Absurdly, all three male soldiers instantly started stepping back from him, blatant fear etching their stoic features.
“I will smack you the next time you call me that. You know my damn name. Use it.” She shoved her knives into their protective sheaths on her thighs, and then pointed a finger at the men in her group. “You’re scaring them. They think you’re here to kill them.”
Cassander snorted. And grinned.
“Wait,areyou here to kill one of them?” Poppy blinked.
The three muscular men took five more steps back.
I had to admit, this was entertaining. Even if morbid.
Cassander pushed his hood back, revealing his entire face.
Damn…Hello, pretty pretty.
He grumbled. “No, I didn’t even bring my weapons. They’d get buried in the wreckage.”
“What wreckage?” Poppy’s lips pursed.
He unbuttoned his fur coat as he walked on unsteady legs to one of the boxes in the middle of the space. Using his bare toes, he dug them under the box, and then kicked it up into the air. No one paid attention to the empty box as it landed across the room. All eyes were glued to the obvious bomb right before them.
Cassander pointed the bottle at it. Took another drink. “Twenty seconds. If you try to run, you’ll be under the rubble for weeks until they can dig you out. Dying and dying and dying. I hate fucking dying.”
I stared at the odd man. He didn’t make a lot of sense.
Poppy crossed her arms and sighed heavily. “I’m not a fan of it either.” No fear showed whatsoever. Her brown eyes peered up into his gunmetal silver gaze. “So the top floor is the best for this?”
“We’ll still die, but Rune will have us out in a day.” He shrugged.
“Give me the bottle.” The redhead held her hand out.
Cassander handed it over. “I thought you might want a sip.”
Poppy swallowed a plentiful gulp. She smacked her lips and eyed the wine bottle. “That’s good shit.”
“I may be a vagabond, but I have great taste.”
She chuckled quietly, then whispered, “Thanks for coming.”
The man locked eyes with her. “You’re welcome.” His lips trembled, and then he winked. “Ms. Carvene.”
Poppy’s eyes narrowed, and her empty hand rose.
Boom.I jerked in my chair.
Her hit never made contact with his head.
Fire blasted over the screen, and the view went dead.
My leather chair vibrated beneath my ass as a rumble erupted in the air, attacking my ears with a fierce blast. I jumped up from my seat and raced to my balcony, throwing open the glass door. I stared in horror as a building only two blocks over erupted into flames, fire leaping into the air like it wanted to eat the overcast sky.
“You lying sack of shit, Karma,” I breathed under my breath.
“Yes, well, what did you expect from someone such as her?” a man’s voice whispered from behind me. “She’s now dead, by the way. I took care of her for you. A little slow-acting poison in her morning coffee did the trick. She peacefully fell asleep after speaking with you. Forever.” A quiet grunt and pleased words. “I timed it rather perfectly.”
