Page 26 of Silent Schemes

Will guns it before I’m even fully inside.

Sienna lies across the seat, head in my lap.

She looks up at me, mouth set in a hard line.

“You could have let them do it,” I say. “Let them take me out.”

She lifts her arm, swipes blood from her face. “That’s not the game.”

I stroke her hair, then slap her wound shut with a pressure pad.

She hisses, but doesn’t cry out.

“I’m going to keep you alive,” I tell her.

She smiles, eyes glazed. “Only so you can kill me later.”

“Maybe. Maybe I want to fuck you first, and I’m not into fucking corpses.”

She closes her eyes, breathing shallow.

I watch the city lights flicker by.

My hand never leaves her pulse.

When we get to my place, I carry her inside.

She’s lighter than she looks.

More fragile.

But still as dangerous as a nest of scorpions.

I lay her out on the couch, patch her up.

She’s half-awake, mumbling curses in Italian and French.

“You’re safe here,” I say, even though it’s a lie.

She opens her eyes. “Is that what you tell all your prisoners?”

I crouch next to her, lips close to her ear. “You’re not a prisoner. Not yet.”

She laughs, raw. “What am I, then?”

I press the bandage tighter, lean in. “Bait. Or a bargaining chip. Or maybe just a pretty face I don’t want to ruin.”

She catches my wrist, squeezes. “You’re bleeding,” she says.

I look down.

There’s blood on my sleeve, but it’s not mine.

She tugs me down, hard, and kisses me.

Her mouth tastes like copper and revenge.

She bites my lip until I taste my own blood, then pulls away, eyes wild.