“Oh, don’t pretend it’s something you haven’t seen before,” I said dryly, hoping this reverse psychology bit would work.
“I haven’t seen them before,” he replied as he sat. He swallowed hard. “Ready to talk?”
“Not really. Are you?” I drank water and let some drip on my breasts.
At this rate, under his lusty stare, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to stop with this teasing bluff. I was probably asking for more trouble than what I could handle with how he watched me, his chest heaving with faster breaths.
“You want me to talk?”
Actually, yeah. That’s literally all I’m supposed to be doing. Getting you to talk and share intel about the formation of the Obsidian Eye.
“Yeah.”
“About what?”
I had so many questions to ask him. But in this setting, with him in control and in power, I had to be careful. The last thing I needed was to open up the can of worms that the threat of the Obsidian Eye alliance was when he could know the secret was out and in the hands of the FBI. He’d surely kill me then. If I had him in custody and could question him with protection, then it’d be a completely different scenario.
Still, I’d gotten this far, and I refused to lose ground.
“Tell me what it’s like to live with the guilt of killing so many people.” I’d lean on all those psych courses I had to take in college.
“It’s easy.” He shrugged.
“It is? You don’t suffer from the guilt at all?”
“Why would I feel guilty about removing the filth and vermin from the earth?” He didn’t look away, answering me with so much sincerity that I knew he wasn’t acting or lying.
“Because. Because when you take a life, you know that’s wrong.”
He shrugged. “Then you’re no better than I am. You kill who you need to as well.”
“Yes. But with the law and the deliverance of justice behind me.”
“I’ve got my own law and form of justice.”
“Unofficial and unsanctioned,” I replied.
“What, are you going to offer me a job so I can do it with a different title?” He smirked.
“No.”Dammit.This wasn’t working.
“Try to paint me as the bad guy all you want, Sadie, but you and I aren’t so different when you really think about it.”
I shook my head. “I’m not buying that. You’re an assassin. A mobster. Some would even call you an unfeeling monster.”
His jaw slid as he exhaled a long breath and looked off to the side. “Unfeeling?”
“Don’t twist my words and say something relating to how you feel about fucking me.”
He smiled. “I do, though. I feel something very strongly about that.”
Shut up.I prayed my hard look would convince him to be serious for once.
“And I feel strongly about all my kills, too. I am proud to remove some of the fuckers who hurt innocents. And I am proud to serve my father in what he needs to keep our family safe.” As he furrowed his brow and lowered his gaze, though, I could tell he was being deeply serious, almost softer toward me as he opened up. I felt the vulnerability in his attitude.
“Some hits haunt me. Others amuse me. But you’re wasting your time and energy to call me a sadist. Look upon me as a monster. A dark sicko. A black soul not worth redemption.” He shrugged and sat back, casual in his posture once more. “It won’t change a single thing about what drives me. Just like I bet you would claim for yourself.”
I shook my head. “I’m not?—”
