I didn't let it show.
I just leaned back and spoke flatly.
"I don't kill women. If it had been up to me, I would've given you some cash and told you to disappear. If it came to it, yeah—I might've had someone else do it so I didn't have to live with that shit. But it ain't that simple now because of who you are."
She stayed quiet, watching me in a way that said she was dissecting everything I said and storing away what she'd need later.
"Lady of Rage is suspicious. Real suspicious," I continued. "If she finds out you're alive, it's not just your head on the line. It's mine too. So for now, you stay put. Until I figure out a way for us both to breathe easy."
She smiled, slow and sly.
"So... do I have to stay? Or do you want me to stay?"
I gave her a look that shut that shit down quick.
She shrugged like she didn't care either way.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out, Vicente."
Her back hit the kitchen counter with a thud before I realized I'd moved.
My forearm pressed across her collarbone.
"How do you know my name?" I growled.
Her breath hitched, but her eyes held mine.
She really was fearless.
She hesitated just long enough for me to know she was deciding which version of the truth to tell me.
"I saw your face before," she said.
I didn't move.
Just narrowed my eyes.
"There was a hit out on you," she added.
I stared at her.
Breathing hard.
Fighting the urge to shake her.
Though none of this was actually her fault.
Shit was getting more complicated.
"I heard things before. What you did. You did right by her, Vinny. Bellamy's bitch-ass son deserved worse than what you gave him. You did what any real man would've done. You scorched the earth for your woman."
Her words hit harder than I wanted to admit.
They weren't filled with sympathy or pity.
This was something else.
Understanding.
