Page 20 of Tempted By Deception (Deception Trilogy 2)

“You can’t force someone to talk about their life. That’s not getting to know them.”

“It is for me.”

“Then shouldn’t I get to know you, too?”

He pulls his hand from mine. “If you want.”

“Does this mean I can ask you questions?”

“Sure.”

“What do you do exactly?” I probably shouldn’t try to find out more about him, but I already know his name. If I want to survive him, I need to look further into who he is and what he does.

“I’m a strategist.”

“A strategist who kills?” I lower my voice.

His lips curve in a small smirk as he tips his glass at me. “Exactly.”

“A strategist for whom?”

“I don’t think it would make a difference if you knew.”

“You said I could ask questions.”

“I never said I would answer them all.”

“That’s not fair.”

“Fair is for weak people, Lia. You’ve been in a monstrous world long enough to realize fairness doesn’t really exist.”

“It does exist, even if people like you are doing their best to erase it.”

He lifts a brow as he swirls his wine. “People like me?”

“You know.”

“No, not really. Why don’t you enlighten me?”

“Criminals.”

“Criminals. Interesting analogy.”

“It’s not an analogy when it’s true.” I push back against my faux leather seat, giving up on the salad and sipping the wine. It’s helping to loosen the nerves that have been on high alert since I first met this man.

“According to you, perhaps.”

“According to the world. Youkilledpeople.”

“People like me,criminalsper your words.”

“That doesn’t make you a hero.”

“A hero is the last thing I want to be. Selflessness has never been my thing.”

“So you would rather be the villain?”

“A villain is the hero in his own story, so why not?”

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