I nod without saying anything else.
"Fuck." Silver runs his hand over his beard. "I-uh, I don't know what to say. I'm not really good at providing comfort, I'm just the fixer."
"It's fine. I don't need it." I sniffle and wipe my nose. "I guess I could go home, but I've been avoiding my dad..." I leave off the reasoning and don't go into any further detail. Silver doesn't need to know how fucked up my life is.
"I mean, I probably wouldn't go somewhere that people are going to be asking you questions about all the blood." Silver chews at the corner of his lip. "You don't have anywhere else to go?"
The thought crosses my mind that I could go to June's mansion, since they're literally in this line of business, too, even though she won’t admit it to me. She would understand the severity of the situation. But then I would have to tell them the truth. That I killed my boss. And then they would ask questions and want to know what happened and if I'm not careful, I might spill too many details about what's going on with my dad and Ricardo and the deal I made. I'd love to get their input and see if they had a solution for me, but Ricardo made it very clear that there was no getting out of this, and I can't risk putting them, or anyone else in danger when I could just isolate the damage to myself and handle it on my own.
"No," I say.
"Fuck." Silver scratches his beard, a nervous tick of his that I've already picked up on. Or maybe not nervous, but contemplative. A sign that he's unsure how to deal with something.
I wouldn't know how to deal with me either.
"I have a place near here," he finally adds. "You can shower and get a change of clothes, and I can get rid of the clothes you're wearing now." His nostrils flare slightly before he continues, "I don't do this. Like ever."
I throw up my hands slightly but don't let Miller's jacket fall away. "I don't exactly do this every day, either." I shake my head. "It's not a big deal, I'll figure something else out. Don't feel obligated to help me any more than you already are."
Silver narrows his eyes at me. "I'm notobligated. Iwantto help."
It's not lost on me that his jaw tenses at the last part of his statement.
"Why? You don't know me. You don't owe me anything." I put my hand on my hip and find myself a bit surprised by the amount of attitude I'm giving him. I'm sure he could snap me in half if he wanted to and dispose of my body before anyone suspected anything.
"You really are frustrating, aren't you?" He glances briefly at the dead body. "Is that why you killed him?"
I glare at him but don't give more of an answer than a simple, "No." He probably wouldn't believe me anyway. What man ever trusts what the victim says?
Silver sighs. "We've gotten off on the wrong foot." He steps toward me and extends his hand. "I'm Silver, what's your name?"
I tilt my head to look up at him, the closer he gets, the more he towers over me. "Cora." I place my palm in his and give it a swift shake.
"Cora," he repeats and keeps his gaze locked on mine. "If you'll excuse me, I need to tend to this mess, but when I'm done, the offer is still on the table."
"And what will I owe you in return?" I ask the question weighing heavily on my mind. No one does anything out of the kindness of their hearts anymore. There's always a string attached, even if it doesn't tug tight until it's too late to turn back.
"Nothing." Silver's face remains still, not a hint of an emotion showing through. He's a bit difficult to read, and I'm not quite sure if I find that terrifying or sexy.
I shouldn't be attracted to this man, he's literally a criminal, afixer, but those words Miller said to me earlier float through my head about right and wrong. I should probably see all this as blaring red flags, but if I'm being honest, red has always been my favorite color.
Okay, I lied, maybe it's been pink, but isn't that the same damn thing?
"Why don't you relax on the couch while I clean this up?" Silver stares so deeply into my eyes that I'm worried he can see straight into my fucking soul. "It won't take long."
"That's what she said," I mutter, my sarcasm flaring up at the worst possible time.
"What was that?"
"Nothing." I point to the body and change the subject. "Do you need some help?"
The smallest grin flashes across Silver's hardened face. "No. I've got this."
"Suit yourself." I leave the bloodbath behind and go back into the lavish living room I was supposed to be showing my billionaire client and talking through design options.
Billionaire client...Miller. Is that even true? How could Miller be a billionaire? Surely a zero or two or three was misplaced along the way. He's young. There's no way he's much older than me. I barely have two nickels to rub together and he's fully fucking loaded? There's no fucking way. That must be a mistake.
I settle onto the stiff couch and bring my knees up with me, hugging them to my chest and wrapping Miller's jacket around to cocoon me in. Resting my head against the back of the couch, I consider how any of this could be possible.
