My mouth opens and closes in surprise. “You do? How?”
He rolls his eyes. “You’re aware that he killed my brother, right?”
I swallow and nod.
“Well, after he did that on the behest of Nolan Marshall, of all fucking people, I combed through his life to see who was important to him. I saw you were an ex of his. A pretty one.”
I incline my chin, portraying a confidence I don’t feel. And he sees right through it. “And?”
He doesn’t miss a beat. “I considered killing you.”
My blood runs cold.
“Or selling you.”
Heather gasps softly behind me.
“Oh,” I stammer. “Well, that makes me uncomfortable.”
Rook chuckles. “Yeah, well, it’s nice to officially meet you,Miss Easton.”
I manage a smile. “Then you know who he worked for. You know that he was…Nolan’s bitch,” I reply, echoing his previous words. My chest burns, but I push through it. “Now, he’s in someone else’s hands. Someonewayworse. And I...I believe you might be someone who could help us get him out of it alive. He’s going to die if we can’t get to him.”
“Who?” Rook asks swiftly.
I shift on my sore feet. “Alexei.”
“Morozov,” Micah finishes.
Rook’s jaw flexes.
“Do you know him?” I ask, interested in his reaction.
He sighs. “Unfortunately.”
Micah steps in smoothly beside me. “We want your help,” he says. “To erase everything they have on Jude. All of the blackmail. It’s how they are able to keep him as their fucking prisoner.”
“And why,” Rook asks slowly, eyes never leaving my face, “would I do that?”
I don’t blink. “Because we’ll pay you,” I say. “Four million dollars.”
Rook’s gaze flicks to Micah, then back to me. A corner of his mouth quirks up. “And if I say no?” he asks.
My throat tightens, but I hold his stare. “Then I keep fighting anyway,” I say. “Because loving him means trying. Even if it costs me fucking everything. He's only a killer because these people forced him to be one.”
Heather makes a soft noise behind me, but I’m not backing down. He needs to know how absolutely serious I am.
Rook’s gaze shifts. It isn’t warmth or mercy. Instead, it resemblesinterest. He exhales slowly through his nose. “You’re braver than most people who stand in front of me,” he says. “That’s for sure.”
A beat passes, and my gaze doesn’t leave his.
Then he smiles. Forrealthis time. “Well,” he says softly, “this just got interesting.” His head tilts slightly, studying me. The silence stretches just long enough to make my palms start sweating. “You love him,” he says finally. It’s not a question.
“Yes,” I answer without hesitation.
“And you know what he’s done,” Rook continues. “What he’s capable of. What kind of man he’s become working for men like Nolan Marshall and Alexei Morozov?”
My throat tightens. “Yes.”
