She thinks on this a moment. “Is that why you told him we would be out of the country?”
“If it’s easier for you to lie low abroad, I can make that happen.”
“But you’ll be staying here to watch his movements.”
I nod as I take a sip of my whisky, allowing her a moment to process my request.
“So I’d essentially be stuck here until you managed to find whoever it is who’s plotting against you? How long would that take?”
I offer her a small smile. “I promise you I will have it done within one hundred and one days.”
“Ninety-eight nights left,” she corrects me.
“Fine.”
“And if you don’t do it?”
I pour myself another glass. “Then our arrangement is over. You can go back to Ohio, and you will never hear from me again. The choice is yours.”
She goes quiet for a moment before her chair scrapes against the floor. “I want to think about this.”
As she begins to leave, a dull kind of ache spreads across my chest. I’m not sure when I make the decision to follow her, but Ireach the door before she does and block her path with one lazy, outstretched arm.
Her infuriated expression is almost too endearing.
“I thought the choice was mine,” she snaps.
Wordlessly, I reach into my pocket and pull out her phone. It was a bargaining chip I was prepared to hang on to for as long as I needed.
But it’s the only thing I can think of that might make her stay, even for just another moment.
“Can I trust you with this?” I ask softly.
It might have been a risk to tell her about my plan to smoke out the rat. But this is borderline reckless. I can almost hear my father screaming at me to stop.
I don’t know why it’s so important to me that she trusts me, that she stops looking at me with that apprehension in her eyes. But if this small gesture helps alleviate that just a little bit…I can’t help feeling that it might be worth it.
Tentatively, she reaches out with her hand to take it from me. “Yes.”
All rational thought is telling me that the first call she’ll make will be to the police. That I’m risking my unsteady alliance with the NYPD over this.
But as she matches my unblinking stare, it’s not betrayal I find there. It’s truth and determination. I could be an absolute fool for believing it, but…
Our fingers gently graze each other as I pass the phone to her. Is it my imagination, or do those beautiful hazel eyes flutter closed for just a moment?
“You are not a prisoner here,” I reiterate. “I only ask that you help me as I helped you.”
Cas looks away to pocket her phone. “I suppose there are worse vacation homes.”
“You’d be welcome to stay in my South African home if you’d prefer,” I offer, despite the traitorous part of my mind wanting her to stay close at hand.
Those bright eyes meet mine again. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”
“Quite the opposite.” The words leave my mouth before I can stop them. I have to physically restrain myself from reaching out and running my hands through her dark hair. “Although I imagine it would be easier.”
“I suppose having a random girl staying in your bachelor pad would ruin your reputation,” she snarks back.
I shake my head. Always so fiery. It’s been a long time since anyone dared talk to me the way she does. The trouble is that I’ve already discovered what it’s like to draw out far more pleasing sounds from that perfect mouth of hers.
