Kit took the phone reflexively and pressed it, still warm from James’s touch, to his ear. He licked his dry lips. “Did you miss me?”
Silence on the other end, until Bishop sighed. The sound was quiet, but so clear Kit could practically feel his hair stirring with the man’s breath. As if Kit stood pressed between both of them, Bishop behind him and James in front of him, with Kit too weak or too stupidly reckless to escape.
“Stay safe, all right?” Bishop said eventually, his gruff voice rumbling through Kit.
“Whatever,” Kit replied, deadpan, and handed the phone back to James—even as he tried not to reel from those simple words. The stark white hallway closed in around him, and he didn’t hear whatever James said before hanging up.
Stay safe.
Kit couldn’t remember the last time someone said something like that to him.
James’s fingertips beneath his chin broke Kit from his daze. “Hey,” James murmured, and stepped forward. Gently, confidently urging Kit backwards, until Kit pressed against the cold wall. “You don’t have to kiss me right now.”
Kit’s head tipped back to meet James’s eyes. He struggled to process the words, at complete odds with James’s movements. Tension and heat hummed between them. “What?”
James’s other hand dropped to Kit’s waist. “This is just for the cameras.”
Panic shot through Kit, before he realized what James meant. Security cameras. Nobody was watching them, taking photos of Kit. Security cameras were fine.
James’s thumb traced Kit’s hip bone through his thin shirt, all ticklish pressure and friction. A breath away from Kit’s lips, James said, “Touch me back. Just for a second.”
Both his hands fell to Kit’s hips now, every movement imprinting on Kit’s oversensitive nerves.
“Am I your alibi?” Kit asked, barely more than a whisper, and James just laughed.
Then his laughter fled, replaced with an appreciative hum as Kit touched his chest. Kit slid his palms up James’s chest. How much did the shirt cost? What would it look like, clawed and wrinkled beneath Kit’s nails? Solid muscle moved with James’s every breath. When Kit touched James’s neck, he found a pulse just as quick as his own beating beneath James’s golden tan skin.
James wasn’t nearly as calm as he appeared. Nervousness? Fear? Excitement?
Was James’s pounding pulse for Kit, or the murder he was about to commit?
“Is that enough?” Kit asked, and he was stupidly disappointed when James said, “Perfect.”
James pulled him into a restroom—a plain white single room, clearly not intended for the wealthy customers. As soon as the door swung closed, James separated from Kit and started tapping on his phone.
“I need you to stay here for fifteen minutes. There are no cameras in the bathroom, and I’m looping the hallway cameras now, so it will look like we’re both still in here.”
Kit leaned against the cold granite counter. “Did you hack the cameras? How does that work?”
“I own San Corvo Security. I installed these cameras, no hacking required.” James pocketed his phone. “I’ll be back when I’m done interviewing that scum.”
“Where are you going?” Kit asked, trying not to sound nervous. He was feeling that a lot this week. Nervous. Uncertain. He wasn’t sure it was a bad thing, after months of barely feeling anything.
“That door at the end of the hall leads to a stairwell, which leads to an underground garage. Scumbag of the Day is waiting there after receiving an urgent text from an associate.” James winked. “All you need to do is wait here, and I’ll pick you up when I’m done. If anyone asks, you came twice, and my cock is enormous.”
He didn’t wait for Kit’s reply before slipping out the door.
All Kit’s weight leaned on the counter. The edge hurt. He hugged himself, trying to steady his spinning thoughts enough to decide what to do.
It wasn’t too late to stop this.
It wasn’t too late to escape.
James wasn’t right next to Kit anymore, spiking his adrenaline with threats and temptation. Sharp thorns and soft white petals. James couldn’t stop Kit from calling the cops. From running out that door and ruining everything.
Instead, after a moment, Kit pulled out his phone and searched for the name Evelyn Zhou.
San Corvo Massacre! Business Mogul and Family Slain
