Page 36 of Twisted Fate

About an hour later,I hear Konstantin emerge from his room, and the sound of breakfast being served. I take a moment to compose myself before heading out to meet him, and I sit down across from him at the breakfast table, keeping my expression as neutral as I can.

He looks up from his tablet. “Sleep well?” he asks, without a hint of irony in his voice. I bite back the reply I want to shoot at him, and smile instead.

“I slept fine.”

“Good.” He reaches for his coffee, and I take a breath.

“I found something I’d like to do.”

He raises an eyebrow, and I push my phone toward him, the excursion page lit up on the screen. “It’s an overnight camping trip in the park. Just the two of us, although a guide will be a little ways off, if we were to need something. I think it would be fun.”

Konstantin’s brows knit, and I keep speaking hurriedly, before he can say anything. “I’m not trying to get you alone for any… reasons,” I say quickly. “I get it. You want to keep things… businesslike, for now. But this sounds fun. And I want to have fun, while we’re here. Plus, after what happened last night, maybe it would be good to get away from the resort for a night? Just, you know, while they’re looking into it.”

He presses his lips together, scanning the screen. “I hadn’t pegged you for being so outdoorsy,” he says finally. “Especially after what happened on the safari.”

“I’m sure it’s safe.”

“It says right here that it might not be.” His eyebrow twitches. “I’m not sure about this.”

“I stabbed a man last night, Konstantin. You almost got shot.” I reach across the table, laying my fingers over his hand that’s touching my phone. “I just want to put a little space between us and here, even if it means going out on a limb, so to speak. I think it would be exciting. And really, it can’t be that dangerous. They wouldn’t have it if guests were regularly getting hurt. It’s probably just the stupid ones who wander off or don’t follow instructions and get into trouble, and neither of us is stupid or careless.”

Konstantin chuckles dryly. “That’s true enough.” He glances over the page again, before pushing the phone back toward me. “Sophia?—”

“Please.” I don’t have to fake the plea in my tone. I truly don’t know how I’m going to accomplish this mission if I can’t get Konstantin alone for a night—really alone.

He gives me a long, searching look, and I wonder what he’s thinking. If he’s remembering last night, and the fact that I saved his life. If he’s thinking that he owes me because of that.

Konstantin lets out a long breath. “Fine,” he says at last. “Overnight camping trip it is.”

—

By late afternoon,we're bouncing along a dirt track in an open-sided Land Rover, our guide pointing out wildlife as we go. It’s still uncomfortably hot, the sun beating down mercilessly,but the breeze created by the movement of the vehicle keeps it bearable. What isn’t as bearable is how, every time the truck jolts over a rough spot in the ‘road,’ Konstantin’s muscled thigh brushes against mine.

I’m not opposed to the idea that we might sleep together before I kill him tonight. I’m hoping that’s what happens—that the romance of the evening, coupled with the closeness of finally sleeping in the same space, frays his self-control to breaking and he finally gives in. It would be a shame to kill him without finding out how good this could be between us.

Or maybe it’s better if I don’t know.I was too glad that he survived last night. Too relieved to see him in one piece. I shouldn’t have cared, other than because the fact that he survived meant he was still alive for me to kill.

I made sure to sit on the side of Konstantin that meant he wouldn’t brush up against my left thigh. There’s a gun strapped underneath my dress, a long, silky khaki-colored maxi—that the guide side-eyed when we walked out to meet him. It’s not appropriate attire for this kind of excursion at all, and I’m sure he thought I was one of the stupidest tourists he’d ever taken on this trip. But I need to be able to get to a weapon tonight—either the gun or the knife I have tucked inside my bra.

Next to me, Konstantin looks like he stepped out of a safari catalog, in tan linen pants, a thin white button-down with the sleeves rolled up and exposing both his arm tattoos and his muscled forearms, and his gold chain resting just below his collarbones. The sun glints off of it, drawing my eye over and over again to the muscled planes of his chest beneath the shirt, and the hint of blond hair and tattoos crawling up from the V of the top button.

"Look there," our guide says, pointing to a distant tree. "Leopard."

“Great,” Konstantin mutters under his breath. “I think I’ve seen enough big cats on this trip to last me a lifetime. And we’re going to sleep out here?”

I glance over at him, unable to stop the teasing grin on my lips. “Are you scared, Konstantin?”

He glares at me. “I should have brought a gun.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him that I did. I think he’s actually, genuinely nervous, and I find myself oddly wanting to reassure him. But while I’ve been able to make up excuses for my excellent self-defense skills, I have no plausible reason right this second why I, Sophia Moretti, would have brought weapons along on our honeymoon.

The guide drives us to a small clearing where a tent has been set up—much more luxurious than I expected, with a proper bed visible through the open tent flaps, and even a portable shower enclosure nearby. A fire pit sits ready for the evening, and a table with two chairs has been arranged for dinner.

"I'll leave you to settle in," the guide says, as he sets our bags just inside the tent and returns to the Land Rover. "I'll be camped just over that rise if you need anything. Dinner will be served at sunset."

As he drives away, I'm suddenly aware of how alone we are. Konstantin walks to the edge of the tent, gazing out over the savannah, his profile sharp against the setting sun.

“This is more luxurious than I expected,” he says finally. “I’m glad I wasn’t expected to pitch the tent.”

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