I turned. Slowly. The mask felt heavy. The room felt small. The body felt irrelevant. I ripped the mask off. Tossed it onto a nearby table. Nobody reacted.
"She wasn't supposed to see that."
Marco stared. Then actually laughed. Not because anything was funny. Because life apparently enjoyed humiliating me.
"Really?" I glared. He shrugged. "What gave it away?"
I wanted to shoot him too. Instead I headed for the door. Fast.
"Where are you going?"
I didn't answer. Because the answer sounded stupid. I was going after her. Like some lovesick idiot in a romance novel. Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. Unfortunately I kept walking.
The upper floors were empty. Her bedroom was empty. The library was empty. The kitchen was empty. My pulse started climbing. I hated it. The feeling. The urgency. Theneed.
I found one of the guards. "Where is she?"
The man straightened. "Outside."
Of course. Aurora ran toward freedom the same way flowers turned toward sunlight. I headed for the gardens. The night air hit. Cold. Sharp.
The estate stretched toward the water below, gardens illuminated by soft golden lights. Stone pathways wound through manicured hedges and fountains and flower beds worth more than some people's homes.
I found her near the cliffs. Standing at the edge. Arms wrapped around herself. Dark hair whipping in the wind. She heard me. Didn't turn around. I stopped several feet away. Far enough not to crowd her. Close enough to see her shoulders trembling.
For a moment neither of us spoke. The ocean crashed against rocks below. Wind moved through the trees. The city glittered in the distance.
"You killed another man tonight."
No greeting. No hesitation. Just that. I stared at her back.
"Yes." Her shoulders stiffened. The honesty surprised her. Good. I wasn't in the mood for lies. “This one was… less innocent than Sergio.”
"He was begging for his life."
"Yes,” I muttered.
Silence. Then she turned. Anger flashed across her face. Good. Anger was better than fear. Fear meant distance. Anger meant she still cared. "That's all you have to say?"
I frowned. "What would you prefer?"
Something dangerous sparked in her eyes. "You could start with being horrified."
I looked at her. Actually looked at her. Then looked toward the cliffs. Then back at her.
"No reason for that." The answer hit like a slap. Aurora stared. I continued anyway. Because lying would've been easier. And I was tired of easy. "He was spying on you."
"He was a person."
"He was a threat."
Silence. The ocean roared below us. Aurora looked at me like she genuinely didn't recognize me. The expression irritated me. Far more than it should have. Finally she laughed. A short, broken, disbelieving sound.
"The rooftop." The words came quietly. Dangerously. "The stories about Angelo."
My stomach tightened. Not good. Not good at all. Aurora looked away. Toward the dark water below.
"The man on that roof wasn't real."
