Mr. Sugar: A disturbing psychological thriller with a twist of dark romance

by L. D. Fox

  “Angel Dunne,” he said, sliding onto a knee on the thick carpet beside Angel’s chair. “Will you marry me?”

  28

  Perfect Fit

  Angel gripped the armrests of her chair until her knuckles went white. She blinked hard a few times, willing the buzzing in her ears to quiet so she could think. Because right now, with that drone and the pounding of her heart that sounded as if it was drumming against the inside of her skull, thought was impossible.

  Drew’s fond smile stretched. He hoisted the small box higher as if she’d somehow missed the glittering ring inside it.

  He laughed, giving his lawyer a faint, abashed smile before looking back at her. “This is usually the part where you say yes,” he said in a stage whisper.

  She forced moisture into her mouth. Swallowed. Reached for her soda and took a massive gulp of the ice cold liquid. It fizzed hard against her tongue, and that dragged her brain from the part-catatonic state it had slipped into.

  “You want to… marry… me?” she managed.

  “I know we haven’t known each other that long,” Drew said, talking faster than she’d ever heard him speak. “But I’ve never felt this alive. This… energized. You’ve made me the happiest man in the world, Angel, and I want to wake up next to you for the rest of my life.” He ducked his head a little, again proffering the ring. “If you’ll have me.”

  Her hand moved autonomously; sliding into the air between them, draping limply over Drew’s as he slid the ring over her finger.

  It was a perfect fit.

  “I… this is…” but Harry seemed incapable of alliterating whatever was going through his head.

  “Is that a yes?” Drew whispered to her. He squeezed her fingers hard enough to make her flinch when she tried to draw her hand from his.

  She nodded. Blinked away sudden, confused tears before they could fall.

  Drew’s smile became a grin. He stood, brushed a kiss over her forehead, and sat back in his seat. Then he turned to Harry, putting the ring box back into his pocket with trembling fingers.

  “Fiancé,” he said to Harry, grinning.

  Her heart thundered in her chest. She closed her hand into a fist and shoved that fist into her lap, trying to crush the sensation of that cool band of platinum that lay encircled her finger. Surprisingly, no thoughts were vying for attention. Not a single one. Her mind was empty, silent except for a fading buzz.

  It made everything sound as if she was under water. Like she was relaxing in a tub of water the same temperature as her skin so she couldn’t feel it anymore.

  “Congratulations, Drew,” Harry said unsteadily. He shuffled a few of the papers in front of him, spread them out again. Stirred his coffee. Added another sugar. Stirred it again. “I mean… just… congrats.”

  “Thanks, Harry. Now, I’ll need you to make sure she gets an income too, same as Penny. More, of course, as my spouse. Do we need to open another income fund, or could we just extend the one I already have?”

  Her heart began a deliberate thumping as her teeth clamped together.

  This was what she wanted, so why the fuck did she suddenly feel so powerless? Like she’d stumbled into a spider’s web, and every time she struggled, more of that invisible web clung to her. Trapping her.

  Suffocating her.

  “I—it would be better to open a new one.”

  “This has nothing to do with the commission, right?”

  Harry made a strangled sound that could have been an attempt at a laugh. “Of course not. You might want different payouts, lower risk.” Harry’s voice strengthened. “We’d also need to look at additional life benefits on your life policy—”

  “Sounds good, Harry. All sounds good.”

  A hand clapped over her thigh. She was too shell-shocked to jump. “Jesus, I mean, can you believe it? Look at her, would you?”

  “Yeah that’s—” Harry cut off with a cough. “That sure is something.” A cup clinked against a saucer. “It’s going to take me a few days to—”

  “One last thing.”

  The buzzing in her ears cut off as if Drew’s word had vanquished a spell of his own making. Angel turned her head to him, her neck stiff and her fingers beginning to thrum where she gripped them in her lap.

  “Hmm?” Harry looked up from his pad.

  “I need to add a new trustee.”

  “A new—?” Harry glanced at her as if expecting to hear her name.

