“We’re the orcas.”
“Jesus.” I sat down in the chair.
Christian sat at my feet, his black eyes glittering with firelight. “I know what you’re gonna say; just hear me out. I used to admire sharks. They’re rogues, like us. But lately I’m feeling less like a shark and more like—”
“Free Willy?”
He scratched his beard. “Orcas are intelligent apex predators. They’re strategic and hunt in deadly pods of twenty or more. They’re the ones who prey on the sharks. They use echolocation to hunt.”
“I guess that explains your exceptional hearing. You’re just communicating with your pod.”
He gave me a mirthless smile. “I’m an impulsive man, but I’m also a patient one. I nabbed Fletcher and kept him to myself. Had he not been freed, I would have dragged it out for years. I don’t know how I’ll feel about seeing him with Lenore, but I know one thing: we can’t let her draw us into whatever trap she’s setting. An emotional trap. Now we know why she wanted you there instead of me. Not for privacy. She was hoping you’d lash out. Either do something to get arrested or make Viktor fire you.”
“I know. I confronted her on it.”
He blanched. “Y-You confronted her?”
“Yep. Maybe that’ll shake things up. She thinks she’s untouchable, so I wanted her to hear from my mouth that we were enemies. That she crossed a fucking line she’ll never be able to uncross. And you know how much it burns me that we can’t go after her. You bought my life with that promise, and I’d never do anything to put your life in danger. That doesn’t mean I can’t ruin her world and tear down every dream she’s ever had, every relationship she’s ever built. I don’t want to be an orca. I want to be a termite or black mold. Something invasive that destroys everything around her.”
He leaned against my legs and held my hand. “That’s my girl.”
“I want them to suffer. I just don’t know how to handle Fletcher. What if she brings him over here?”
“I’ll talk to Viktor.”
“The hell you will.”
“I won’t tell him about that. Too many questions.”
I traced my thumb over his dark eyebrow, studying the contours of his face. “I have certain places I feel safe in, and I don’t want him anywhere near those places. I don’t know how you’ve maintained your composure each time Lenore pops in.”
“Every dog has its day.”
I threaded my fingers through my hair as he watched me. “Do you think if we were both human, we would’ve wound up together?”
“Aye. You would have crashed into me and ruined my car because of your terrible driving.”
“After one look at my legs, you would have asked me out on a date to the zoo.”
“And we lived happily ever after. Until I spent all your money gambling and you planned my murder to recoup the money in life insurance.”
A smile touched my lips. “Maybe an accident on a safari. I speed away in the Jeep while you try to outrun a pack of rhinos.”
“A poetic ending, to be sure. Except you forgot one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“A safari falls under hazardous activities, so your claim was denied.”
I shrugged. “I guess my only joy would come out of having you stuffed with the rhino’s horn up your ass.”
Christian rose up on his knees and wedged himself between my legs, his soft lips barely touching mine. For a fleeting moment, I forgot about Fletcher. I forgot about Lenore’s tight grip on our lives. Only Christian could erase the pain.
“It’s a crash,” he said.
“What is?”
“You said a pack of rhinos. A group of rhinos is called—”
