Page 25 of Drowning in Darkness

TEN

JAMES

I know how to survive monsters. I have no defense against wanting something beautiful.

I have never enjoyed small talk, not when my upbringing involved processing the actions of an evil man in order to survive. Extra noise has always been unwelcome. But listening to Stephanie put the world to rights in a unique way that makes complete sense is a humbling experience. I could listen to her throaty laugh on repeat. It’s the kind of sound that pierces my icy heart, not a practiced giggle to entice. She doesn’t care how she sounds or if it’s attractive. It’s raw and honest.

She spins in a circle to take in the unassuming sitting room, with the charcoal curved sofa dominating the space placed in front of a TV mounted on the wall. There are no knickknacks, nothing that personalizes the space. It’s not witness protection in the strictest sense; it’s a short-term solution for when someone’s life is in danger. Nailing Christopher to the wall is my top priority to give this beauty her life back.

She stalks through the archway into the tiny kitchen. “You guys need to stock the refrigerator with snacks,” she calls out.

I fold my arms and smirk. Between her musings about everything from the state of politics to the price of bread, she devoured an insane amount of snacks.

“We have the local grocery store delivering later today,” Camryn says from her perch on the only armchair. “You need to add what you want.”

Stephanie reappears and smiles at the agent. “You’re the agent in charge of him, right?” she asks, jerking her head toward me.

“That’s right.”

“And yet he defied you and scooped me up.”

She heard that? Clever vixen. I play with the name in my mind, finding that it fits her.

Camryn’s gaze sharpens as she glares at me. “In charge doesn’t always equate to in control of.”

“So you disagree with the level of threat?” Stephanie asks as she drops onto the sofa.

I lean against the wall and dare Camryn to say differently.

“Not necessarily.”

“Then I can only deduce you were using me as bait without my permission,” Stephanie states.

Camryn sighs. “I’m going to level with you, Miss King.”

“Stephanie,” she corrects.

Camryn doesn’t smile at the offer of familiarity. “Stephanie. We had eyes on you and would have extracted you later today, tomorrow at the worst. But I needed time to set up the safe house and decide how best to play your disappearance. I don’t want to scare Christopher off.”

“Not likely,” I mutter. “If anything, this will have excited him. Men who think they’re untouchable are, in fact, the most vulnerable.”

“Meaning your little abduction has placed me in more danger,” Stephanie states.

Remind me never to play word games with this woman.

“No,” Camryn defends. “This is the best place for you. Only a few select agents attached to the operation know you’re even here.”

“He knows,” Stephanie points at me.

“He’s the crucial component in the operation. Of course he knows.”

“Would he have known if you’d kidnapped me?”

Does she not trust me? It’s a fair position. I’m not a nice man, and I don’t pretend otherwise.

“No.” Camryn puts her hand up as Stephanie opens her mouth. “I’m not finished, Stephanie. James is the ultimate insider. In a few short months, he’s been instrumental in removing numerous players that we’ve been tracking and attempting to take down for years. You are, for all intents and purposes, his sister-in-law. I have no qualms about him knowing where you are because he’s already shown he would risk my wrath to protect you. And I am the woman who can, at the snap of my fingers, yank his ass to prison, never again to see the light of day. There will be no trial, no judge, and no jury. He has as much to lose as anyone, more so.”

Stephanie’s eyes find mine, and I see her shed a layer of the walls she has built around herself over the years. No, don’t soften for me. I am not the man for you. Maybe in another life, but not in this one, when we’re both products of the evil in the world.