  “Bryce.”

  Her heart began pounding in earnest. She swallowed hard, sitting forward slowly, swallowing again.

  “Bryce? Bryce Sugar? As in, your brother?” Harry put his pen down, crossed his arms, and frowned hard at Drew. “Drew, as your lawyer—” he broke off, cast her a hard glance, and then leaned closer to Drew as he dropped his voice “—as your friend, I don’t—”

  Drew laughed. “Hear me out, Harry.”

  Harry shifted his arms. “I’m listening.”

  “The past?” Drew stuck out his arm, flicking his fingers toward the wall. “It’s in the past. I’m living in the now.” He pointed down, between his feet, and then gave her a sidelong glance. “Right here, right fucking now.”

  This time, when he leaned to the side and squeezed her thigh, she managed a watery smile.

  “Bryce is an asshole, but he’s still my brother. And my brother came to me this week to ask for my forgiveness.”

  Angel’s fingertips became numb. She glanced at Drew under her lashes, then blinked, staring at the space between them as her mind scrambled.

  Forgiveness?

  “What kind of man would I be if I couldn’t forgive my own brother?”

  He’d have told her. He’d have said something, anything, before now. So why was he lying to the lawyer about this?

  “Plus, if this woman here’s taught me anything, it’s that life is fickle. One minute you’re drudging through every day as if you wished it was your last. The next?” He cupped the side of her face in his hand, his dark eyes crinkling as he bathed her in a fond smile. “The next thing you know, your whole world’s upside down and you’re loving it.”

  “But, Drew, Bryce is—”

  “Qualified,” Drew cut in, his voice going hard as he turned to the lawyer.

  “But why this? Did he ask you to—?”

  “This is my decision, Harry,” Drew cut in quietly.

  “But—But You were adamant he be kept out of this when we drew up the trust.” Harry grabbed Drew’s file and began flipping through it. “There’s even a provision that—”

  “Then change it.” Drew got to his feet, resting his knuckles on the table as he leaned over to the lawyer. Harry leaned back, eyes going wide and the page he’d been about to flip over slipping from his fingers. “This trust is revocable until the day I die. Last time I checked—” Drew held out his hand and pressed his fingertips to the inside of his wrist “I still have a fucking pulse.”

  Harry slowly closed the file. “Co-trustee?” He murmured, ducking his head low over his pad.

  “Of course not.” Drew snorted. “I’m not an idiot. Successor trustee.”

  Harry nodded. “That’s… sensible.”

  “Course it is.” Drew sat down again, tugging at his suit as if he’d just had a fist fight with the man.

  Her voice finally came to her then, weak and trembling. “Successor trustee?”

  He glanced at her as if he was surprised she was still in the room. “It means he handles the trust if something happens to me.”

  “Something… happens?” Her hand shook when she grabbed her soda and took a swallow of it.

  “If Drew becomes incapacitated or dies,” Harry put in without looking up from his scribbles.

  “So.” Drew slapped his hands on the chair’s armrests. “Where do I sign?”

  Harry wrote for a few seconds longer, and then slowly put down his pen. “Oh, well, it’ll take at least two weeks for me to—”

  Drew’s laugh cut him off. “Today, Harry. I need this d
one today.”

  “Today?” Harry glanced at them, a slow smile spreading on his mouth as if they were punking him and he’d just put two and two together. “Drew, that’s—”

  “I’ll triple your usual fee for this sort of thing.” Drew waved a hand at Henry’s scribbles. “Does Bryce need to sign anything?”

  “No, not yet. But he’ll have to come in to fetch the restatement of declaration—”

  “Courier the docs to me. He’s tied up at work at the moment, but I’m seeing him this weekend. I’ll make sure he gets them.”

  “How did he… is he happy about—” Harry glanced at them, putting his elbow on the table and pressing his mouth closed with his fingertips.

  “Oh, he doesn’t know yet. Not about any of it.” Drew grinned widely. “It’s a surprise.”

