He didn’t know what he’d done to trigger her animosity—aside from having been born Breed. Her comments back at Asylum left no question that she wasn’t going to make it easy for him to establish any kind of footing in Cruz’s gang.
If he thought he was going to win her over with a few smiles and some small talk, he’d apparently overestimated his charm. Or underestimated her instant dislike for him.
He was in uncharted territory now. Blessed with a combination of his mother’s golden looks and his father’s bulk and swagger, Rafe was accustomed to having the undivided attention of any female he wanted.
Not this one.
And damn if that didn’t make him all the more determined to find out why.
“So, you and Cruz. You together?”
“As in a couple? No.” She denied it so fast it might as well have been a scoff. “Why? Do you assume because I’m female I must be sleeping with him? Or maybe you think they’re all sharing me?”
An instant, uninvited image of her being passed between those four rough men filled his mind before he could stop it. He had no right to feel the spike of aggression, of protectiveness, that swept through him on the heels of that unwelcome possibility.
He shook his head, if only to dislodge the vision. “Just trying to understand the situation.”
And yeah, he wanted to know why a beautiful, clearly intelligent woman like her was wasting time hanging around a criminal element like Cruz and his pals. If not out of personal involvement, then what brought her to them?
What made her protective of Cruz and his criminal endeavors when Rafe wasn’t sure she even liked the man?
Or was it her own secrets she was trying to protect?
The whole reason he was there was to find out if the gang had a connection to Opus Nostrum, and, if so, who was at the other end of the string. That meant no one could be above suspicion. For all he knew, he might be looking at that connection right now.
As if sensing his increased scrutiny of her, she glanced away from him and didn’t look back. “I’m not with Cruz or anyone else. I don’t mix business with pleasure.”
Rafe grunted. “Smart policy. So, what kind of business are we talking about?”
“We aren’t. You’re the only one who keeps talking.”
“Must be lucrative,” he pressed. “Maybe there’s room for me in there somewhere.”
“There’s not.”
Something resembling fear flashed across her face in the instant she swung her head around to look at him. But she tamped it down just as quickly, shuttering her expression.
Rafe believed she wasn’t involved with Cruz or any of the other men in his gang, but he wasn’t buying for a second that her defensiveness had anything to do with loyalty to them. Her reaction right now was personal.
And so was her desperation to get away from him and his questions.
Because she was hiding something.
Lying about something.
Hell, right now he wasn’t sure he could believe anything that was coming out of her pretty mouth.
That didn’t mean he was ready to accept that fact and walk away. Far from it.
Sensing her secrecy only made him want to peel her apart layer by layer until he was satisfied he had the answers he needed. Whether he did that by charm, force, or some other means to his advantage, he damn well didn’t care. All that mattered was his mission.
Until he had a name or a face that would lead him to Opus Nostrum’s inner circle, everything else was just a matter of clearing obstacles.
Even if they were beautiful ones like her.
Hell, especially then.
She swung her legs off the bench and abruptly stood up. “This conversation is over. You want to know anything about Cruz or his business, ask him yourself.”
