared at me.

‘I would have preferred we did this another day, but Mr. Dvorak insisted on tonight only. That was the only way he would give you another shot. I need you to pull yourself together, okay? I understand this might seem scary; you getting this huge opportunity, but--’ I wasn’t listening to Tammy anymore because her words drowned out as my eyes returned to Drew. He was still holding the door open, talking with someone else before letting them in. A walking cane tapped its way in, followed by a dark suit and dark glasses that hid the soulless orbs of its owner. My blood ran cold.

Lance. He was there, in my living room, shaking hands with Drew, who was being cordial as they introduced themselves to one another. Isabel wasn’t with him, but that was the least of my worries.

‘Cora?’ Tammy touched my shoulder.

‘You brought him here?’ I coolly questioned her, my eyes still glued to Lance. I shifted my glare to her when she guiltily went silent because she knew I never liked it when strangers knew where I lived. I never took anyone that wasn’t her or Drew back to my home, and she very well knew that. The betrayal poked me in the heart.

My gaze shifted back one last time at the men in the room, Lance being his charming self and even flashing Drew his boyish smile, but I couldn’t be fooled by that act again. He c****d his head in my direction and my feet moved backward. Ignoring Tammy’s demanding voice and Drew’s worried expression, I disappeared into the kitchen.

My apartment couldn’t be described as spacious, but it was adequate for me. The kitchen was mostly enclosed, so only the part revealed by the small doorway was visible from the living room. My hand reached for the knife I had dropped earlier on the counter. Then I stood in a corner and waited for the grim reaper.

What I wanted was to go out there and use the knife in my hand on the criminal in the apartment, but I lacked the courage. I also seemed to suddenly lack the ability to use my limbs as fear gripped my bones and left me frozen in that corner.

I focused on my breathing instead, listening to the voices outside. Drew and Tammy must have thought I was a lunatic with the way I lived my life and how I was acting at that moment. If only they knew what I knew, had seen what I saw, then they wouldn’t think me demented. I could hear their fretful voices coming from the living room. My grip on the knife’s handle behind me tightened when I heard the footsteps coming closer.

‘Don’t worry. I can find my way. It’s natural for authors to be wary and possessive of their work. Just let me talk to her alone.’ Lance’s honeyed voice drifted into the kitchen from the living room, and a second later, his silhouette followed, finally appearing at the kitchen’s doorway. His dark frame blocked the little light coming in from the living room.

I had had nightmares about this moment, ones that caused me to wake up drenched in sweat, short of breath, and my heart drumming like that of a marathon racer. I was trapped with no escape as the devil cornered me. Sometimes, I begged for my life, and a few times, I fought for it, but it all ended the same; my body lifeless on the floor.

Like a phantom, Lance’s shadow floated into the dark room with his cane leading the way to where I stood. He purposely set down the stick on the kitchen island as he got closer, and my breath caught in my throat. He was so close that if I were quick enough, I would be able to successfully lodge the weapon in my hand deep into his chest before he could even grasp what was going on. I just needed to pluck up the courage, but then he stopped and held his hand out in front of him.

My gaze briefly shifted down to his open palm, bemused, and then back to his face. The moon’s silver light, penetrating my kitchen’s window, showered itself partially on Lance’s face as he stepped in front of me. I wished he didn’t have those glasses on so I could see his face properly and maybe even get an inkling of what was brewing in his mind. He truly had changed – grown. I had gotten a good look at him at the restaurant, but it still was staggering seeing him, especially with him so up close now. He looked like the Lance I first met when he was a teenager, but at the same time, he didn’t.

‘The knife, Dahlia.’ He uttered in a low raspy voice when I remained immobile. Of course, he knew. Lance Dvorak may not have his sight, but it was impossible to hide something from him.

‘I’m not here to hurt you, so don’t make me, because then I would also have to take care of the witnesses in your living room. Maybe I will start with your boyfriend, Andrew, was it?’ He added with a bloodcurdling smile. I felt sick to the stomach. He really was a stranger and not the sweet boy who once told me I had a friend in him. But then again, that boy never existed but was an illusion created to fool me.

Left with no choice, I dropped my only means of defense into his awaiting palm and watched him examine the object with his hands only.

‘What do you want?’ My voice came out as a faint whisper, almost unrecognizable. He was taller now, I noticed, as I had to crane my neck up a bit to look at him. We were nearly the same height the last time I saw him, with me taller then.

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t want our first meeting after so long to begin with threats.’

‘What do you want?’ I coldly repeated the question.

He moved in closer. ‘You know what I want, Miss Dahlia.’ He drawled in my ear, his face so close to mine as he held the knife to the skin of my neck. I stiffly pushed myself into the counter behind me, feeling the edge dig into my back. My breath seized as my name easily rolled off his tongue. I haven’t been called that in a long while. I had abandoned that name, buried it with my past.

With him this close, every breath I took was fifty-five percent just the scent of his woodsy cologne. Was this it? Seven years of running, and I still end up dead?

‘Your book.’ He announced, and I exhaled as he finally moved away, giving me breathing space. He kept the knife with him as he freely sauntered around the kitchen, faintly skimming his finger down the sharp blade. If he was trying to intimidate me, it was sadly working.

One who didn’t know Lance Dvorak, given his condition, would wonder how he was able to maneuver his way around a room that was unfamiliar to him without bumping into any objects, but I have lived with him long enough to not be surprised.

‘Why? Scared it exposes the real you?’

He ignored my comment. ‘Isabel will send over the contract sometime this week; go over it as much as you want, ask her whatever you want, any changes you want made, and let her know. Just please sign it.’ He stopped opposite the kitchen island, sliding my knife back into the block. My shoulders relaxed, seeing as the weapon was out of his hand now, but I still knew to keep my guard up.

‘And if I don’t?’ I lifted my chin, feeling a bit bolder. ‘I could go to the cops here, you know. This isn’t your little town where your family controls everything. You don’t own the law here.’ This was my house, and a different city. He couldn’t hurt me here without repercussions... right?

He smiled, slowly and condescendingly, that chills erupted all over my arms. ‘Oh Dahlia. If you were looking for a place where you would be safe from me, then I’m sorry, but you’re on the wrong continent.’

He picked up his cane from the island and headed for the entrance. He angled his head one last time in my direction as he was leaving, ‘Goodnight, Miss Dahlia. Sweet dreams.’ And just like that, he was gone. I felt the goosebumps on my skin as I rubbed my arms and listened to Tammy wish him goodbye in the living room, followed by the sound of my front door closing afterward.

Drew found me in the kitchen, curled in a corner, and being the sweet and concerned boyfriend he was, he picked me up and took me to bed. I had done weirder things, so he wasn’t surprised. Tammy knew to keep her distance because I was, of course, furious with her. All I wanted, anyway, was to be left to my thoughts.

I was no psychic, but if there was one thing I could predict, I knew that I was, in fact, not going to have “sweet dreams” tonight.