Page 34 of Shark Bait

“I tried to shoot her, but I saw her belly and lifted my wrist. The bullet grazed her hair.”

“You spared her life. Why?”

“She’s pregnant. I didn’t have it in me.”

“Is that all? She’s pregnant?”

I look away. “Maybe not. I don’t know. It’s not like I’ve done this before.”

“Oh, but you do know, Miroslav. Ti znaš zašto si je doveo na moja vrata.”

“I didn’t bring her to your door. You did that. You brought her into your house.”

“What should I have done, hm? You are my closest friend, my brother, and you failed to maintain the secrecy of our mission. You spared a witness to a crime that can be linked to me.” He snaps his fingers. “Like that. A sheriff from the town she’s from could figure out how to pin me with the kidnapping of this girl. The international court would love to get their hands on her. Not to mention, you’re not supposed to exist, and now you must exist since you’re getting married.”

If I tell him her dad is actually the sheriff of her town, he might really shoot me. “About that…” I rub my unshaven jaw,looking forward to not having to obsessively shave twice a day now that I’m off the assignment. “I haven’t told her we’re getting married yet.”

“Oh. Come. On.” Alessio looks like he’s about to cry.

I’m sure he’s suffering from a migraine by now. It’s kind of funny, actually, but I try not to laugh at his pained expression. If I were anyone else, he wouldn’t even entertain the idea of sparing me. He would have sunk the yacht with me and her on it and not even lost sleep over it. But tonight and for the foreseeable future, he’ll lose sleep for sure.

“When you lied to me about her being your wife so I’d take her off the yacht with you, did you think I wouldn’t send a plane for you in Turkey?”

“I gambled on that, yes.”

“You’re a shitty gambler.”

“I always have been. You know how much I love a sure thing.”

“She is the opposite of a sure thing, Miro. A wild card.”

I shrug. “I’m playing it anyway.”

Alessio pours himself another drink. “When do you plan to propose?”

“In a week or so.”

“Tonight,” he states and leans against his desk. He crosses one ankle over the other. “You will propose tonight because you’re marrying the girl tomorrow.”

“She needs more time.”

“I don’t give a fuck what she needs.”

“I do, so you better start paying attention.”

Alessio puts down his glass. “I am the only one who is paying attention. You’re the one who’s lost his way.”

I scrub my face. “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

“You brought her into the family!” he bellows.

Silence falls after his outburst. He’s right. I’ve got nothing to say for myself besides an apology. “I’m sorry.” I purse my lips. “About failing the mission.”

“You completed the mission. It’s the witness that’s the problem.”

“Don’t call her a witness.”

“She is what you once were. A witness. We both know what you and I did with the information you provided because you survived the ordeal.” I served Alessio with unmatched power. The things I saw over the years as my abusers moved me from one place to the next gave Alessio information and leverage over some of the most powerful people in the world.

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