“He hasn’t been in contact with you at all since then?” he asks, and I nod in response.
Silence stretches between us, heavy and suffocating. Andthe longer it lingers, the harder it becomes for me to breathe. He’s just standing there, still holding the pills in one hand and the crumpled receipt in the other, staring at me like he isn’t sure what to make of me anymore. Like he can’t decide if he wants to choke me or kiss me.
“You were sneaking out of the estate to chase leads on your sister, weren’t you?” he says suddenly. “So you can get her out of the clutches of the man holding her over your head.”
Oh.Oh.
He must have followed me one of those nights when I left the estate grounds.
The last night. It has to be that last one—the night I met that fucker who knew my real name.
Roan started calling me Katina right after, then had me move into his house. Not just to keep me close.
To watch me.
To stop me from sneaking out again.
My lips part in disbelief. It all makes sense now. “You—you saw me kill someone.” He saw me kill that mananddispose of his body. How did he remain hidden from me?
Because you dismissed your instinct like an idiot.
Ifelteyes on me that night, but I chalked it up to paranoia and kept going. Stupid.
The corner of Roan’s mouth twitches, the barest hint of a smile. “You were very efficient.”
I gasp, taking a step back.Efficient?
God—what if he recorded me?
Roan stops my retreat with a raised hand. “Frankly, I don’t give a shit about one less fucker in this world. Besides, I’ve killed more than my own fair share of jackasses to judge you for that.”
I nod slowly. True. He’s not exactly sitting on a moral high horse here, is he? Yet a wave of relief washes over me that he doesn’t think I’m some kind of monster. “So, um… what happens now?” I gesture between us. “Are you going to throw me back into thefrigorifer? Hand me over to Dhimitër to torture me?”
“That depends on you,” he starts, closing the distance between us. “So far, you’ve only passed along scraps—nothing he couldn’t have found out without you. But now, you’re most likely armed with more valuable information.” He stops in front of me, close enough that I feel the heat radiating off him. “Are you going to let that slip to my enemy?”
My heart pounds so hard my chest aches. Is he… giving me a chance? I search his eyes. “No,” I say, grounding myself in the word. “No, I’m not. I want to gain the upper hand. I’m done being used. Done having my sister held over me.”
“Good.” His voice rumbles with something warm and dark, and his hand glides down my arm. His fingers brush my skin, then twist until they’re wrapped loosely around my wrist. The breath punches out of me when my core clenches, my belly tightening in anticipation. “You have no loyalty to this man, do you?”
“N–no,” I stutter, and I inhale sharply. Get it together.
He’s not trying to seduce you.
“Then give it to me,” he murmurs. “Work with me to take down the man holding your sister hostage.”
Hope flares in my chest, bright for half a second before reality stomps it out. “That could put Kayla in danger and?—”
“Shhh.” He runs his thumb over my racing pulse. “I’ll find your sister and get her safely away from whoever’s holding her prisoner. But in exchange, you don’t give this person any more information. Instead, you trail him the next time you meet and find out who he is.”
“You think I haven’t tried that?” Frustration bubbles up, my thoughts starting to fizzle out under his touch, so I tug my wrist out of his grip and walk away from him towards the window, needing some fresh air so I can breathe. So I canthink.
“I did try once before,” I continue, staring out at the garden. “He figured it out within minutes and sent me a video of my sister getting hit. I learned my lesson. If I follow him again, she pays for it.”
He sighs, the sound edged with the same simmering frustration I feel.
“But—” I draw a deep breath as I turn back to face him. “I want to give it another try. With your help.” This is more than what I expected from him, more than I’d dared to hope for. “I’m done letting people use Kayla to control me.”
And with Roan Përmeti on my side, I have more than half a chance to actually win this fight.
