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Blinking, my gut churning like a tropical storm, I take a step back and pull the door shut, turning slowly to face him again. I glance at the picture on his desk, feeling myself get lost in her cappuccino gaze for a moment, before nodding.
“I could.”
He taps his finger against his chin, then drops both hands to his desk, twisting his thumb ring as he contemplates. “What will we do about Mateo? He won’t give her up without a fight.”
Satisfaction settles in my bone marrow, making me lightheaded. Giddy, almost.
“I’ll take care of him.”
Rafe’s eyes narrow, studying me once again, and he sucks on his teeth; the suckling sound is a shock to my system, a trigger I’m not expecting, and anxiety floods my blood before I have a chance to control it.
The response is immediate, growing in urgency as he continues using his tongue to clean his veneers. My shoulders tighten, my muscles growing taut as the violent need to end the sound washes over me, blurring my vision.
And for a moment, I see him slumped in his chair with a bullet wound ripping away the flesh and bone in his forehead. I see myself covered in his blood as I carve the cartilage and skin from his ears, harvesting them like a farmer bringing in vegetables.
His voice pulls me from the episode, and I resurface, blinking away the intrusive thought, as my body tries to readjust to reality.
“I know you don’t do things for me for free,” Rafe says. “What do you want?”
Inhaling deeply, soaking in the aroma of stale cigars and expensive liquor, I smother the grin threatening at my lips. My heart rate kicks up, relief taking the place of violence.
My mind travels to the poem I once left for Elena, a promise and threat rolled into one.
I just hadn’t known it at the time.
‘Dis, almost in a moment, saw her, prized her, took her: so swift as this, is love.’
The Rape of Proserpine.
Not love, but something far more sinister and deadly, in this case.
I think about the picture burning a hole through my wallet—brown eyes just like mine, the long black French braids. An ache flares in my chest at the thought of her, reaffirming my decision as I’m reminded of the who behind it.
If I want a single shot at a relationship with my long-lost sister, this is the only way.
Meeting Rafe’s gaze, I raise my eyebrows. “Elena’s soul.”
