“I know.” My brows rose. “Do you want to know how I know?”
“Enlighten me.”
“Because my childhood sucked like yours did. And I’m incredible—which means you’re incredible.”
Rune’s grin spread to his eyes, making his golden gaze sparkle under the sun. “Beautiful, tough, and brilliant. I may have gotten lucky in the mate arena.”
“Luck is for pussies.”
He gurgled on a laugh. “Did you just call me a pussy?”
“Well, since you like them so much… You know what they say, don’t you?”
“I can’t wait to hear it.”
I winked. “You are what you eat.”
* * *
Rune jerked me to a stop and pointed at the building. “This is where we’re going.”
“The Corporate Army headquarters?” I asked in surprise.
He nodded. “That would be it.”
“But why are we going here?”
“Because this is how I’m going to take your father down.” His gaze was patient.
I brushed a stray strand of my hair off my forehead. “They’re going to help you take his businesses?”
“In a manner of speaking.” His smile was gentle, a bit sheepish. “I did lie to you that one day. I needed you to believe the story and had to be convincing. I don’t actually want his businesses for myself. My friends and I are trying to keep New City clean and safe. Your father’s businesses are not that. I’m going to use the help of the CA to take those businesses out on a single night—so there’s no way for him to jump ship and move anything anywhere else. The attack needs to be coordinated and precise. The CA can handle that.”
My jaw hung open. “I’m not mad about you lying.”
Rune’s chest lowered tremendously as he heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank you for saying that. I was kind of worried you’d be pissed at me.”
I stomped hard on his foot. A feral grin lifted my lips.
“Goddammit!” He hopped around on one foot, staring at me with wide eyes. “What the hell was that for?”
“Of course, I’m mad at you! I thought I already knew the whole story.” I aimed a sharp finger at his face, having to lift and lower my arm with each hop he took. “Don’t you lie to me again, Rune Mason.”
He limped on his foot, grimacing with each step toward me. “That fucking stings. I forgot what it’s like to not heal immediately.”
A little guilt filtered into my gut. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have done it so hard.”
He grunted. “Well, I learned my lesson. Don’t lie to the mate. She gets testy.”
I nodded once and then stared down my nose at him.
He muttered, “What?”
“I apologized for your foot. You should apologize in return for lying.”
“I already did that the day I got out of jail,” he grumbled.
“Rune…”
