Sweet Temptation by Cora Reilly

open, then stumbled toward the crib. Simona lay unmoving and everything in me
stilled. In the one second I considered her death, I understood why Gaia wanted
to kill herself after losing Andrea. I wrenched Simona up so fast, she came
awake with an ear-splitting scream. God, it was the most beautiful sound in the
world. I clutched her to my chest despite her relentless cries and kissed the top of
her head over and over again.
Loulou barked then squeaked. Simona in my arms, I walked out of the room.
Daniele stood in the corridor a few steps from his mother’s bedroom, clamping
Loulou against his chest. The dog squirmed wildly. As I came closer, I saw its
fur was covered in blood and so was its muzzle. Daniele’s arms, too, were red. I
rushed toward him and knelt down, holding Simona in one arm as I touched his
cheek. “Daniele, what happened?” My fingers flew over his small body, looking
for injuries, but he was unscathed.
“Found Loulou. Where’s Mom?”
The dog snapped wildly until Daniele finally dropped it. It rushed through
the crack of the door into Gaia’s bedroom. Daniele made a move as if to follow. I
grabbed his wrist. Cold dread pierced my every bone. “No. Were you in there?”
“Mom was asleep. Is she awake now?”
My throat clogged up. “No. She’s still sleeping. Go downstairs to Sybil. She
needs to clean you.”
Daniele jutted his chin out. “I want Mom.”
“Daniele, go downstairs.”
Slowly, he backed away then disappeared down the stairs. Simona had
quieted in my hold. She was too small to understand, and yet I couldn’t take her
into the bedroom with me knowing what I’d find.
I returned her to her crib before I slowly made my way to Gaia’s bedroom.
Pushing open the door, I slipped inside. A familiar scent drifted into my nose; it
had never meant anything to me, but from this day on it would. Even knowing
what I’d find, the sight slammed into me like a punch to the gut. I approached
the bed slowly. One of Gaia’s arms hung limply down the side of the bed, still
dripping blood onto the hardwood floor. Loulou perched beneath it, licking the
sticky fingertips eagerly. It sat in a puddle of blood—the amount of which told
me that I didn’t have to call an ambulance. My business required I knew how
much blood a human body could lose before I needed to take countermeasures to
prevent a premature death—before all the necessary information was extracted
from the person.
Gaia was gone.
Blood kept dripping down on Loulou, and the goddamn thing kept licking it
up eagerly. Enraged, I snatched the dog up by its neck, staggered toward the
door, and tossed it into the hallway. It landed with a squeak before it dashed off.
I stared down at my blood-covered hands then at the lifeless body of my
wife. Slowly, I closed the door in case Daniele came by. A bloody handprint
remained on the white-lacquered wood.
Daniele didn’t need to see more of this. I turned back to the gruesome scene.