Her lips move against my temple, and I can tell she’s smiling.
“Don’t you two seem cozy,” she practically purrs. “I’d love to know when that became a thing. Every. Sordid. Detail. I betVanall would too. How much do you think he’d pay me for that slice of information, Checkmate? More than he paid for your soul?”
Zane growls, eliciting another pleasant laugh from the assassin.
“Relax,” she trills. “This is more than enough payment for me.”
She presses me closer to her, my back flat against her chest and stomach. The hand with the knife makes a gentle swoop around my hip in the pantomime of a caress. I let out a squeak as that hand snakes to my stomach.
“What do you want?” My voice sounds hoarse and shaken, like it’s not even mine anymore.
“You came intomydomain, Checkmate. Or did you forget?”
“I didn’tlikewhat they did to you, pet.” She sighs, her breath skating softly across my skin. “Vanall and his friends at the CCP think they’re such big men, bringing poor little you down to their level. They didn’t like that you escaped, I can tell you that.”
I swallow. “Were you there?”
She shakes her head. “It never would have gotten that far. Could you imagine? What if I had stolen you from their little hall of horrors instead of dear Charade? Would you be mine now, or is he special?”
“I—”
“Shh.” Her fingers dig into my hip and I stifle a gasp. “I already know. Suffice it to say that they’ll pay for what they’ve done.”
We come to a stop. I can sense the wall in front of us even if I can’t see it. I wait, still and careful, as she searches its surface, her arm tightened once more over the sensitive column of my throat.
“Don’t let me catch you down here again, Checkmate,” she whispers into my ear. “Not unless you’ve come to play.”
Before I know what’s happening the wall opens and she thrusts me through, into the blinding light of downtown New Malcolm. A door slams behind me, cars roaring past on the street. Squinting, I look over my shoulder, but whatever opening I came from is well-hidden now. I see only the cobblestone wall of New Malcolm’s oldest cemetery.
25
KAYE
“Jesus, Kaye.”
I don’t even know when was the last time I felt this warmth, this protection. Zane’s arm wraps around my shoulder blade and presses firmly against my spine. His other hand cups the base of my skull, fingers massaging the sensitive skin. I feel fully engulfed by him—his strength and solidity—his body like a shield against the world.
For a long moment, I just breathe him in. The warm, spicy scent of his aftershave, the plastic tang of his suit, wet with late-night dew. Dew that’s gathering in the corners of my eyes, collecting along the tips of my eyelashes until I realize that it’s not dew at all. And I begin to cry in earnest.
“Are you okay?” He pulls back to examine my face. I’m not sure what he sees, but his grip tightens and he holds me close again.
We stick to the shadows as we race to the car, hand in hand. The ride to the manor passes in a blur. Zane brushes his thumb along the back of my hand as he drives. I watch it, mesmerized as it makes soothing patterns across my skin.
“I can stop, if you want,” he offers, hesitance written across his features.
I shake my head. “It’s nice.”
His eyes meet mine, the right corner of his lips pulling up into a half-smile as he resumes the movement.
The manor is quiet and dark upon our return. We pad into the kitchen and I sink into the first seat I see. A blanket drops around my shoulders. Zane tucks it around me tight and immediately turns to the stove and the copper kettle waiting there. He sets two cups on the counter between us. It’s not until they are full of steaming water and steeping tea that he allows himself to rest.
“I’m not going to disappear if you take a break.” I smirk.
“We can talk about it the next time you’re kidnapped by a woman who can kill with a single touch in a secret tunnel.”
“Zane,youcan kill with a single touch,” I point out. “And you also kidnapped me if we’re splitting hairs, so it’s not exactly like it’s an unfamiliar situation. And if I’m right about New Malcolm, it’s not entirely unlikely that it could happen again.”
His expression darkens, growing serious and intense. Shadows pool around his eyes, making his violet pupils so brilliant they seem to glow. “I don’t know what I would have done if anything had happened to you. I know that sounds…crazy.I heard you choking and Black Monarch threatening to do worse, and this chasm opened up inside me. Choking me with the knowledge that I would burn this city and everyone in it to the ground to get you back.”
