Luke, making a move to follow me, was cut off as Fate stepped between us. They stood so close it looked like the tips of their toes touched.
“Find another seat,” Fate said, packing each word with such potent violence it even gave me a chill, and I wasn’t the target.
Maybe I should’ve cared, but at that moment, I didn’t like either of them. If they wanted to fight it out over who would have the opportunity to be rejected, I didn’t see the point in getting involved. One less “no” to say.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Luke asked. He was used to being—well, if not top dog—the favorite sidekick, who always got his way. I had a strong suspicion the only reason he even had the nerve to get in Fate’s space was because Malokin was nearby.
Something strange happened then. A tingle of energy shot across my skin. The pretense of who, or what, Fate was slipped just a hair, or more accurately, was lowered on purpose.
“Do you really want to find out?” he asked Luke, who was starting to cower and back up. In spite of myself, or my doubts about Fate at the moment, I couldn’t help but enjoy watching Luke being knocked down a peg or two.
“Luke, I need to see you in the other room.” Malokin said. It was clear he was simply trying to diffuse the situation, and it worked; Luke now had an excuse to run from the room.
The door shutting echoed through the living room of the suite. Left alone with Fate, my anger boiled over. “Really nice to see you here.” My voice was bitter, counteracting my words. “So, how long have you known Malokin?” How long have you been a traitor?
“Not long at all. I couldn’t keep waiting for you to invite me, so I made some calls myself.”
With numbers he got off of my stolen phone. At least that made sense. My instincts, no matter how jumbled, had resisted the belief he’d been in cahoots with Malokin this whole time.
We sat staring at each other from opposite sides of the same couch, weighing reactions and subtleties, neither of us willing to reveal anything in words.
His arm was slung along the back, his fingers raised slightly in my direction. “How long have you been working a double shift? My guess is since the Lock?”
“Pretty much.” I folded a leg underneath the other as I choose my next words. “In what capacity will you be helping out?”
“There’s one area in particular that I think needs to be fixed.” The way his stare was focused on me left no question as to what—or who—that area was.
The sound of glass breaking drew both of our attention to the closed bedroom door.
“You promised her to me!” Luke’s scream was so loud it was heard clearly through the door. Nothing about what he said surprised me, though. I’d expected something like that had been arranged. I was too exhausted to care anymore. If it wasn’t happening today, it wasn’t a problem I worried about.
Still, I’d rather Fate hadn’t heard it. The whole situation was degrading. The fact that I sat there, and didn’t charge into the room and tell them both to go screw themselves, added to my humiliation.
I didn’t want to turn my head back toward where Fate was, but his movements caught my eye. He walked over toward the closed door, where Malokin was with Luke, and went in without so much as a single rap.
He was back out in less than a minute and standing before me.
“Get up. We’re going.” His voice was deep and strained, and drew my eyes.
“I can’t.” I looked at the door, then back to him as I shook my head.
“Get. Up.”
Why didn’t he understand I couldn’t leave? He looked like he was about to explode in front of me, but I knew what could happen if I did. Luke’s threats were never far from my mind. First it would be Kitty, then someone else—maybe Luck. I inched back on the seat, shaking my head. “I can’t leave.”
I watched as Fate’s chest rose and fell several times before he spoke. “I told Malokin we’re leaving. He knows. We have to do a job for him.”
His voice was calmer now, but I still felt uneasy. “He knows?” I asked, looking at the door to the room Malokin was in.
“You just saw me go in there. It’s okay.” He stood there, hand outstretched to me. His voice was low and reassuring, so different than it had been a minute ago.
I placed my hand in his warm one, his fingers wrapping around it.
***
Fate was barely a foot behind me as we entered the parking lot. When I slowed my step, he urged me forward with a hand on my back. The moment of ease I’d felt upstairs in the suite was quickly disappearing.
If this were a problem, my phone would be ringing. Malokin was okay with whatever job we were going to do. Was Fate really going to go to this job with me? I hoped it was another “save.” I wasn’t going to kill anyone. Would he? My head was spinning with all the possibilities, when he grabbed my arm and diverted me toward his car and opened the door for me.
“I’m driving. Get in.” I didn’t have the energy or the will to fight with him or care enough. His car or mine, what difference did it make?
I slumped into the passenger seat. I had bigger issues than who drove. How was I going to maneuver this to make sure he didn’t kill anyone? That was the line I wouldn’t cross. I couldn’t come back from that and I knew it. But how far was Fate willing to take this charade? He’d been after Malokin before he’d even known his name. What was this worth to him?
“Where are we going?” I asked, when he turned off the highway and down the road that led to his house.
“I want to pick up some more gear.” It seemed like a plausible enough explanation, and I relaxed back against my seat, hoping he wasn’t going to be armed to the teeth. That could cause a problem with my no killing plan.
“What’s the job?” I asked, as we pulled into his garage a minute later. No, I didn’t think Fate would actually take it that far. He was only involved in this for two reasons: because he couldn’t seem to stop himself from getting into my business, and because he was trying to dig around and find out what exactly Malokin was, and what he was after. The weapons were probably more for our protection than for killing.
Still, when he turned to me and said, “Come in. I’ve got some things for you, as well,” it felt eerily like a stranger offering me candy.
“Sure.” Something was wrong about this, and the longer I was with him, the more I felt it.
I needed to dump him. I’d get him in the house and then sneak out alone. It was the only way. My head was spinning with plans and plots by time I walked in after him and saw him move toward a storage area.
He was watching me. Yes, something was very wrong here, and he knew I was catching on. He watched me like he was expecting me to make a break for it at any minute. Not surprising, since I was.
Why had I come with him? When he’d ducked in the room with Malokin though, it seemed like it was okay. No one had tried to stop us, either. But still, it didn’t feel right. He was watching me too intently.
There was no way to outrun him. I needed to knock him out. My eyes scanned the room for possible weapons. The lamp? Too unwieldy. The bar area caught my eye. Cutty Sark. The bottle was perfect.
“Want a drink?” I asked, making my way to my weapon of choice, forcing myself not to rush.
“Sure, thanks,” he said from around the corner.
I gripped its neck and pulled it off the shelf, holding it upside down like a bat. I was getting the feel of it when a hand wrapped around my wrist and I felt his front flush against my back. “Were you going to pour me a drink or hit me over the head?”
He let go of my wrist and grabbed the bottle from my grasp, placing it back on the bar.
“Just noticing how heavy a full bottle feels.” I was still playing the part, even though I was pretty sure the final credits had already rolled.
“Sit.”
Chapter 30
What don’t you understand?