woman on a job to get information would ignore it too.
And Dessa . . .
“Hold on.” She stepped out and picked up the toy—a purple turtle—then caught up with the couple and handed it to the thankful mother. She even took a minute to smile at the baby before noticing I was watching her, and walking back my way.
Looked like my assassin had a heart.
“Do you always rescue things in need?” I asked as she sat back down.
She shrugged. “Only when I find them lost and alone in bars.”
Touche.
“So you wanted time,” I said.
“Yes. I want to make you a deal.”
“What kind of deal?”
“You help me, I help you.”
“Go on.”
“I’m looking for a man. A magic user. I want you to help me find him. And kill him.”
Matter-of-fact. Clear. To the point. But her tone had gone too careful. Too even. Hiding her heartbeat, the race of adrenaline. She didn’t just want the man dead, she wanted revenge.
“What did he do to you?”
“He killed my brother.”
I let that settle between us. “I’m not an assassin,” I said.
“You could be.”
“I could be a lot of things. Have you tried the right side of the law?”
“Do you think there is a right side?” She paused for a minute, stirring the ice in her drink.
I just wanted to watch her eyes, her mouth, the way she pushed her hair back so the side of her neck was bare. Thoughts I hadn’t had in a long time stretched out in me.
“I’ve been . . . involved in that side of the law,” she said. “I’ve even worked for that side of the law. And I know my brother’s killer won’t ever be put in jail.”
“Why?”
“He has protection. Government protection.”
“What are they protecting him from? You?”
She smiled again, and I glanced away so I wouldn’t be caught by the warmth of it. “No.”
“Look,” I said. “I’m flattered. But there just isn’t anything in this for me. I’m not seeing why I should get involved.”
“I’ll help you with your problem.” She took another drink and waited.
“And what, exactly,” I said, leaning forward so that our hands nearly brushed, “do you think my problem is?”
She swallowed and had to look away before she could hold my gaze again. “I have information about the government and Soul Complements. Names of the people involved. Information that can keep you alive.”
“You assume I want to stay alive. Maybe you’ve got me wrong.”
The corner of her mouth pulled up and she tipped her head so that a curl of hair slid gently across her cheek and neck. Red against white, like blood on snow.
I clenched my fingers so I didn’t reach up and draw her hair back into place.
“If death is what you want,” she said, “I can give you that too. It will be fast. It will be clean, and it will be glorious.”
She had my full, unbroken attention.
She was not kidding. Her iceberg blue eyes were as steady as if she were looking at me through a sniper’s scope, finger on the trigger. No emotion. Just the sweet promise of death.
Would it be wrong of me to think that at that moment, she was the sexiest woman I’d ever seen?
Here’s the thing. I knew what my future would be. No matter how I cut it, death, my death, was always the card on top. I’d always figured Zayvion would be the one to pull the trigger. But I hated what it would do to him and Allie. They’d carry the guilt of my death for the rest of their life. Because they are like that.
But here, now, this woman—this gorgeous and, yes, kind woman—was a solution I hadn’t considered. I could make a deal with her, and she could make my death look like an accident. No one would carry the guilt. Not Zay, not Allie, not Terric, not my mum. No one would have to know the truth.
“Glorious, eh?” I asked.
“Unforgettable.”
“How about accidental?”
“It can be arranged.”
“So you’re offering my life—or my death—if I help you find a guy and kill him.”
“That’s the deal.”
Tempting. Dangerously so.
I leaned back, lacing my fingers together just behind the shot she’d bought me that I still hadn’t touched.
“Why can’t you kill him? I’ll buy that you might need help finding someone. It’s less likely you think I’m the one who can track him down—plenty of better trackers in this town. But what I’m really having a hard time believing is that you need help killing. Anyone.”
“He’s different.”
“How?”
She shook her head. “You agree to help, I tell you. You don’t, then I’m gone.”
I thought it over. Several things made this seem like a good idea. One: she was hot and had stirred feelings, and a need, I hadn’t had in a long, long time. Two: she had information that might keep Terric, Zay, Allie, and the rest of the Soul Complements safe. Which meant it was possible she either worked for the government or worked against them. Three: did I mention she was hot? Four: that kill-you thing she offered was a pretty sweet way to deal with my ultimate dilemma—my problem, as she called it.
It would, however, be insane to commit to a revenge that I didn’t give a damn about.
It would not, on the other hand, be the most insane thing I’d ever done.
“No,” I said.
It surprised her and she didn’t bother to cover it up. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Yes, I am.”
She pulled her hair back with both hands and let it cascade back into place. “We would have made a hell of a team,” she said.
“Undoubtedly.”
“Was it the glorious death that turned you off?”
“No. I thought that was a nice touch.”
She smiled. “Well, then. To happy endings.” She held up her drink and I picked up the shot.
Touched the edge of my glass to hers. “To endings, happy or otherwise.”
She nodded, then took a long drink.
I slammed back the whiskey, enjoying every moment of the burn. I only wished it were enough to put out the fire she’d started in me.
A slightly sweet aftertaste coated my throat. I wondered which brand she’d ordered.
“Now that business is out of the way, care to stay for a couple drinks?” I asked.
“Maybe. What do you have in mind?”
“I thought I’d unpack my boyish charms and try my hand at seducing you.”
And the smile she gave me.
It lit up her face. She was, I realized, the kind of woman who knew how to laugh. Who was probably gentle to small animals, and kind to old people. Behind her mask, she was vibrant. Alive.
I wanted that.
“First,” she said, “don’t tell a woman you’re going to try to seduce her.”
“Oh, I don’t think that’s fair. Relationships are much more fun when . . .” The pub spun to the left and I
