Page 29

"We're not done," Linda promises.

I raise my brows and look pointedly behind her.Step the fuck back.

Linda huffs a laugh. Another head shake like I'm the idiot on this elevator and then she flicks her gaze to Ash. "Get her under control." Condescension drips off each word.

Her eyes return to me, and Linda walks backward off the elevator wearing an arrogant smirk.

As the doors slide back into place she says, "I'm looking forward to hearing about your contact with the prince." Her smirk glides into a grin as the doors fit into place.

I take a deep breath:cedar, warmth, roses, and her. Linda’s putrid floral perfume. Sweetness gone rotten.

I raise a ferocious glare up to Ash.

His eyes wait for me. Deep sea under cloud-darkened sky. Something I can’t read written behind them. "I'm sorry.” His voice rumbles low and sincere. It makes me swallow. "We need to talk."

I choke on a laugh, surprised to find the edge of my rage dulled by his apology. “Captain Obvious.”

Ash’s eyes flash with amusement before his focus shifts to the opening doors. Chris waits for us on the other side.

They escort me to my suite where Chris stays outside and Ash follows me in, closing the door behind us.

A glance at my watch tells me I only have a little more than an hour to get ready for my date. Shit. Fuck.

"She's not experienced," Ash says as I cross to the couch, dropping my purse and kicking off my heels, anger and confusion and the pressure of time messing with me.

"I picked up on that." I turn to him, crossing my arms, sore toes cushioned by the thick carpet. Ash waits by the threshold. “Why didn't you give me more of a heads-up?"

"Habit."

"You're joking."

He's not.

The light in the room is low—just one lamp by the overstuffed chair between us. The drapes are all pulled, the shadows long and dark.

I pace toward a window.

"Don't open the curtains," Ash says, his tone flat.

I stop, turn back to him, all the electric energy buzzing inside of me freezing. “Why?"

“We're not on US soil, and you just told your handler to go fuck herself." A chill rolls over my skin. "It's illegal for the CIA to kill US citizens on US soil. The rules become murkier when abroad."

I take in a shallow breath. “You're saying they are going to try to kill me?" My voice sounds as suffocated as my body feels.

"I'm saying it's easier to kill someone outside of the United States." Ash's voice remains even. This is just a simple fact. I'm easier to murder in London than in L.A. No need to get dramatic.

"Jesus, Ash. What the fuck is going on? You need to tell me something." He's still standing close to the door; there are shadows at both our backs, the only lamp between us.

"You are aware of the personnel changes the Grand administration has made in the civil services?" Ash asks.

"I mean.” My mind races around trying to gather information. It’s hard to keep track of all that has happened. “I know that Grand fired tens of thousands of federal employees at the beginning of the administration.”

That was scary, my body remembers with a shiver, all the articles about the mass layoffs, the logic they used to defend it, acting as though it was all so reasonable.

“They replaced the employees with ideologues—people who had to pass a loyalty test,” I say.Just common sense, they claimed.The President can’t work with people who aren’t loyal to him, no one would do that.As if running a government is the same as running a middle school girl’s clique. All hail the queen bee or sit alone at lunch.

"Yes,” Ash says. “This is the second wave. Temperance didn't pass the loyalty test."