Page 94 of Victor's Lethal Desire
She ignores the flirtation. "About the drugs and trafficking. You were right."
I tilt my head, studying her. "You saw the intel on the drive?"
She shakes her head. "No. Dimitri told me. It's not the Volkovs, though, Victor. It's him using..."
"Using the family name as cover," I finish her sentence. "I know now."
She blinks, her lips parting slightly. "How?"
"The intel you left. By the way, do you still have it?"
She holds up her hand, the diamond ring glinting in the flashlight beam.
Relief floods through me. "Good. Because I may have lost what you gave me."
Her brow furrows. "What do you mean?"
"I had some unexpected visitors after you left. A bullet went straight through my laptop. I did manage to look through it, though. On that note..."
I stop as we hear voices outside the door.
I turn my flashlight toward it, and the handle moves slightly.
I turn back to her, lowering my voice. "Why'd you leave me a copy anyway? And why did you leave? Did you not have a good time?"
She stares at me for a long moment, and I see the walls around her drop. Just slightly. Just enough.
"I had a great time," she says. "I think that's why I left. And I gave you a copy because I wanted to show you the Volkovs weren't what you thought they were. So that you'd see and not try to get yourself killed."
My chest tightens, and I step closer. "You care if I die?"
She holds up her gun. "Shut up. If anyone's going to kill you, it'll be me."
I laugh.
"Granted, we've got to walk through hell to get out of here alive, but now that it's all out in the open, we're not really enemies anymore, are we?"
She takes a moment, thinking. I watch the wheels turn in her head, the way her jaw tightens, the way her fingers flex around the grip of the gun.
"Once Ivan learns the truth," I say, "and Lucian learns it wasn't the Bratva but a rogue defector, we can end this, and no one else dies."
She smiles, and it's genuine. Beautiful. "Always the diplomat, are you?" she says, then sighs. "It's a shame I won't get to hunt you."
I lean into her space, my chest brushing against hers. "Oh, we can still hunt one another. It'll just be me trying to pin you down and repeat what happened back at my hotel."
She leans in, lifting her chin. "Is that a fact?"
I reach up, my thumb gently stroking her cheek. The skin is soft and warm.
"Tell me you wouldn't want that."
She's silent for a moment, and she bites her bottom lip, and I want to bite it myself.
"I like you, Victor," she says in a low tone. "You're the first man I've ever told that to. And it's fitting that I have to say it here in a dark basement."
I smile, finally finding the words that have been swirling in my head. "Hey. Would you like to get out of here? Come back to Romania with me? I'm running for office in the spring, youknow. I'll need someone beside me. Could be fun to trade in your guns for more of those dresses you wear so well."
She leans up and kisses me passionately, her free hand gripping the back of my neck. I kiss her back, hard, tasting her.
