“A union in dangerous times,” he muses. “Let’s hope it lasts.”
I smile with teeth.
“Oh, it will.”
Because I’ll fucking kill everything on this planet before I let her go.
I don’t say that part out loud. But I’m hoping he reads it in my eyes.
Shun Li gestures to the waiter, and a round of crystal tumblers arrives—whiskey, of course.
Turkish, smoky, too soft for my mood.
* * *
“To peace,” he says, raising his glass.
I raise mine too, but I don’t drink. Not yet.
“Peace is for men who’ve finished fighting,” I murmur. “I’m just getting started.”
He laughs. Too loud. A little forced.
But I don’t look at him again.
My attention is on Cecilia—her chin lifted, her eyes scanning the guards, her fingers steady on the stem of her wineglass.
She’s doing everything right.
And still, I want to drag her out of here and lock her in the suite where no one else can see her.
Because she doesn’t belong in this world.
And I’ll be damned if it eats her alive.
We move to a secluded area. A few lounge chairs sitting in a corner. The perfect spot for our guards to take up their positions around us.
Shun Li doesn’t waste time.
He sets down his glass, untouched on the small table between the chairs, and leans in just a fraction. Enough to signal that what comes next won’t be polite.
“I must say, I am surprised ot hear you’ve taken a wife. Especially, with my boss’s offer.”
“Your boss offered a child bride I had no interest in. As you can see, I am spoken for,” I reply, squeezing Cecilia’s knee, and drawing his gaze.
“Indeed. Well, your uncle will be surprised as well.”
“My uncle?”
“Indeed, Dimitri Stavros reached out to us weeks ago,” he says, watching me carefully.
The words are calm. Measured.
Mine are not.
“He did what?”
Shun Li lifts one hand.
