Page 57 of Villains Never Die

I sighed loud enough for him to hear it. “Teddy, we’re beyond lies, don’t you think? What did you spend the money on?”

“It was a car,” Rook said. I whipped my head to him. “Convertible. Fancy shit.”

I smirked and turned back to Teddy. “What color?”

“Red,” he choked.

“Lovely. I prefer black or silver myself, but there is something to be said for a flashy vehicle.”

“I’ll sell it. I’ll get the money back.” It sounded like his vocal cords had been raked against rocks.

I knelt down in front of him so we were face-to-face. “I don’t care about the money,” I said. “I carevery muchthat you are a thief and a liar. I can’t have those kinds of people in my city. I’m sure you understand.”

Rook circled around him, sensing what came next. He stopped at the back of the chair and watched me.

“Goodbye, Teddy,” I said, watching his mouth beg silently. And then, as if we were some synchronized unit, Rook seized theman’s head and snapped his neck. Teddy slumped against the ropes.

I rose to my full height and gazed at Rook across the body.

“No blood,” I said. Rook nodded. “Thank you.”

“You won’t get your money now,” he said.

“The right people will know he disappeared. That’s more valuable. I also have room in my garage for a new car. Fancy a drive sometime?”

He laughed and shook his head, his eyes glinting brightly. “You’re kind of incredible.”

I didn’t know what to make of a compliment that seemed so sincere. People pandered to me all the time, but their eyes never sparkled like that when they did it. I was used to their hollow laughter and greedy ambitions, not the way he told me I was incredible and kissed me like he meant it.

“Come back to my place,” he said with our hands on each other’s hips.

Mine fell away.

I should have been curious about where Rook lived and whether his home would reveal something enlightening about him, but all I felt was the cold of being in a space I couldn’t control. Entering someone else’s personal domain was putting oneself at risk. I could wear a mask in my office or the penthouse or in this dingy room with a dead body, but I didn’t know the geography of a place that was entirelyhimor what it might do to me.

“I can’t tonight.”

“Why not?” That bright blue staring back at me dimmed, and I hated that it was my fault.

You’re an idiot.

So the voices had followed me, and one of them knew there was nothing I could do against their insult with Rook in the room.

“Some of us don’t work nights, and I have places to be in the morning.” I tried to think of a way to salvage the glow we’d just felt. “You’re welcome to crash at the penthouse. Stay as long as you need to in the morning.”

He frowned, but leaned forward to kiss me. “Another time. I’ll text you tomorrow. And get some fucking sleep, okay? The sun won’t be up for a few hours.”

I didn’t tell him that the night he stayed in my bed was the only time in recent history I remembered sleeping well.

Chapter Twenty

Rook: Chess match tonight?

I closed my phone and tucked it in my pocket as I inspected the categorized and tagged items laid out across tables in the warehouse. Gray walked me through them, pointing out what they’d found and some things that had yet to be identified.

“Email me photos of those,” I told him. “I’ll figure out what they are. Get me a list of the rest of them so I can price them.”

I strolled along the tables, guessing the value of the items in my head. This lot was worth at least four million. I’d been doing this long enough that I could guess which items might be illegal, and a few more would turn up with my research. Those would fetch a much higher price than the others. I mentally listed which of my regular clients would want first pick and ranked them. New shipments always set my head whirring.