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“It’s a better death than he would have gotten elsewhere. He failed his mission. Whoever hired him would have killed him, but much more slowly.”
Cora blinks again, her mouth opening and closing. Then, without warning, she slams a fist into my chest. “Who are you?”
“You stole my line.”
Her jaw sets as color returns to her face, her lips turning a soft shade of petal pink. “You killed a man, Ivan. At my job! What the fuck is happening?”
She raises her hand to hit me again, but before she can, I pin her wrist to the metal oven above her head. I press forward so we’re flush, my face no more than a couple inches from hers. I can feel the warm exhale of her shock on my chin.
“Don’t ever raise your hand to me, Cora.”
“Oh, so you can dish it out, but you can’t take it?”
“I killed him, but I haven’t touched you. Not without your eager and express permission.” I hold her steady with my hips, refreshing her memory in case she’s forgotten about last night. “I’m being gentler with you than I should be. Don’t test me.”
Her eyes search my face. Whatever she finds there makes her ease back. Her body goes slack beneath my weight, until I’m satisfied enough to release her hand.
“Good. Now, come with me.”
This time, when I say it, she listens. Cora walks with me out of the kitchen and into the dining room. Glass cracks under our feet. I have to sweep shards off of a booth before we can sit down.
Cora sinks into the flaking maroon vinyl and drops her face into her hands. “This is the worst day ever.”
“First time being shot at?” I ask conversationally.
She scowls at me from between her fingers, unamused. Then she drops her hands. “Can I leave now? I don’t want to be a part of…of whatever this is.”
“That man was sent here to kill you. You’re already a part of this.”
“Yeah, but…” She lowers her voice and leans closer. “He’s dead now.”
I lean in, mocking her whisper. “The person who hired him isn’t. He’ll come for you again.”
That realization hits her like a physical blow. She snaps back against the booth, eyes wide. “Someone is after me?”
“All signs point to yes.” I flick a few shards of glass off the table. “You’ve pissed someone off in a major way.”
“How? Why? Is this because we…because we…”
“Fucked?” I offer up.
She grimaces. “Because we slept together? Is one of those women coming after me because they think I want to marry you? If so, just tell them I have zero interest.”
I press a hand to my chest in faux offense. “Ouch, Cora. Words are weapons, too, you know.”
She rolls her eyes. “We shouldn’t be joking right now. This is serious!”
“If I stopped joking every time I had to kill a man, I’d never joke again. What a terrible place the world would be without a little humor.”
She stares at me, disgust mingling with her horror. “People at the party said you were a criminal, but I didn’t really believe them. I thought you were involved in, like, financial crimes. Embezzlement or something like that.”
“I am.”
“Of course you are,” she mutters before continuing. “But this is… This is more than I bargained for. I should have left last night. I should have walked out of your office and disappeared.”
“But you didn’t. It’s just like I told your would-be assassin back there: everyone makes choices and everyone faces consequences.” I hold out my arms. “I’m your choice and this is your consequence, princess.”
“Don’t call me princess,’” she hisses. “I’m not yourprincess. I’m not anything to you. We slept together one time. I’m not going to let that ruin the rest of my life. I’m leaving.”
