I shouldn’t notice the warmth of his fingers. I shouldn’t notice the small scrape of his fingertips against my skin; the faint rasp of calluses that say he’s done more than bark orders at men. I shouldn’t think about any of that because the deal we made is already at the forefront of my mind.
A week. In his bed. In exchange for Archer’s life. Starting tonight, after my brother is safe.
“You’re quiet,” Dominik says as he and Viktor put on their vests with practiced movements, like they do it as often as brushing their teeth.
“I’m nervous, okay?” It comes out sharper than I mean. Despite wanting it, I’m still angry at the deal I made, at myself for the way his comforting scent makes my knees feel like they’ve forgotten how to stay together.
His lips tip up half a degree. “Try taking a deep breath.”
“I know how to breathe,” I say. Then I do it for real when he slides two fingers under the vest near the edge of my collarbone and adjusts the strap, so the Kevlar won’t bite. The touch is barely anything. My mind still turns it into more.
“Tell me the plan again,” I say, because talking passes the time.
“We’ll arrive at the meeting spot shortly,” he says. “Archer will see that you’re alive and well, hand over the cash. My men will search him. After that, we’ll all get in the SUVs and leave.”
“And then?”
“Then, your brother stays somewhere close, under guard, where we can count the money and question him about wherethe guns went.” His eyes lift to mine, steady. “And you will come back home with me.”
I nod because anything else would be an admission I’m not ready to make in a moving car with other men.
We leave the chaos of the city behind and take an exit onto a narrow road. The river falls away to our right, then the buildings change. The glass boxes become rundown warehouses. Somewhere farther south, a horn blares a ship’s arrival, departure, or a complaint. It’s followed by silence.
“He’s going to come,” I say with more confidence than I currently feel.
“Archer said he would,” Dominik offers, but he doesn’t do false comfort. That’s why he adds, “He also said we could trust him before he stole from us. I hope he’s telling the truth today.”
I press my palms against my knees and focus on the feeling of the dress’s soft cotton fabric against my skin. “Archer makes rash decisions sometimes, but he keeps his promises to me.”
“People like your brother have a talent for meaning their promises when it’s the most convenient for them. I hope that’s not a genetic flaw.”
“I don’t make promises I can’t keep,” I assure him since he obviously thinks I’m going to change my mind about spending a week with him once my brother is safe.
That would probably be the best way to go about it, but I’m not a liar. And I’m not naïve enough to think that Dominik wouldn’t back out of his agreement to keep Archer alive if I refused him. The contract we both signed this morning failed to mention what happens if one of us is in breach of our agreement. I’m pretty sure that was on purpose.
While it was all typed up on a simple sheet of paper, it felt like I signed it in something more permanent than ink.
“Does your brother keep his promises?” I don’t know why I ask Dominik this question. Maybe because changing the subjectand thinking about a different brother might keep me from wanting to shout at mine.
“Always,” he says. “Even the ones you wish he wouldn’t.”
“And you?”
His gaze doesn’t move from mine. “I keep the ones I speak. I’m careful about which ones those are and who I give them to.”
I appreciate his honesty. I appreciate everything he’s done to make me feel safe.
“When we arrive, you will stay behind me at all times. Is that understood?” Dominik asks.
“We’re just meeting up with my brother,” I remind him. “Archer wouldn’t be insane enough to come armed.”
“He’s not just your brother in this scenario, though, is he? He’s the idiot who stole crates of high-powered weapons and sold them to the highest bidder.”
I hate his logic. I hate that it’s the only thing that keeps the gravity of this meeting from grinding down my bones.
Viktor speaks from the front for the first time. “Truck at the corner. Engine off. Two silhouettes. Might be sleeping. Might be pretending.”
“Agreed.” Dominik’s hand grazes the back of my arm like a tether. Bringing his mouth so close to my ear, I can feel his breath, he says, “Just stay behind me, hellcat.”
