Benoit’s expression didn’t change, but Nikos saw the flicker of awareness in the bastard’s eyes.
He knows she’s shielding me.
“Kiki’s special. She is that rare, unique gem that comes unexpectedly into the world,” Benoit said, his voice still smooth as silk, “I’ll admit that I’m surprised that she let you in, though. Then again… Kiki knows how to use people to get what she wants.”
Nikos sneered. “You’re a fine one to talk. How often did you use her and the others for your own agenda?”
Benoit took a measured step closer.
“You’ve fallen under her spell,” he said, almost amused. “That’s one of her more… compelling talents.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Nikos growled.
Benoit continued to advance, one step at a time.
“Kiki knows how to get under someone’s skin,” Benoit murmured, “how to make them do what she wants. It’s instinctual. Genetic. And when she’s done…” He smiled, cruel and quiet. “She discards them. Makes them forget she was ever there… or worse.”
Nikos’s heart pounded harder, but it wasn’t doubt. It was rage. Controlled. Ice-cold. Building like pressure behind reinforced steel.
“You’ve kept her on the run. Never letting her have a life without looking over her shoulder.”
“She has a home,” Benoit said with a tilt of his head. “She belongs with me. You know it. I know it. Deep down, she knows it. Someone like Kiki needs what I can offer her… a place where she can be herself.”
Benoit paused, letting the silence stretch before he continued, “Has she told you about the men and women she’s killed? The ones who didn’t survive her… affection?” he asked softly, his voice sliding over the words like velvet over broken glass.
“It’s time for you to leave. I won’t give you a second chance. Our conversation here is over,” Nikos snapped, his fingers twitching on the rifle.
Benoit’s eyes gleamed, and for the first time, his smile reached his face in something more primal. “Would you stake your brother’s life on that?”
Nikos flinched inwardly.
Something shifted.
Movement to his right—small, subtle, menacing.
His eyes tracked it instinctively. The woman emerging from the shadows was lithe, dressed in black, her long hair pulled back tight, her steps soundless as she descended the porch.
A pistol gleamed in her hand. The barrel pressed against Markos’s temple.
“Drop your weapon,” the woman ordered, her voice calm. Deadly.
Markos’s hands were raised, his jaw tight, his gaze locked with Nikos’s.
Cosmos’s curse snapped in his ear, followed by Angel’s clipped snarl. “Where the hell did she come from? I can take the man.”
The sound of the front door opening echoed behind him. Benoit had achieved his goal.
He’d drawn Kiki out.
Created the perfect distraction.
“You stand down now,” Benoit said, all pretense of charm gone, “or your brotherdies.”
Kiki stepped into view.
Nikos didn’t dare take his eyes off Benoit, but he felt her behind him, her energy like a live current threading into his skin.
She took one step toward them.
