Page 28 of Mercy in Betrayal

“And now that you are older and wiser, you are therefore able to appreciate him. Read him again.”

“…you’re cute. What…doing?”

“I have a date.” I don’t tell her who I’m waiting for, but my gaze tracks beyond Confucius in a continual arc, searching for Enzo. Vivi’s excitement is a third presence on the phone, clamoring in my ear for more details.

I answer her distractedly, hanging up when I see him approaching from half a block away. A street over, a streak of dying sun breaks through a bank of dark clouds, casting a perfect spear of light down the perpendicular sidewalk. It’s like a sign, and I feel a corresponding grin break over my face as I wave, catching his attention.

In the back of my mind, I hold some vague idea of not appearing too excited. I begin to walk toward him with that intention, but my steps quickly devolve into a half-jog. I can’t help it.

Stopping in front of him, I bite my lip and twist my hands together to keep from reaching for him. I have zero cool. “Hi.”

“Hi.” His gaze roves over me, not resting on any one thing but consuming every detail and committing it to memory. “You look very pretty, little bird.”

I glance down at my dress, a pretty, mustard yellow worsted wool with a nipped-in waist and tiny buttons extending the length of the bodice. He doesn’t know about the thigh-high stockings beneath it keeping my legs warm but managing to make me feel feminine and sexy.

Maybe I’ll let him discover those later.

My heart thumps at the thought.

“Thank you.” I look at him hungrily in return, taking in the dark coat covering dark gray slacks and a black sweater over a collared shirt, from which his neck rises, strong and—is that… “Is that blood?” My hand reaches toward the offending place on his neck, but Enzo stops me, curling one hand around mine and reaching for the spot himself with a crooked smile.

“I must have missed a spot.”

“What happened? Were you hurt?”

“I…uh…” He doesn’t seem to know how to reply, and I feel my brow crinkle. Internally, I hear my brother’s voice.

There are people who will use you to get to me. To Evie. They’ll use you to hurt us.

I take a step back, but Enzo’s hand tightens around mine.

No. No, Enzo is different from those people. He’s not a gangster.

Right? Doubt niggles at me, the faintest uncertainty beginning to settle cold in my veins.

I take a deep breath. “Something happened at work, then?” I suggest.

He nods. “Yes.” His eyes are dark in the fading light, the side of his face lit by the fluorescence of a shop sign. “Something like that.”

“Like…a protest?” I’m grasping. He works for a pharmaceutical company.

He nods again, his fingers flexing the tiniest bit around mine, and exhales slightly. “That’s it exactly. These things happen more frequently than the public is aware of, unfortunately. I got in the middle of it as I was leaving.”

“I see.” He agreed with my suggestion far too quickly, but I don’t want to call him on it. I want to walk and talk and laugh and enjoy my first date. It’s foolish, but I don’t want to be smart right now. Right now I want to see if the chemistry that arcs between us can make me forget that ice in my veins.

After another moment in which we simply watch each other, wary, waiting for…what? Further explanation? Exoneration? I shake my head a little, my shoulders slumping and reach into my purse for a small bottle of hand sanitizer. Pumping a bit on a napkin, I step forward and wipe the blood from his neck. He watches me wordlessly and, when I’m done, leans down to capture my mouth with his.

The kiss fragments the remaining tension, and I relax into it, my body melting against his as humanity streams relentlessly around us.

By the time he releases me, I’ve forgotten everything; my name, his name, the blood.

“So, Chinatown,” he whispers low, so I can hear him. “Why here?”

With difficulty, I pull myself back to the present. “I’ve never been. I’ve been reading all about it, though, and wanted to see it.”

Enzo nods and tucks me firmly against him. “Good choice. Come on…I’ll take you to this little hole in the wall that serves up the best dim sum in the country.”

“Dim sum?”

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