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Her lips wrap around my name like a prayer. That alone is enough for me to twist the key in the lock and pull the door open.
Piper doesn’t hesitate. She lunges through the gap. For a second, I think she’s going to try to escape.
Then she throws herself against me, buries her face into my chest, and sobs.
I’ve faced some of the most dangerous men in the world with my head held high. I’ve fought my way through a barrage of bullets without batting an eye.
But this? A beautiful woman weeping on my chest, her tears soaking through my shirt?
This is new.
23
TIMOFEY
“Are you okay?”
The question is out of my lips before I can even consider how fucking ridiculous it is.I’mthe one who put her in here.I’mthe one who did this to her. So if she’s not okay, it’s my doing, and I shouldn’t give a shit.
But I do care. Way more than I’m willing to admit.
That’s the most ridiculous part of all.
Piper pulls away from me and swipes at her eyes. Her fingers are trembling. “Yeah. Yeah, I know. I’m—everything is fine. Can we go now?”
She looks to the cracked-open door like she expects it to slam closed any second. Like she isn’t even sure it’s real.
I check my watch. “The cameras are only off for two more minutes. Let’s go.”
I turn to the door and Piper grabs onto my sleeve.
I falter for just a fraction of a moment, glancing down where her hands wrap around my bicep. Then I carry on, as if it’s perfectly normal for this woman to be cuddling me after I put her in jail.
We walk out of the room and into the fluorescent light of the narrow hallway.
“This place is suffocating,” she whispers behind me. “Have they heard of windows?”
“I don’t think the architect was worried about the prisoners’ access to natural light.”
She grumbles something I can’t hear under her breath. When we walk through the back door into the parking lot, she inhales deeply.
“I’m guessing you’ve never done time before.”
She closes her eyes and takes another deep breath. “Never. You?”
The comment was a joke. I have no interest in getting to know Piper Quinn more than I already do. But I suppose this is preferable to her cowering and shivering on the concrete floor.
“A night in jail here or there. Nothing serious. Sergey made sure of that.”
She looks over at me. In the sunlight, her green eyes are ringed with gold. “By bribing the officers or by setting you on the right path?”
Piper’s hand is still fisted in my shirt sleeve as I walk us back around the perimeter of the building. “You tell me.”
“That’s what I figured.” She sighs. “You all have to be smart people to run an operation like this. You could use your powers for good, you know.”
“I could also donate all of my possessions to charity and become one with nature.”
“I’m guessing that’s a no, then?”
