“I have my computer all set up to make the transfer,” he told her and went to sit at a desk near the window.
The curtains were pulled closed where she probably would have left them open. For all that she detested the people running this city, she loved its beautiful nighttime skyline. As it was getting dark earlier now, the lights on the buildings and streetlights would just be switching on, like the city was coming to life.
She went to stand next to the desk and pulled the piece of paper out of her back pocket, setting it on the desk next to his tablet. He reached for it before she could release it and their hands touched. She looked at him and he looked up at her.
Were there supposed to be more sparks, like there’d been last night and that night on the roof? There was definitely a reaction on both their parts, but she wouldn’t classify it as sparks, not this time.
“Half a million dollars,” he said as he eased the paper from her grasp.
“Half a million dollars,” she repeated and pulled her hand back slowly, still wondering about the uncanny warmth that was now hovering between them. Not sure what to do with her hands now, she tucked them in her back pockets.
He set the paper closer to the tablet and began typing on the flat keyboard stretched along the desk.
“So how is it that you have so much money to just give away?” She’d told herself repeatedly that none of this mattered. That this was just like conducting a deal with Happy down at the pawn shop. An amount was agreed upon, money and item exchanged hands, done and on to the next one. But after last night, she wanted to know more about this man.
“I work a full-time job and I save my money. Isn’t that what everyone does?”
“Not if twenty-five percent of your earnings, after federal and state taxes, are being stolen by the corrupt enforcers walking these streets.”
“How can they steal your money?”
“Easy, hold a gun to your head and say ‘give it up, or die.’”
He stopped typing and looked up at her. “Is that what they did to you?”
She thought about lying or dodging the question because this wasn’t supposed to be another conversation about her, but she did the opposite of what made sense. Something she’d been doing a lot of lately.
“Yeah, it is. Until they decided burning down my store would be better since I always put up a fight.”
“That’s illegal. Them, taking your money, not you putting up a fight.”
She was glad he’d clarified that. “Obviously not, when the corruption stretches all the way up to the mayor, senators and everybody else who has money and power in Burgess. Or wherever else, since I suspect this is a growing trend all over the world.”
He didn’t reply but went back to typing.
“So, you’ve saved half a million dollars and now you’re just gonna hand it over to me. Just like that.” It didn’t make sense.
He looked up, one brow arched as he said, “You want me to keep my money?”
She smirked. “You know I need the money, don’t play.”
He shrugged. “Then take it and don’t worry about anything else. There. It’s done.”
Ravyn pulled her phone out of her back pocket and logged into her account. Damn, all those zeroes looked good. Too good.
“Do you know my father? Did he put you up to this to prove his point that I’d never amount to anything on my own?” It irritated the hell out of her to ask those questions, but she couldn’t let the niggling thought that this was an insanely convenient business deal go.
Once again, he was staring at her as if he were trying to figure something out, which would mean he didn’t know the infamous General Walsh. Or it would indicate that he was a damn good actor.
“I can assure you that I’ve never talked to or met your father, Ravyn. Now, I’ve done my part. Give me the dagger,” he said as he stood from the chair.
He wasn’t lying about doing his part, but she still doubted he was telling her everything. She didn’t know how she knew but she did, still, she put her phone away and removed her backpack. Taking her gaze off him, she set the backpack on the table, unzipped it and pulled out the dagger she’d once again wrapped in the green material. That humming sounded in her ears again. She hadn’t heard it recently, or if she had, she hadn’t noticed, but now it was so loud she stumbled back a step and slapped one hand to her ear.
“You okay?” Steele asked, coming to stand closer and touching a hand to her elbow.
“Yeah, fine,” she said and eased her arm away from him. Another thing she’d told herself on the way over here was that she couldn’t touch this guy again and he couldn’t touch her. Whatever last night was, it was one and done.
“Okay, I’m gonna go and get a box for it. I’m not carrying around that Christmas-green cloth.”
“It’s a lovely piece of material that I found in the antiques shop,” she yelled to him as he disappeared into the other room.
She continued to unwrap the dagger and picked it up. Heat formed in the palms of her hands as she held it and experienced a complete body shiver, from her neck down to her ankles.
“Here we go, I’ll just keep it in here.”
“What are you going to do with it?” she asked without making any move to hand it to him.
He looked at her for a couple quiet seconds and then shrugged. “I’m sure there’s a museum that’ll be glad to take it. Or I’ll find another private collector.”
“You’re not giving
