Secret.
Lifting his head, he made a tiny sound of surprise. “The Calloway Club? Seriously?” Twisting, he stared at me from the corner of an eye. His lips moved, mouthing the words, 'I'll be right back.'
Not taking his coat, he slid out the front door with the bell jingling after him. The cafe window showed me what he was doing; pacing, talking intensely on his phone. I was positive it was Jacob who'd called.
My neck hairs were prickling already. What the hell was going on?
I'd wanted to ask more about his tattoos. His explanation had been too intricate, a little poetic, if you asked me. Poetic and Kite didn't go together in my brain. One of these things is not like the other...
The door swung open. Kite power-walked back to me, shoving his phone into his jeans. He was positively sexy in his haphazard outfit, the guy could have worn a garbage bag and looked amazing, somehow.
Currently, the tight line of his mouth and frantic movements of his eyes wasn't super appealing. “What happened?” I asked, the instant he was within reach.
“I need you to stay here.” Grabbing his coat, he slid it on quickly. “Actually, go back home. Just stay there, okay?”
He towered over me, doing that thing where he tried to will me with his stare. Pushing my chair back so violently it screeched, I faced him down. “I'm not going anywhere. Tell me what that was all about. It was Jacob, wasn't it?”
Kite took a tiny inhale. I saw his brain working. “Marina, please. I'll tell you what's going on, but only if you promise me you will just go home.”
Home. I loved that he called it that.
It hurt, too, a needle in my gut.
“But if I can help—”
“No, Marina.” Kite was quicksilver, gripping my shoulders and bending so we were eye to eye. Nothing but severe darkness coiled in his stare. “I'm not joking. I will tell you, but you have to promise me you'll leave. Okay? Is that clear?”
Holy shit, he wasn't playing. I thought of Kite as lighthearted, but right then, he was as frightening and unmoving as Jacob had ever been.
The gravity of the situation made me lower my voice. Nerves forced my eyes to resist blinking. “Okay. Yeah, I promise I'll go back to the apartment. Tell me what's happening.”
He didn't let go of me. It was like he thought I'd just dissipate into the sweet-smelling air. “We found him.”
My knees buckled.
Kite scooped under my arms to keep me on my feet. My head was too light, a crunching, crumpling whine growing in my ears. Was my brain collapsing?
“Shit, you need to sit down,” he said.
“No. I'm alright.” Commanding my spine to stop buckling, I rolled my shoulders back and impersonated all the powerful people I knew of. I had to be strong. This was it. “You guys really found him?” I asked.
His head jostled, brief and brisk. “It's real. Jacob is there, and I need to go meet him. Go back home, Marina.”
All of my skin had turned clammy. “I have to come.”
“You promised,” he growled. The severity of his reaction startled me. But didn't he understand? How could I just turn and walk away? “Marina. You. Can. Not. Come. I need to leave, now, before Jacob gets in any danger. You have to listen to me. This is for your benefit.” Tipping my chin up, the fire became feathers and his tone was almost... sad. “Please, go home. I need you to do this for me. For us.”
It was the most unfair thing he'd ever asked of me.
My nod was a single movement, hair rustling like a dead tree. “I understand.” Air filled my lungs, but it didn't help me breathe easier. “Don't kill him. The plan was always to let me do it.”
He took a step backwards. “Your safety is the plan.”
His words were romantic, protective.
All I heard was 'we might kill him before you can.'
The possibility was filling me with panic. Leveling my voice was a challenge. “Please be careful. Both of you.”
Kite didn't look back at me after that. The speed that took him out of the cafe was unnatural. A man on a mission.
But that mission belonged to me.
I was putting the pieces together. He was lying, and it could only be about one thing.
Jacob and Kite... they were going to kill my target.
They'd promised him to me, and they were going to take that away.
Were they really ending this to protect me? I didn't know their reason, just that they were betraying me. How could he expect me to keep this promise? They were going to steal my revenge.
Even if their intent was good, this was mine. I deserved it.
I fucking deserved the right.
Cece.
Just thinking her name was fueling me. I needed to be the one to look that murderer in the eye and pull the trigger. That belonged entirely to me. To my family.
Kite had left me in the cafe, expecting me to return home. Stalking him was impossible. I didn't need to, though. I already knew where he was going.
He'd let it slip when he was talking to Jacob. My brain had imprinted the name.