But saying no to Remy wasn’t a skill I’d mastered. He asked, and I showed up. Every damn time. And if Valentina didn’t get her shit together soon, Remy would come knocking, and I’d be the one expected to clean up whatever disaster she left behind.
The sooner Valentina disappeared from this circle, the sooner I could catch a flight back to DC.
She stopped near the fire with her back to the room, holding her hands out toward the flames as if they might actually warm her through the cold.
I stopped a few feet away, watching her for a moment longer than I should have done. Then I stepped closer, the sound of my shoes catching her attention. Her head turned slightly, just enough for her eyes to find mine.
She scanned the suit, the tie. I could almost see the dots connecting in her mind.
“Youarestalking me.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “I could say the same about you.”
Her eyebrow lifted, her expression just shy of sarcastic.“You’re like a bad penny. Or a private investigator.”
“I’m not a PI,” I said, because I wasn’t about to get roped into whatever narrative she was building in her head.
She gave me a skeptical side-eye as if she wasn’t entirely convinced. “Then what are you?”
“A lawyer,” I said, pausing just long enough to add, “You know that.”
Her demeanor changed instantly. She didn’t look at me, but I could tell she was piecing things together, her mind working faster than her tongue.
“Let me guess,” she said after a pause. “You work for Max.”
It wasn’t a question, so I didn’t answer.
She let out a short, humorless laugh, shaking her head. “Figures. You’re all the same—speak in circles, dodge the real question, and call it clever.”
“I don’t dodge questions. I just don’t answer the ones that don’t matter.”
“Of course,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Because it doesn’t matter that Max has you on a leash, right?”
I tipped my head slightly. “A leash implies I don’t know where I’m going.”
“And do you?”
“Always.”
“You’ve got a habit,mijo.”
“Marco,” I corrected, hating the name she’d saddled me with.
“What?”
“My name is Marco.”
“Well, Marco, do you really expect me to believe this is a coincidence?
“No,” I said, my voice calm. “I don’t.”
She blinked, clearly not expecting the honesty. “So what then? Max sends you to keep tabs on me?”
I tilted my head, studying her. “Would that surprise you?”
Her lips pressed into a thin line. “No,” she said finally. “It wouldn’t.”
“Then why ask?”
