Page 39 of My Trojan Horse Majesty

“Leo?” He smiles. “I like that. And I know where we’re going. I just take issue with the wordboyfriend.”

“Your issues notwithstanding,” I say, “you don’t really get a say in my love life.”

“Yet.” The stupidly hot guy’s smiling now. He’ssmilingas he makes jokes about how he and I are dating.

“Stop that right now.” I jab a finger at him. “If you make any jokes like that in the prison, I’ll?—”

He catches my hand in his large one. “What will you do?” His verdant green eyes meet mine. “Tell me. Please. Leo’s listening.”

“Leo—it’s not a special pet name. No one uses the name Leonid here. Leo sounds more natural. And—” I snatch my hand away, but in doing so, my deposit slip thing flutters to the floor of the truck. I reach down and pick it up, grateful for the distraction. He’s being really, really intense, and it’s freaking me out.

Or maybe what’s bothering me most is that my heart’s racing.

He’s too handsome for me, and I know he was kidding earlier to get that crazy lady to back off, but I almostlikedwhen he pretended we were dating, and I have aboyfriend.

I’m also not used to people flirting with me, especially very hot, very powerful men doing it. Actually, I’m not sure who would be used to guys like Leonid flirting with them. Maybe a woman on the set ofTheVampire Diariesor something. I start to stuff the paper in my purse, but something about it catches my eye.

“Wait.” I lift the crumpled slip closer to my face. “Why does this say. . .” I blink twice. Then I hold it even closer.

“What?” He leans toward me.

“You transferredhalf a million dollarsinto my account?”

“A hundred for the bail,” he says. “But the rest is for a new car and whatever else we might need. You may have forgotten, but I don’t have my wallet.”

“Whatever else?” He’s a psycho for sure. “What else might we need that would costfour hundred thousanddollars?”

“If I’ve learned anything lately, it’s that you often don’t know what you need until it’s too late. I’m accustomed to a certain quality of life, and I like to be prepared.”

Chapter12

Leonid

In my almost thirty years of life, I’ve encountered quite a few things I dislike. In fact, after spending a few months as the czar of a large country, I might almost say I’ve become picky. There are very few things Idolike. Even so, encountering something I truly despise is equally rare. When we walk into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail and complete the paperwork for posting bail, I add something, or rather, someone, to that list.

Timothy Heaston.

I was predisposed to dislike him, it’s true. His manners on the phone were reprehensible. The way he’s tasked Izzy to clean up his messes is deplorable. But when we meet?

I absolutely hate him.

In fact, it feels as if every single part of my body’s crying out for his destruction. If I had free access to my powers, I’m not sure I wouldn’t have already eliminated him.

Incineration.

Burial alive.

Dry drowning.

Aneurysm that pops.

Suffocation.

Electrocution.

Some combination of the above.

The myriad ways I could destroy him just keep cycling through my brain, but I doubt I could convince Izzy that it wasn’t me who did it, so I’m stuck. She was so upset when I rid the world of the other two villainous men who were attacking us that I doubt she’d forgive me for freeing her from him either.

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