Page 30 of Wraith (Deviant Assassin #1)

Fi quirks an eyebrow even as my eye twitches.

“Did you bother to ask him?” He pauses, but she remains stubbornly silent.

“To tell the truth, is not like you at all, Miss Queen of Confrontation.” He shoves at her shoulder and Boo hisses at him.

“That man thought you hung the moon and stars, girl. Something drastic must have happened for Blade to fuck you over like that.”

Me? How in the actual fuck am I to blame?

“You don’t know shit, Fi, so don’t get all judgy eyed on me.” Kiera smirks, then lets out a slow breath, her tone a touch wistful. “He’s a disloyal dick. He left me, Fi. We’re done. Past done, for a long time now.”

Disloyal dick? Done? I gave up everything for you! Yet somehow created the very nightmare I was trying to prevent. I drove you into this world of blood and death.

He considers his words. “You’re not fooling me, or yourself. We both know you still love him. Otherwise, you would have divorced him by now. Would have moved on with your life. Admit it.”

“Fuck off. I’m not admitting jack shit,” my stubborn wife insists.

I’m riveted to the spot, unable to move even a muscle as I silently pray for Felix to pry the information out of her that will make sense of this cluster fuck of a situation.

“You don’t need to admit it, K. Actions speak louder than words and all that shit. It’s completely ironic the minute you entertain the idea of taking a lover, Blade shows up again.”

“Do not fucking start with me, Fi. I’ve no idea why Blade’s here, but it’s certainly not for me.

He made that crystal clear. So what if I play with Wild?

He at least shows up on the regular, which is more than Blade’s ever done.

He pays attention to me, wants me, and has a monster cock.

All we need is uninterrupted time to satisfy our mutual needs.

I’m not into any star-crossed lovers bullshit.

Been there, done that. Have the scars to prove it. ”

You fucking ran away from our life together. In what universe am I to blame for you cheating on me?

“Play with? Agent Wilder is obsessed with you. Stop lyin’ about how much space he takes up rent free in your head.”

Fi reads the confusion on her face as easily as I do. He stares her down until she relents.

“Fine! I can’t stop thinking about either of them.

But I’m not in love with anyone, especially Blade.

You’re mistaking curiosity and hormonal needs as interest in more.

Both are confusing as fuck and full of unanswered questions.

I may have married Blade, but obviously I sure as hell didn’t understand him.

You know how blindsided I was when he left me with questions and debt without a backward glance.

If he really loved me, he would have come back a hell of a long time ago, or at least sent a message explaining himself.

But he didn’t, not one word in all this time.

I don’t know who he is anymore, Felix—if I ever knew him at all.

Why was he so casual about blowing shit up right next to our house?

He’s different, Fi, and not in the way of someone I haven’t seen in years.

He’s more…” She waves her hands around. “… dangerous. Slick. Observant, like he can see right into my soul. His eyes hold something I can’t quite put my finger on, but it feels familiar. ”

Despite my standing in the night air, I can’t draw a breath. Every muscle in my body locks up at the bitter accusation in her voice. So, unlike the melodic sound in my memories.

She believes I left her with nothing.

I don’t know how she came to that conclusion, but the bitter desperation of the words she’s forcing out hurt more than the bullet that tore into my shoulder. The weight of the emotion, if not the words that make little sense, threatens to crush the walls around my heart.

Doubts swirl through me as my grip on the railing tightens until my fingers ache. But the pain is the only thing that will ground me in this sea of confusion.

I set you up for a life of happiness, of normalcy, Kiera. How the hell did you tumble into the dark world of killers?

Before I can completely lose my shit, Felix nods while rubbing his chin in thought; drawing me back to the present, craving any information he can drag from her. “And the Special Agent you should run fast and far from?”

Kiera cocks an eyebrow, biting her bottom lip.

“Wild is nothing more than someone to play with. A man to get off with. If he’s going to invade my life, he can be useful and stick more than his nose into it.

At least I’ll get something in return for all the bullshit this time around.

He’s safe, fun. But by no means is he someone to have a relationship with.

Because like I said, he wants to put Wraith behind bars for life. ”

Felix shakes his head. “I’m not buying your bullshit, K?—”

“Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think!

” She covers her face with her hands. Hiding…

always hiding. Her next words are muffled, so I press my ear against the crack between the slider and the wall.

“Every time I’ve given myself over to someone, they screw me over.

Other than you, every person I believed in has turned my trust against me.

I’ve been used, abused and thrown away. And I for sure will never let that happen again! And fuck you for trying to make me!”

Thrown away? Baby, I’d never… No wonder I can’t break free from you.

I cut my thoughts off, compartmentalize them the way that’s kept me alive over the years.

Now is not the time to sort out the twisted skeletons of the past. My self-preservation kicks in—gather information, blend into the shadows, survive.

Felix’s eyes widen and his shoulders sag in defeat.

“I get it, and I’m sorry.” He wraps his arms around her shoulders, but she shrugs him off, glaring at him.

He narrows his eyes, as if trying to decide something important.

But as quickly as the intense expression came, it’s gone.

His voice slips into a teasing tone to lighten the mood.

“Fine, your Bitchness, I at least need to know the important stuff.”

She glances up, her eyes suspiciously red rimmed and shiny. “What important stuff?”

He grins at her and shoves at her shoulder. “Obvs, I need to know who’s better, you know, in bed? Dangerous hottie number one or cuff you and lock you up, hottie number two?”

Kiera relaxes and a watery grin flits over her sexy mouth. She reaches out to stroke the furry one and shakes her head at Fi in exasperation. But his ploy works, because she answers him.

“Wild’s sexy, intelligent and has an enormous cock!

” She giggles and the twitch in my eye intensifies.

“But he’s, ya know, the whole trying to put Wraith in jail thing.

So, I’m going to forget he exists after I have a great O or two.

And as for my…” She swallows hard, the action moving in her slender, kissable throat, “… errant husband.” Kiera glances down at her hands, clenching them into fists, a sad resolve tinting her melodic voice.

“I have more respect for myself than to let that asshole back into my life.”

“But?”

Kiera sighs audibly and rolls her eyes. “He’s changed so much. Too much. But the change in his intensity… yeah… the sex was incredible. Our chemistry is still off the charts hot.”

“So,” he says, dragging out the word. “You gonna fuck Blade again if you get the chance? Since you know he’ll deliver massive O’s.”

Kiera jumps up onto her knees with a wicked smile, pretends to think, then nods. My lip curls and I rub at my twitching eye as they fall into peals of laughter.

“Yeah, totally. A girl needs to get her O’s where she can.”

Fi purses his lips. “So much for self-respect, hooker! Speaking of… what self-respecting woman would make herself choose between two men when she could have them both?” Kiera freezes, her eyes going wide in surprise. “At the same time!”

Oh, hell no. Not happening, no matter how hot it made me when I caught him commanding her to touch herself.