Page 62 of The Blonde Who Came in from the Cold
“Besides a very angry Russian and his presumably angrier mistress?” Alex reached for the olives.
“What makes you think Irina’s angry?”
“Trust me. I’ve seen Viktor Kozlov. The woman who signed up for that job hates him. And herself. And... OMG—”
“Do people really say ‘OMG’?”
“Michael Kingsley, are you... laughing?”
“No. I have something in my eye.”
“That’s for crying. You were.” She leaned down and pulled his hands away from his face. “You were smiling. At me. Because I’m delightful. Say it.”
“Do we know how many deliveries they get a week?”
“Three. Groceries, flowers, and linens. And don’t change the subject—”
“You are... amusing.” He really didn’t want to admit it. “At times.”
“I knew it. You adore me. I’m adorable.”
The moon was full, and the sky was clear, and they were far enough from shore that it felt like he could make out every star, but all King could do was shake his head and say, “No comment.”
Alex must have decided to give up while she was ahead because she dropped onto the lounge beside him. The yacht rocked and swayed, but King could hear the gears turning in her mind. It was like she was gathering her thoughts and her courage, but when she spoke, it wasn’t much more than a whisper.
“You know, I’m an excellent climber.”
He hated that he could tell when she was serious. He loathed that she was her most serious right then.
“No.”
“We know the guards. The rotations. It wouldn’t be hard.”
“It would be extremely hard.”
“I could do it without ropes.”
“Absolutely not!”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s a death sentence! Those cliffs aren’t straight up and down, Sterling. Which would be bad enough. The middle section is almost all overhang and... No.”
“Fine.” She sounded like a teenager who had just been told she couldn’t have the keys to her dad’s Maserati. “Whatever. As long as I don’t get you killed, right?”
He wasn’t smiling anymore. “Exactly.”
If anyone from the house was scanning the sea and the ships, it was important that they look the part, so that was why he tugged her closer. One of her legs twisted until it was lying over one of his, and through it all, the dark waters of the Mediterranean kept lapping against the hull and the moon kept shining overhead and the silence stretched out around them like the night.
“It wouldn’t be the first time, you know?” The words were so low, they were almost swallowed by the sea and King almost didn’t hear them. But he did. “I’ve been almost killing people my whole life. Longer even.”
“I’m afraid your math doesn’t make sense there, Sterling.” He wasn’t actually expecting her to laugh. Not like she thought he was funny but like she thought he was... sweet. Innocent. Almost naive. As if she knew something he didn’t.
“Shows what you know; I almost killed someone in the womb.”
“What—”
“Never mind.” She tried to get up, but he wasn’t about to let her go, so he pivoted, trapping one of her legs under one of his.
