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“I’m so sorry, Kat.” I reach out to pat her arm and she stares at my hand for a long second before pushing back her chair and standing. “I’ll be right back.”
Dammit, I had no idea…I feel like a complete ass right now. Me and my stupid psychoanalysis. I should just learn to keep my big mouth shut. Although…maybe my instinct was right after all. She did tell me something personal about herself, something that was probably painful to share. But she did it anyway.
Maybe the Ice Queen is prone to thawing if she so chooses.
I’ll take that as a positive sign. I need her on my side.
My stomach growls, and I let out a groan. I’m so hungry, my arm is looking pretty damn good right about now. I’m very close to gnawing it off. How much longer is it going to take for—?
“Hey! Where the hell were you this morning? I came by at ten, and Max said you’d already taken off. What the fuck, Shaye?”
I gasp and twist around in my chair. “Rocco! You scared the hell out of me!”
He lowers himself down to my seated level and points to me, his eyes menacing. “Do you know what Nico will do to me if anything happens to you on my watch? What happened to Carlo will be me times a thousand!”
“Keep your voice down!” I whisper-shout. “I’m not a baby. I told Nico that last night. And again this morning. I appreciate your concern, but trust me. I’m good.”
Rocco’s finger comes closer to my face. “Take it up again with your boyfriend. In the meantime, don’t fuck around with—ahh!”
Katarina rushes toward Rocco, stealth like a fucking ninja if I ever saw one. Within a split second, she’s looped an arm through his and has her other arm tight under his neck in a chokehold. His eyes pop wide open and he struggles to get a glimpse of his assailant. But she’s good…damn good. He struggles for breath, and I jump up from my chair. “Kat, it’s okay. You can let him go. He’s a friend of mine.”
She tightens her grip. “He doesn’t sound so friendly.”
Rocco sputters, his face turning an alarming shade of purple. “I c-can’t b-b-breathe,” he rasps.
“Seriously, Kat. I don’t think he’ll ever do that again.” I smirk at Rocco. “Right? Buddy?”
He nods, pulling at Kat’s arms. “Y-y-yes!”
Kat releases him and he drops to his knees, clutching his neck and gasping for air. “Fucking sick bastard. Who the hell do you think—?” His eyes are pure venom at this point and he leaps to his feet, spinning around to face his attacker…the attacker who looks more like a runway model than a trained assassin. To say the look on Rocco’s face is priceless really is the understatement of the century.
Katarina lifts a perfectly shaped eyebrow. “I don’t wait for danger to become a reality. I believe in exterminating it before that happens. And even though you don’t look like you pose too much of a threat…” A tiny smile curls her lips upward. “I don’t like to take unnecessary chances.”
Rocco’s mouth falls open. I’ve never actually seen him struck speechless. It’s quite comical. I’m enjoying my vantage point, happy to know there’s somebody who has my back and can do pretty severe damage as she so clearly demonstrated.
This is just too good all around.
He rises to his full height, puffing out his chest though he’s still struggling for air. “I don’t know who the fuck you are, but I’d appreciate it if next time you mind your own fucking business when I’m talking to my friend.”
I put a hand to his chest. “Okay, relax, Rocco. She was just looking out for me. Exactly what you’re trying to do. We’re all on the same team here.”
He rubs his neck, glowering at Katarina. But I can tell he would much prefer to rake his eyes over her body. The wheels start to turn. Maybe that time will come…
Kat flashes a toothy grin and sidles back to her chair. “That’s right. We’re all on the same team, buddy.”
He clears his throat. “It’s Rocco, not that I give a fuck whether or not you know my name.”
Yep, that’s a bunch of bullshit.
“Rocco,” she repeats, her grin widening. “Rocco Lucchese, yes?”
“Yeah,” he grunts, narrowing his eyes in my direction. I shrug. I may have mentioned him once or twice. Or a dozen times.
He needs a girl, and Kat is his perfect match.
Not that he looks convinced of that.
“Rocco, this is Katarina Ivanov.” I let the name sink in and wait for his reaction. It doesn’t disappoint.