  He grabbed her arm, tugged her to her feet despite the sound of protest she made.

  “I’ll tell him right after we’ve made the announcement.”

  Harry got to his feet, smoothing the edges of his suit over his bulk with an absent hand. “Are you sure this is wise, Drew?”

  “Of course.” Drew frowned at her, and then back at Harry. “He’ll be a model trustee if something happens to me; he’s completely unbiased.”

  “So he has no prior relationship with Miss—” Harry waved in her direction, swallowing air as if he’d forgotten her surname.

  “Relationship?” Drew glanced down at her, laughed, and squeezed her tighter. “Oh, they fucked once. But that — just like everything else — is all in the past.”

  Harry’s mouth gaped as Drew maneuvered her out of the office. Dee sat perfectly still at her reception desk as they walked past. Like the Mona Lisa, only her eyes followed them.

  29

  Short Notice

  Drew stood outside Kelly’s front door, collar turned up against the wind sniffing around him. The air wasn’t cold, but the drizzle that breeze blew against his skin was. He was shivering by the time Kelly answered her door.

  “Drew.” Her olive eyes widened. “What are you—? Come in. You must be freezing out there.”

  She reached for him, drew him inside, closed the door behind him. Drew huddled into his coat for a moment before slipping out of it and hanging it on her coat rack.

  “Coffee?”

  “Please.” He followed her into her kitchen.

  The cookies had been packed away. Three boxes of them had been set neatly against a cupboard deeper inside her kitchen. She glanced at him over her shoulder, giving him a warm smile as she set out two coffee mugs.

  “How’ve you been?”

  “As well as can be expected.”

  Kelly paused, coffee decanter in hand. “That doesn’t sound good.”

  “It’s not.” He shrugged, stared at the mugs. “But what’s done is done.”

  Kelly’s face lit up. Probably, because she thought he’d told Angel to get lost. He barely managed to suppress a sarcastic smile.

  She brought him his coffee, cocked her head at the boxes of cookies. “I still have some. You want?”

  “Already had more than my recommended daily allowance of sugar today, thanks.” He smiled at her, turned to the living room. “Can we sit?”

  “Sure.” Her eyebrows twitched in surprise before she brought them under control. “Sure.”

  She led him into the TV room. The set was off, but the curtains were drawn as if she planned to resume watching. She put her coffee cup down and opened the curtains as he took a seat on the pale leather sofa.

  “So…” Kelly came to sit beside him, giving him a small smile as she took up her coffee cup. She slid her legs under her and twisted to face him, propping her elbow on the armrest.

  She wore pale green leggings — thick and ribbed — and a pair of fluffy white socks that almost came to her knees. A long, pale pink sweater that ended mid-thigh completed whatever the hell look she’d been going for.

  “So.” Drew shifted and set his coffee cup down on the table. “Are you busy this weekend?”

  Her eyebrows perked up again. “No. I mean…” she blushed faintly, glancing away. “I might be going out with some friends on Saturday. But I haven’t confirmed anything yet.” She took a sip of coffee, her eyes darting back to him. “Why?”

  “I’m selling my lakehouse.”

  “Oh. Okay.” Kelly’s eyes widened slightly. “That’s… good. I guess?”

  He shook his head, let out a small laugh. “I’m heading over there this weekend. Saying goodbye, I guess you could say. There’s more than enough room — four beds — if you’d like to come with?”

  Now those dark green eyes of hers were round and uncertain. “That… that sounds amazing.”

  “So you’ll come?”

  “It’s a bit short notice,” she murmured into her coffee, her breath stirring the surface.

  “Live a little.” He grinned at her, reached over and grabbed her thigh.

  She didn’t flinch at the touch, but she also didn’t look down at his hand. “I guess… it’s just for the weekend?”

  “I’m leaving tonight. It’s a long drive.”

  “How long?”

  “Six hours.”

  “That is long.” Her eyes darted to the black television screen, to the rain outside. Down to her coffee. “Who else is going?”

  “I’m not sure yet.”

