Page 40 of The Assassin's Captive
"Now you're thinking clearly." He opens the shower door but doesn't step inside. "Costa's keeping you alive because you're useful and because you're his daughter. In that order."
"And when I stop being useful?"
Lorenzo's jaw tightens. "You make sure that never happens."
"How?" I move closer to him, desperate for answers. "How do I do this? How do I stay alive in a world where everyone wants to use me or kill me?"
"You learn the rules. You play the game. You find allies." His fingers test the water, but I scoff.
"Allies?" I laugh. "Who's going to ally themselves with Emilio Costa's daughter? I'm toxic now."
"Not all of us." His voice drops lower. "Some of us are already in too deep to worry about political consequences."
I look at him standing there, water running behind him, his hazel eyes holding mine. "You're talking about yourself."
"I'm talking about reality. Costa ordered me to extract information from you, then kill you. Now you're his daughter, and he expects me to protect you. You see how that changedthe instant your blood was revealed to hold his name?" His expression darkens. "You're not dead, and he isn't having me torture you because of that blood."
"Why didn't you just kill me?" I ask, almost feeling like giving up.
"Because I don't want to kill you." His admission makes me stop. This man is a trained, cold-blooded killer—The Sin Eater, they call him—and he doesn't want to kill me?
My heart pounds against my ribs. "Lorenzo…"
"This is a job to me." He takes a step toward me. His voice is harsh, but I don't believe when he says, "You're a job, a complication I need to resolve so I can move on with my life."
The words cut deep, but I see the lie in his eyes. "If I'm such a burden, why haven't you handed me over to Costa already? Why keep me here?"
His hand shoots out, gripping my arm and pulling me against the wall. His body cages me in, naked and powerful and dangerous. "You think I want this? You think I asked for Costa's bastard daughter to complicate everything I've built?"
Tears spill down my cheeks. "I didn't ask for this either."
"Then we're both trapped." His grip on my arm loosens, but he doesn't step back. "The difference is, you're not going to die, but when he finds out I've fucked his daughter, I just might." His chest is pounding, and the air around us is so fogged with steam, I'm having a hard time breathing. Or maybe it's the fact that my heart feels like it might stop beating any second.
"How can you be sure?"
"Because Costa needs you now. At worst, he'll force you to work for him. Launder money through legal channels, provide inside information on prosecutions, help him legitimize his operations." Lorenzo's other hand comes up to cup my face, thumb brushing away my tears. "But there could be a way out ifyou're careful, if you give him what he wants while building your own position."
The relief floods through me so fast it makes me dizzy. "I don't think so…"
"I think you're smart enough to survive this. Maybe even smart enough to win."
Without thinking, I wrap my arms around him, pressing my face against his chest. His skin is warm, solid, real. I'm shaking as his arms come around me slowly, hesitantly. "Serena…"
I look up at him, and the expression in his eyes makes my breath catch. He's staring right through me, knowing the spark that flicks to life between us every time we touch but not backing away. If Costa will kill him for wanting me, then what I'm seeing in Lorenzo's eyes is bold courage.
"Thank you," I whisper. "For keeping me alive. For telling me the truth."
His thumb traces my cheekbone. "You shouldn't trust me."
"I know." I rise up on my toes, bringing my mouth closer to his. "But I do."
The kiss happens without conscious decision, soft at first, tentative, then deeper as he responds. His mouth is warm and demanding, and I lose myself in the taste of him.
"This is a mistake," he says, but his hands are already moving down my body.
"I don't care." I kiss him again, pouring all my fear and relief and desperate need into it.
He groans against my mouth, then lifts me against the wall. "Serena, we can't?—"
