OLIVIA'S POV The glass doors of the gallery seemed to recoil as Lucious stepped through them.I stopped mid-motion, a stack of exhibition catalogs slipping from my fingers and scattering across the polished hardwood like fallen leaves. My heart, already erratic from my morning conversation with Kane, performed a frantic double-thud against my ribs.“Lucious.”He looked like a masterpiece that had been left out in a riot. His charcoal blazer was torn at the shoulder, the silk lining peeking through like a jagged wound. His lip was split, a dark crust of blood drying at the corner, and his left eye was already beginning to puff into a dull shade of violet. Yet, even battered, he carried himself with that cool, magnetic grace that drew everyone in.“Hello, dear,” he murmured, his voice a low, gravelly rasp. “I asked if I could see you, and I may or may not have used my name…sorry. I hope you don't mind.”“What on earth…” I moved toward him, my heels clicking a frantic rhythm. I didn't
Read more