Page 27 of City Of Thieves

She sighs. “If you must know, it’s an old friend.”

Bullshit. She doesn’t have any friends.

“Why?”

“To arrange a lunch date.”

“Cancel it.”

“Excuse me?”

“Cancel it,” I repeat, shifting my gaze upward to meet her stare. “You’re not here on‘holiday,’Miss Sanders. You’re here on retainer. Don’t forget that.”

I sense two million dollars worth of insults dancing on her tongue. However, she wisely keeps them to herself and tosses her phone back into her purse.

“No chance ofthatmistake,” I hear her say. “Your presence would be enough to ruin anyone’sholiday.”

* * *

The traffic starts backingup as soon as we join the motorway. I find myself weaving across three lanes of traffic to shift into a higher gear. The move sets off a line of dominos. Four cars follow, including one asshole in a dark blue sedan who clips my bumper.

Tatiana tuts in frustration. “As expected, your driving leaves a lot to be desired.”

“My driving is fine.”

“Maybe for the visually impaired.” She flings her arm across the console of the car. “This is London, Marchesi, not Newark. Left side is the right side. Right side is the wrong side.” As if her condescending tone isn’t enough, she punctuates it with hand gestures.

“Stop side-seat driving,” I snarl, but it’s a half-assed insult. I’m too preoccupied watching the same blue sedan ride my ass. I keep a watchful eye, my gaze darting back and forth from the road to the rearview mirror. Just when I’m about to swerve again, the sedan backs off, widening the distance between us.

“Fucking London drivers,” I mutter, sliding a glance across the car to find a rare half smile on Tatiana’s face. When she catches me staring, she tries to hide it with a quick swipe of her hand.

Her guard is down.

It’s an opportunity I don’t intend to waste.

“Are you this bossy toward your brothers?”

The smile fades immediately, and she turns her head toward the window.Moment gone. Guard up.“I thought we’d already established that the branches of our family trees weren’t up for discussion.”

“It’s a simple question.”

She sighs. “Nothing with you is ever simple, Marchesi. I’ve only known you for a day and that fact is already engraved in stone.”

We drive in silence for a few more moments, my attention focused on the rearview mirror and the same blue sedan. The traffic is way too dense to be playing road tag, but I take a calculated risk and make a hard right, nearly sideswiping a Fiat. Not surprisingly, the sedan veers the same path.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I say, diverting her attention while keeping mine locked on the mirror.

“Of course, you would… What about you? Areyoualways this antagonistic withyoursiblings?”

I stiffen, my hands tightening around the steering wheel. “Don’tever…” I start, but another glance in the rearview mirror redirects my brewing anger to the fucking sedan that’s all but lodged itself in the backseat. “Damn it!” This time, my turn is so sharp, it flings Tatiana across her seat, and she smacks her head against her window. Letting out a blunt curse, she cradles her temple.

“What the hell was that?”

“Offensive driving.”Which I’m about to kick up about twelve notches.Slamming my foot onto the pedal, I keep it glued to the floor, sending the speedometer from seventy-five miles per hour to ninety. “Look behind us.”

Tatiana turns, her eyes widening as the sedan mimics our every move. “Who are they?”

“I don’t know, but they’ve been following us for the last ten miles. They’re not just riding our asses now; they’re trying to flatten them.”