Page 32 of Sweet Deception

I’ll call Finn first. He’ll know how to keep this contained until we figure out exactly what we’re dealing with. As I think on it, I catch Veronika eyeing the warehouse exit routes. The sight damn near puts a smirk on my face.

She really thinks she could escape on her own.

Am I supposed to find her naivety this adorable?

Swallowing down that horrifying thought, I harden my voice. “Don’t even think about it, princess. I’ve got enough C4 in here to transform this place into a crater.”

“You’d really blow up an entire building just to stop me from getting away from you?” She tilts her head as if I’m the naive one. It’s infuriating. “That seems a little extreme. Even for you.”

I can’t keep from laughing. The irony’s too much.

She doesn’t know meat all.

Removing the remote from my breast pocket, I smile and press my favorite button. The one that detonates a small but impressive show of pyrotechnics on the far side of the warehouse.

A flash of heat. The pop of an explosion piercing the air and temporarily warping our hearing. The foundation shakesaround us, the warehouse walls creak, and the cat leaps in her lap.

The force of the contained blast whips our hair and clothes back.

And wipes that knowing look right off her face too.

Then comes that scent I love so much, the smell of the world burning…

Fire crackles on concrete behind me. The heat is palpable from here. I don’t even bother turning around.

My only regret is that Napalm is cowering now, terrified. Guilt cuts through me, blunting the victory of Veronika’s blank, subdued expression. With quivering fingers, she retrieves her cell phone from her pocket and offers it to me in silence.

I take this as her sign of resignation.

She’s giving in to me…and it’s hot to see her submit, even in this miniscule way. Yes. I’m finally back in control.

“Was that so hard?” I pry the phone from her hand and drop it in my pocket. “Now, you get a reprieve.”

She eyes me warily. Which is fair. She should be wary.

I can’t explain why, but her suspicion does something to my dick. Maybe because she’s so unresponsive. Even getting her to act cautious around me is a win. At least I can read her that much.

“I’m taking you to a safe house.” I say the words and come to the decision at the same time.

“But will it be safe for me?”

So, she knows how to ask important questions.

Reaching for her arm and guiding her up and back toward my car, I smirk but don’t reply. The Kings own a secure property not too far from here—a small, out-of-the-way, two-story house upstate. We’re only half an hour away.

The place is perfect.

Middle of nowhere. Stars for miles.

On any other night, the clear atmosphere would pull me to a place like that, where I could gaze up and remind myself there’s order outside my chaotic life. Searching for constellations, spotting other planets… The night sky has always calmed my overworked mind, ever since I was a kid.

Needless to say, I have conflicting emotions about my attraction to the woman who hacked my phone. Veronika Kotova is clearly caught up in some kind of intrigue that involves my mafia family, so I need to keep my guard up, but…

There’s something about her.

For the first time in my life, I’ve found a problem I can’t blast my way through.

Chapter Thirteen