“Baby, it already has. You feel it, and I know you’re trying not to, but there will come a point where you can’t deny it any longer. We’re already slipping. Every day we’re waiting for the ground to cave in beneath us, and last night, it literally sent us up in flames.”
“I don’t like this.”
“I know.”
“Can’t you just tell me what to do?”
A soft smile pulls at my lips. “I wish it were that easy,” I tell her. “I know exactly what I want and what I’m willing to risk to get it, but I’m not about to cross that line and make the decision on your behalf. What I want directly affects you, and if we’re going to throw caution to the wind and shit all over every unspoken code set by our world, then I need to know that you’re all in. That it’s not going to get two, four, or ten years down the track, and you’re going to have regrets. I can’t live with that.”
“I—”
“Don’t,” I whisper, pulling her in tighter against me. “We don’t need to figure this out now. You’re not ready to decide the rest of your life, and that’s okay. I don’t expect you to be. There’s no gun against your head, demanding an answer.”
She nods, a soft “Okay” whispered on her lips.
Her fingers twist with mine. She’s clearly overwhelmed and deep in thought, and as the seconds turn into long, drawn-out minutes, I choke back a groan, needing to lighten her mental load. “I have to confess something.”
Her head immediately snaps up, suspicion deep in her eyes. “What’d you do?”
I let out a sigh. “After Barcelona, I was suspicious and snuck into your apartment to sweep it for . . . well, everything.”
She looks at me like I’m an idiot. “Are you kidding me? That’s your grand confession?” she grumbles, rolling her eyes. “Shit. If you’re gonna make a girl lift her head, at least make it worth her time.”
“What? That’s a good one.”
“You left a monster-sized cock suctioned to my counter and five new pots for Spikezilla. I knew you’d been in there the moment I unlocked the door. If that was supposed to be a big secret, then you shouldn’t have touched my shit.”
Well, fuck. I might have momentarily forgotten about that.
“Well,” she continues. “Did you find anything?”
“Apart from your planner that was basically a map to all the hits you’ve made, I got nothing.”
“Nothing?” she questions. “What are you talking about? My apartment is crawling with weapons. I have a flame thrower in my closet.”
I shake my head. “Nah. You don’t. I searched every fucking inch.I’d know if there was a flame thrower.”
“You checked my bedside drawer?”
I grin, knowing exactly what I found in there. “Oh, yeah.”
“And the false bottom?”
“False bottom?”
She laughs. “And you call yourself a highly trained assassin. Really? Did they pluck you out of anAssassins for Dummiesclass?”
Fuck me. How the hell did I miss that shit?
“Right,” I say, shaking my head as I frantically search for a change of topic. “How is Spikezilla doing? I trust she is enjoying her five new luxury estates.”
Kiara scoffs, but there’s no mistaking the smile that pulls at her lips as she drops her head back to my chest. “You’re assuming she cares for materialistic things. She’s just a low-key, prickly girl who lives a low-key life. She’s not all about flashy cars and homes.”
“Ahh, I see. Well, if she doesn’t appreciate her new homes, then perhaps I should offer them to Needles.”
“Who the fuck is Needles?”
“My new pet cactus. I’ll, uhh . . . be signing the adoption papers the second I get out of here, and I’m sure he’s going to need some homes that suit his lux lifestyle. I can just see it now, Spikezilla and Needles accomplishing complete dominance together. Honestly, what more is there to life than this?”
