His brows shot up. As he opened his mouth to reply, something behind her caught his attention. His cold fury made him snarl before regaining control. How she felt his simmering rage, she couldn’t say, because in a blink, his face became a neutral mask. Had she imagined the entire thing?
“Luc?”
Though he tilted his head toward her, he never removed his gaze from the person or persons behind her.
She twisted to see who could be holding his attention.
On the outskirts of the crowd, Raphael casually leaned against a tree, his arms crossed. His blank visage matched Luc’s, making it seem he, too, hid deeper emotions.
“Is it Raphael who’s angered you?”
His gaze locked with hers, and in them burned an unholy fire. “How do you know Raphael?”
Nadia did her damnedest not to stammer. “He showed up at the library, and then again at the bar where I met Katie.”
“Stay away from him, Nadia. He is extremely dangerous.”
She wasn’t sure where she found the nerve to ask, “More dangerous than you?”
“No.”
There was an unmistakable truth in his words, and her heart hammered faster than hummingbird wings in flight.
“Will you hurt me?” she whispered.
“Not if I can help it.”
They stared at each other for what felt like a lifetime. What was he hiding?
“I’m an open book. You need only ask,” he replied to her unspoken question.
Once again, she had the unnerving impression he could read her mind.
“Why do you feel otherworldly and unreal?” she asked.
“Perhaps I am.” The winds had kicked up, whipping her hair. With a wry smile, he brushed a strand from her eyes. “Would it be so bad?”
“I think I’ve been reading too many ancient texts.”
“How is The Liber Inchoatus search coming?”
She recalled mentioning it in passing, but mixed with the winds, the sudden tension in the air, and his odd stillness—as if her reply were of utmost importance—Nadia grew wary.
“Slow,” she replied breezily. “We should get going. The ceremony is about to begin.”
“Of course.” With those two words, he became remote, dropping his hand in the process.
Or perhaps she had purposely created the divide. Maybe he merely picked up on her discomfort. Had she been fanciful and foolish, seeking problems where there were none?
Linking her arm through his, she squeezed.
“I’d choose your brand of danger over Raphael’s any day of the week,” she assured him.
A grin flashed on his perfectly chiseled lips.
“Thank you.” For a few paces, he remained silent. “By the by, what did Raphael want? Was he trying to charm his way into your good graces?”
“Seems you really do know him well.” Nadia released a brittle laugh, not loving the fact that Luc existed in a whole other world she knew nothing about. Maybe he had connections to the mob. She probed by saying, “He mentioned that he knew you.”
