Page 140 of Kane

“Me,” I say.

Her eyes twinkle, blaze. “Gonna hold me hostage then, are you?”

I grin. “Don’t leave the club, you don’t gotta deal with your little meth-head shit-stick. Stick with me, mama, I’ll take care of you.”

She frowns. “I have to leave sometime. I can’t live in a nightclub, you know.”

I get close enough to smell her—roses, vanilla, lavender. And woman. “This one, you can. If you’re with me.”

Her eyes search me. “What the hell do you want from me?”

“Be no fun if I told you.”

She tilts her chin up. “Maybe I’ll take my chances out there.”

“You said it yourself, honey—you go out there, you’re his again.” I hold her eyes. “Chances are, he’s out there waiting. I can’t help you outside these walls.”

“But you can, in here?”

I nod, lift a hand, touch a springy tendril of vibrant red. “In here, I can. That’s a Chance you want to take.”

She tilts her head to one side, thoughtful. “What’s your name?”

“Chance.”

She laughs, and it’s a sound to light up the sun itself. “Very clever.” She nods, and I see the decision in her eyes. “Fine. I’ll hang around a bit.”

It’s a start. Not what I meant, but I can work with it.

Little does she know, she’s changed my very pulse—now my heart beats to one rhythm:

she’s-mine—she’s-mine—she’s-mine.