Page 17 of Madness & Mercy
He stiffens, just slightly. Most people wouldn’t catch it. But I’m not most people.
“I have contacts,” he replies.
“So do I.”
I let that sit. Let him squirm a little.
One of the waiters places a bottle of red between us. I wave him off. Julian watches the exchange like he’s cataloging it; who my staff is, how quickly they listen, how much control I wield.
He’s trying to learn me.
He doesn’t realize I already know him.
“You strike me as the type who likes control,” I say, folding my napkin neatly across my lap. “Is that what drew you to the job? The idea of crawling into someone’s life and pulling strings until they unravel?”
His eyes narrow. “I take jobs that pay.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
He pauses.
“Sometimes people need to be exposed.”
I lean back, smiling slightly. “And who decides that? You?”
“No. The ones who hire me.”
“And if they’re worse than the people you’re exposing? What happens then?”
He meets my gaze head-on. “Then I finish the job and deal with it later.”
I smirk.
“That’s a coward’s answer.”
He laughs just once, dark and low. “You’d know all about cowardice, wouldn’t you?”
The air sharpens.
For a second, I don’t move. I just study him.
The twitch in his brow. The heat behind his eyes.He’s testing me.Prodding at something he doesn’t even understand.
I lean in slowly, my voice dropping an octave. “I watched you for a long time before I brought you here.”
His smirk falters.
“I have eyes everywhere. I knew your gait before I knew your name. You were good at staying in the shadows, Cross. Until youwantedme to see you.”
I reach for my glass, swirling the wine but not drinking it.
“You followed me through half the city, but you made a mistake.”
He cocks a brow, defensive despite himself. “Oh?”
“You looked at me like you wanted something.”
The silence bleeds out between us. He shifts in his chair. His defenses flare up again, visible now.
