Could she not have five minutes alone?
Was this to be the rest of her life?
Palming the tears from her eyes, she reached for the smile she used as a weapon. The one that masked the emptiness inside. She was about to use it on this unsuspecting guard, when another glance into the mirror stopped her. Rune would know that cruel mouth anywhere.
Gideon pushed back his hat and aimed his gun straight at her.
As their gazes met, Rune’s heart pounded like a hurricane.
I thought you’d forgotten me.
THREEGIDEON
AS HE RAISED HISgun to kill, Gideon made his first mistake of the evening.
He looked at Rune before firing.
Those cold gray eyes bored into him. The same eyes that haunted him night after night. The eyes of a girl he wanted to forget.
Why is she crying?
Gideon squeezed the pistol in his hand.
It doesn’t matter. I don’t care.
But he couldn’t unsee the tears streaming down her face. Couldn’tnotnotice the whiskey bottle—significantly less full than when she’d grabbed it while fleeing the ballroom.
The sight of her threatened to crack something in him. It was a dangerous, destabilizing feeling. Gideon needed to steel himself against it.
“Some things never change, do they?”
Rune spoke calmly to the mirror, her gaze locked on him. Gideon resisted the urge to skim the lines of her golden dress.
Shoot her, damn it.
“Stalking a girl into the powder room with the intent to murder her is business as usual for you. Isn’t it, Gideon Sharpe?”
“Funny how you can’t keep my name out of your mouth tonight.”
Her gaze hardened to pewter. “What would your brother say if he saw you right now?”
Those words landed like a slap. He shrugged off the sting, forcing himself to remember that this witch was a master of deception. She’d deceived him into thinking she was an innocent girl. A girl who loved him. Meanwhile, she’d been secretly saving witches to build Cressida’s army. Not to mention, engaged to Alex.
Alex.
“My brother is dead because of you.”
She turned to face him, and Gideon couldn’t help himself. His gaze raked down the vicious V cut of her dress, now so close to him. Taking in far too much of her.
He swallowed down a sharp breath. “That dress looks ridiculous on you.”
Liar.
Rune rose to the bait, eyes flashing. “Soren would disagree, I think. He can’t keep his hands off me.”
A poisonous feeling swept through Gideon.
She lifted her chin and smirked.
