Page 72 of Secret Love

“Yes.”

“Then, you know who I am? You know what I am capable of?” I nod and he blinks twice. “Good, good. But do you know who he is?”

I furrow my brow. “Who?”

“Fox.” He shifts in his chair but keeps his knife held tight. “I don’t pick just anybody to join my squad, Dani. Fox Fitzpatrick was chosen for a reason. I saw potential in him and potential like that… it’s not the kind I let go to waste, you know what I mean?”

“Not really.”

He leans forward. “Fox is a killer, Dani. I usually don’t like slapping labels on everything but, in his case, there’s no better word. You remember Senator Lamb. We put two bullets through his eyes. It usually takes two men to pull off a hit like that, but Fox…” A chill rolls down my spine as he grins at me. “He can shoot a man through his eye from a thousand yards and take out the other eye before his body even hits the ground. Truly a legend in every way.”

I cringe, trying to force the image from my mind.

“But… something was holding him back,” he continues. “Fox was quiet, reserved. Which is not at all uncommon in our line of work, obviously, but it was different with him. Turns out, there was a girl.” He raises his brow. “That’s you.”

“You think?”

He chuckles. I slide my fingers around the grip of my gun.

“When Fox went dark, I was devastated to lose such a valuable item in my toolbox…” He bites his cheek. “Until we discovered the little security breach. Someone helped themselves to our master file. Now, Dani… you wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

“No.”

He tilts his head. “For an actor, you’re a terrible liar. But that’s okay. I would be a special kind of fool if I expected trust between the two of us, but if I may… I would like to try and connect with you if you’ll let me.”

My finger tightens around the trigger. “I don’t understand…”

“I’m going to tell you the truth, Dani. I imagine a young woman of your status doesn’t experience that often from those around her. Am I correct in my assumption? I will not be offended if you tell me otherwise — we come from two very different worlds.”

I nod.

“I’m going to tell you the truth,” he repeats, “and for the next few minutes, I will expect the same from you. It’s only fair. Do you agree? Don’t nod. I want you to say it.”

“I agree,” I say, my voice cracking.

He smiles again. “My boss sent me to come out here and take care of Fox. When I say take care of Fox, you know what she means, yes?”

“Yes.”

“But given what you know now about Fox’s talents, you can imagine that I don’t really want to do that. In fact, I want to bring Fox home with me and put him back to work doing what he was born to do.”

“No one is born to be a killer,” I argue.

“Maybe not in the City of Angels, Dani,” he says. “But where I come from, things are quite different. Fox is coming back to Snake Eyes and he will do so of his own will.”

My eyes swell. “No. He’ll never go back.”

“Look at what he’s done so far to protect you,” he says. “If I put this knife to your throat and ask him then, what do you think he will do? No, the reality is this: If I let you live and offer the promise that no harm will ever come to you again, he will come back with me in order to protect you. However, if I were to stab you to death right now, I think he would still come back… because he would have nowhere else to go.”

I let a tear tumble down my cheek. His eyes flick downward, following it as it travels toward my collarbone.

“Tell me, Dani, if you were in my position, which option would be easiest? The living, breathing reminder of his humanity, constantly in his head, holding him back from true greatness? Or the dead, forgotten, tabloid fodder?” He raises an eyebrow. “Tell the truth.”

I say nothing as my fingers quiver against the gun.

“It’s all right,” he says with a soothing tone. “You don’t have to answer. It’s written all over your face. Everything about you is there. Your fear of me, your love of him.” He shrugs. “Even the gun you hold in your hand.”

I twitch as a laugh escapes his throat.

“Go ahead,” he says. “You can pull it out.”

I slide it from beneath the pillow and point it at him. He stares at the barrel with steady, amused eyes.

“You said you weren’t going to hurt me,” I whisper.

He licks his lips. “I lied.”

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