  Kelly’s mouth twisted to the side. “Is she going?”

  He shrugged. “She hasn’t decided.”

  “Well…” Kelly pushed back her shoulders and set her mug down. “I’ll go if she doesn’t.”

  Drew laughed. He squeezed her thigh again, but this time she drew her leg out from under his leg. “Kelly—”

  “We spoke about this.” She crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her chin out at him. “And I was serious. I don’t like that girl.”

  “I heard you.” He sighed then, rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, and took up his cup again. Turning from her so he could look out the window, Drew took a few slow sips of coffee.

  Kelly shifted on the couch, uncrossing her arms, crossing them again. Taking up her coffee, putting it down.

  He waited.

  “I mean, why don’t you let her stay at your house?” Kelly asked. “Then I would love to come with. It could be… romantic.”

  He looked across at her. “I know you probably won’t get this, but I’m going to try and explain anyway.”

  Kelly bristled at that like he knew she would, pursing her lips and gripping both her arms in a white-knuckled grip. “Oh, go ahead,” she said in a tight voice. “And please, use small words.”

  He shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut again. “She came here because she has nowhere else to go. And I mean nowhere else.”

  “Doesn’t she stay in a dorm?”

  “My daughter dropped her, Kelly. They were supposed to spending the break together, and then she bailed.” He sighed, ran his hand down his face. “I feel responsible for her.”

  “Surely her own parents can—”

  “They’re dead.”

  It was a long shot, and one he wasn’t sure Angel would corroborate if pressed, but it was all he had. And, from what he’d figured out about that raven-haired girl who waited for him next door, at least one of her parents had to be out of the picture.

  “Oh my God… That’s…” Kelly’s face softened only for a moment before she pressed her lips into a thin line again. “That’s not your problem. And you shouldn’t make it yours, either.”

  “I find it hard to turn away people in need, Kelly.”

  And if the stiffness in his voice hadn’t been the deciding factor, maybe the way he rose jerkily to his feet and refused to look at Kelly when she made a small sound of protest.

  “I really wish you could have come with. It’s beautiful out there. So peaceful. No traffic. No noise. Just nature. A goddamn abundance of it.”

  He was in the hallway, putting on his coat, when Kelly padded up behind him. She caught hol
d of his sleeve and tugged at him until he turned back to her.

  “You broke it off with her?”

  Searching her face, he said. “There was nothing to break off. I told you, it was a one-time thing.”

  “Okay.” Kelly licked her lips, inhaled hard enough that her breasts pushed against the thick wool of her sweater. “I’ll come.”

  He smiled widely at her. “I can’t wait.”

  “Let me know what time. What I have to bring.” She let out a small laugh. “Where it is.”

  “I’ll text you.” He turned to the door, paused, and then swung back to her.

  In two steps, he was in front of her. Her eyes were still going wide when he scooped her up against him and smoothed back her hair from her face with both hands. He searched her eyes, glanced down at her mouth.

  “Thank you, Kelly.”

  “For what?” she asked, a touch breathlessly.

  “Giving me a second chance.” He pressed his lips to hers, waiting until she responded before deepening the kiss.

  She squirmed, pressing her body against his and going to tiptoes so she could press her lips harder against his. Wrapping his fingers around the back of her neck, Drew turned, pushing her gently against the wall. She made a soft sound at that, both her hands going to his shoulders. His hand slid down to caress her breast. This earned him a moan, long and sensual, that vibrated against his lips.

  He stepped away, holding her at arm’s length, blinking at her.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I just…”

  She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. He brushed his thumb over her lips, gave her an unsteady smile, and let himself out of the house.

  Outside, rain pattered onto his face as he hurried down Kelly’s lawn to her gate. He glanced back to close it and hesitated when he saw that her door was still open.

  Kelly stood at the threshold, one hand over her heart, the other clutching the door frame like she needed the support. When he looked at her, she gave him a small, uncertain wave. He smiled at her, nodded, and trudged home through the puddles of rain that had collected on his drive.