Page 18 of Lady Death

The small café was pretty empty when she entered the warm, rich scent of the shop. Two other people sat by the window, sipping their drinks while scrolling on their phones.The young guy behind the counter smiled at her.

“What can I get you today?” he asked.

“Small caramel frappuccino, please.”

“Coming right up.”

It only took him a few minutes to make her drink, and when he came over, she was about to hand over her money when a large, manly hand slapped down a twenty-dollar bill. Startled, she spun around and came almost chest to chest with Ronin.

“I’ll have the same,” he told the young barista.

“You got it.”

He walked away, giving them a moment of privacy. Keres picked up the money and slapped it against his chest. He immediately covered her hand, trapping her against a very defined pectoral muscle.

“I can pay for my own,” she told him in a low voice, not wanting to be overheard.

“I know you can,” he said calmly. “But I’m buying this time. You can buy next time.”

“Next time? I thought I told you to go away.”

“Yeah, you said that in my right ear and guess what? I’m deaf in that ear.”

She believed him for all of two seconds, until his smirk belied his words.

“No, you’re not. And you shouldn’t make fun of people with a disability.”

“I wasn’t, and you know it.”

The young man returned with another caramel frappuccino and sat it on the counter next to hers. Keres still had a staring contest going on with Ronin, but he held out his money and it was taken. Without thanking him, she grabbed her cup and spun, heading toward the door. If she thought to escape him, she thought wrong. He followed her out and walked next to her, sipping his drink, apparently not caring they weren’ttalking.

“I thought we agreed you should stay away.”

“I don’t remember agreeing to that.”

She flicked an annoyed glance at him. “It was implied.”

“I think you made it all up in your head.”

She stopped abruptly to glare at him. “What are you doing, Ronin?”

“I’m drinking a fuck-awful sweet coffee drink. At least I think it has coffee in it. Hard to tell past the diabetes I’m developing from it. But I’m here because I wanted to see how you were holding up.”

“What?” The change of topic threw her for a moment. “I’m fine.”

“Fineis one those words people use when they’re anything but.” He stopped her walking by placing a hand on her arm. “You killed three men and declared war on the so-called czar of the city.”

Keres frowned, studying him. “You’ve heard something.”

“Not yet, but I have a friend monitoring the airways.”

“Why would you do that?” she asked. He was a mystery. One big, beautiful mystery. “I’m nobody to you. We are nothing to each other.”

“Yeah, I thought that too, but I can’t get you out of my fucking head for some reason.” He snaked one arm around her waist and pulled her into his body. “He’s not going to rest until he finds the person responsible for him losing millions of dollars. I think you should consider leaving the city.”

She immediately shook her head. “I’m not running.”

“Keres, he’s ruthless. His Deathmen will be leading the witch hunt, scouring every part of the city that might lead back to you.”

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