Page 31 of Fallen Rook

I’d never keep this kind of information from a sexual partner. It was a shitty thing to do. I also made a note to tell Katya I was casually seeing someone. Communication was key if I wanted to avoid a Luca/Sofia-type situation.

Tom ran his remote gaze down my body, like he was looking at something he needed to determine whether he wanted to buy. “Katya Rasputin?”

I nodded. Thank fuck we were never going to be a real couple. He would decimate my ass in a game of Who Knows Better.

“What do you mean, I shouldn’t worry about the morality of it?” Tom rearranged his gun in its holster.

“Cheating,” I explained. “I’d never do it. And I’d never make someone a home-wrecker, either.”

“Since when do you have morals?”

“Since always.” I frowned. “Just because our values differ doesn’t make mine nonexistent, you know.”

“You’re a murderer.”

“Waste management consultant.”

“Why do you care about cheating so much?”

“My brother once slept with a girlfriend of mine to make a point.” My throat grew tight and hot. “I…don’t want to make anyone feel the way it made me feel. But anyway, I just wanted you to know about my engagement, to get it out of the way.”

He stared at me like I was an idiot who was about to make the biggest mistake of his life. I couldn’t even fault him for it, because it was probably true.

“Marriage for alliance,” he said.

I nodded.

“Still your brothers’ lapdog, I see.”

“Mind your own business.” I snatched my car keys from the grass, looking left and right. How did he get here? I didn’t see his car anywhere, and this was a gated community, so his being here was breaking quite a few laws unless he had a warrant. “You need a ride home?”

“No, I’ll be in touch next time we can hook up.”

He marched through the cypresses, disappearing from view.

Chapter Eleven

Tom

Kid: Hi. I unblocked you.

Me:

Kid: When are we hooking up again?

Me: I’ll be in touch.

Kid: Counting on it, Tomcat.

Kid: I’m thinking of getting a new cut. Like this.

Kid: What do you think?

Me: What are you doing?

Kid: Making small talk…?