Page 16

Part of me didn’t.

But she was right about one thing.

If even half of it was true, she was in a bind that got women killed. Ciro Delgado didn’t collect useful people and let them walk away when he was done with them.

“Isabella,” I said, and her name felt strange in my mouth now. Less like a target, more like a problem I hadn’t meant to take home. “You’re in deep. Maybe deeper than you understand.”

“I understand plenty.”

“No. You understand men who threaten you across a conference table. You don’t understand what happens when the cartel decides you’ve outlived your purpose.”

She bit her lip and looked up at me with those puppy-dog eyes.

“There may be something I can do,” I said. “A new identity. Money. Somewhere safe until Delgado forgets you exist.”

She slid off the desk so fast I barely had time to brace before she was right up to me.

“You would do that?” Her hands landed on my chest. “Really?”

“Easy now.”

“You’re not going to send a syndicate hitman after me?”

“Not unless you give me a reason to.”

The words were meant to comfort her, not lead her to other conclusions.

Her fingers curled into my shirt, and before I could say another word, she rose onto her toes and crushed her lips to mine.

The kiss hit hard.

Desperate.

Hot.

Wrong.

For one stupid second, my body answered before my brain caught up. She pressed against me, soft and warm, her mouth opening under mine. Her hands slid up my chest, over my shoulders, around my neck.

Fuck.

I was a man, and she felt like every bad decision I’d ever enjoyed making.

I caught her wrists and started to pull back.

She moved faster, jumping and wrapping her legs around my hips. Instinct made me catch her under the ass before she hit the floor. She kissed me again, deeper this time, her fingers twisting in my hair, her body rolling into mine as though she wanted to climb inside my skin.

My dick went hard.

I broke the kiss and hauled her off me, dropping her on the desk. Her skirt rode high, flashing pale pink lace between her thighs before I stepped back and made myself look at her face.

Her mouth was swollen, and her eyes were wide.

I dragged in a breath and forced my hands open at my sides.

“No.”

She blinked. “No?”