Page 30 of Inside the Wicked

“Magnificent, isn’t she?”

“Indeed.”

There’s a lot to admire at a glance about Kenna. Her beauty, maybe even the challenge of her icy exterior.

I say, “You don’t really know her.”

“Not nearly as much as I’d like to, but I know enough. I believe everyone has a certain magnetism about them. The most expensive wine doesn’t always suit the taste of the one wealthy enough to sample it.”

“I hope you’re not calling her cheap wine.”

He chuckles smoothly. “She’s absolutely priceless.”

“How can you tell without getting to know her?”

Silas looks at me. “How did you tell?”

“It was a while before I realized ...” I stop myself with the lump forming in my throat, thinking of the day I knew I’d fallen for Rhett completely.

Then I get what he means. That Christmas Day was when I submitted to the full force of it, but looking back, I’d been falling for Rhett since we met.

“Obsession is a quick root in us all. Some just enjoy embracing the madness of it.”

“I hate to state the obvious, but I don’t think she feels the same.”

His smile borders on fond as he finds her again. “She’s crafted tough armor around herself. All she needs is to realize I’m not going to replace it, but reinforce it.”

I don’t know if I should be alarmed for Kenna, or perhapsI’m insane for thinking hersafein his terrifying sights.No. No way.This is Silas fucking Balenheizer, and I’m falling into some kind of twisted hypnotism to be so at ease around him. I just watched him blast a bullet through a man’s hand for touching a woman he’s interested in.Iamthe mad one for not sprinting the fuck out of here.

“Jacob Forthson and Alistair Lanshall speak proudly of women that way too,” I say, testing lethal waters. “Then they buy and sell them like jewelry.”

“I hope you’re not suggesting what I think you are,” he says, a deceptively playful warning.

“That this place could be trafficking just like Jacob’s charityauctions? I would never.”

He cuts me with a look, and I’m more than mildly relieved to see his smile rather than the flash of darkness he wears before he retrieves a gun. “Those kinds of men are the most vile of the underworld. I don’t associate. I quite like our dance, Anastasia, but I’m in the mood to bekind.You can stop wasting your breath trying to convince me to side with Lanshall or Forthson. However, I do hope you’ll still visit me with your friend.”

I don’t reiterate that Kenna is not a friend. And should this mission fail, I doubt he’ll ever see her again.

My heart is racing. I shouldn’t trust what he says, shouldn’t believe he could be above trafficking all together, but I’m running out of options.

“Your father is notorious. Your mere name has both of them willing to draw as much blood as it takes to ally with you. How am I to believe you’re not just as heinous as them?”

“Because I am. You just watched me shoot a hole through a man’s hand for touching what is mine, and I’ll warn you, that washighlymerciful of me. But I don’t want to frighten my little viper too much too soon.”

“I don’t think you could frighten her,” I mutter.

“Oh?”

“She’s Alistair’s most trusted spy and assassin. I haven’t seen all she’s capable of, but the glimpse I’ve had is enough to see why.”

Silas’s eyes flex as he stares at her, shifting his weight. “Fascinating.” Then he eyes me with a note of suspicion. “Why are you telling me this? I don’t think your master would appreciate the intel.”

“He doesn’t own me.”

“You’re turning out to be more intriguing than I anticipated, Miss Kinsley. It’s not often I’m surprised.”

I have no choice but to trust my instinct, but I try to tread carefully since this could all blow up in my face at any moment.

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