Page 95 of Fastest Kill

"Good." Dario's hands shifted down to cup her ass, settling her more comfortably. "Because you're stuck with me, Spartana."

"God." She dropped her forehead briefly to his chest. "Don't I know it. You're the worst thing that ever happened to me."

"Liar. Who would you call if you got arrested?" he asked.

"Probably still you. Annoyingly." She sat back. "Maybe it's a good idea to make sure you always have bail money on you."

"It would be my pleasure."

She kissed him once more before she remembered something she had been turning over since Venice. "You owe me an answer."

He raised an eyebrow. "About?"

"The bullet casing," she said and poked him in the chest. "You said after we survived. Well? Out with it, Colleoni."

Dario looked at her for a moment before he leaned forward, pulled his wallet from his back pocket, and held it out to her.

She took it. It was worn leather, soft with years of use.

"Go on, then," he said.

She opened it and found cards, a folded receipt, and some euros.

"No condoms in here," she observed with a raised eyebrow. "Surprising."

"You told me you don't like using them anyway." His eyes grew heated. "And I think we both like it when I cover you in my⁠—"

"Shut it. The only room on the plane is taken, and we both won't fit into the bathroom," she warned him.

"Not with that attitude," he chuckled.

Frederica checked the coin section and tipped it out onto her palm.

The bullet casing was slightly dented, and the heart was rough-cut, the lines uneven, from the tip of the knife she had used on the rooftop in Rome.

She looked up at him, her face heating. "You did keep it."

"I keep everything that matters," he said with a self-deprecating lift of one shoulder. "You ruined my professional reputation and left me a heart on a bullet casing. A man doesn't throw something like that away. Originally, I was going to work out who you were and find a way to mess with you before leaving it behind. So you'd know it was me."

"Trying to copy my moves by being even more petty?"

"Tit for tat, Spartana," he said and flicked the tip of her nose. "I just started carrying it. I thought I would bring it out to embarrass you at some point, but I never did."

Frederica toyed with the casing in her palm. The rough little heart she carved because she had thought it was funny, and there was something about Dario that had made her want to leave a mark on him.

She closed her fingers around it. "I want it back."

"What?"

"It's mine," she said stubbornly. "I made it."

"You made it for me. You can't take it back," he replied, eyes narrowing.

"Then you are going to have to make me something in return. Fair is fair," she said, being difficult just because she liked to annoy him.

"I got something in mind to give you."

"Wrapping a ribbon around your dick doesn't count."