Page 46 of Veil of Secrets

“Then why—?”

“Because I felt like it.”

I glance at him. His expression is steady. Eyes unreadable.

“You’re making this complicated,” I say.

“Not really.”

“He was a drunk asshole.”

“He put his hands on you.”

“And if I kill every guy who’s done that, I’ll be knee-deep in corpses.”

“Then I’ll help.”

That makes me pause.

He means it. That’s the problem.

I inhale deep. Cigarette burns down too fast.

“You scare me,” I say again.

“I know.”

“But I’m not afraid of you.”

He looks at me now.

“No,” he says. “You’re not.”

I let the smoke out slow.

Then crush the cigarette under my heel.

I walk toward the car, pop the passenger door, slide in.

He joins me a second later.

We sit there, engine off, neither of us ready to drive yet.

The quiet between us isn’t heavy. It’s tight.

“What now?” I ask, head against the seat.

“Now we wait,” he says.

“For Marco to retaliate?”

“No,” he says. “For him to make a mistake.”

I turn toward him.

“He won’t.”

“He will,” Nico says. “They always do.”

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