Page 87 of Danger Close
Cobra
“You can’t promise that,” she whispered.
She smiled but she was so sad. If I wasn’t already determined to make thisRaypay with a pound of flesh I would be now. I’d do anything to wipe the sorrow from her blue eyes.
“I can.” I kissed one cheek, tasting her salty tears. “I do.” I kissed the other cheek. “I will.”
I kissed her lips again, greedy for her sweetness. I was insatiable for her affection, for her happiness.
“I don’t know the full extent of what he did to you. I might never fully know unless you tell me.” She shook her head, ready with her denials, but I silenced her with another kiss, so I couldsteer the conversation where it needed to go. “Rest assured, that whatever it was, he will be more than punished for his crimes.”
She smiled sadly, still having no faith in my words. “He has damaged far more than just me. Will they have justice, too?”
“Yes.”
She scoffed in disbelief. Her eyes turned away, and I couldn’t have that.
Ineededher to look at me. There was no line I would not cross for her. There was no price I would not pay to right the world that had wronged her.
When I had her attention again, I made sure she saw into my fucking soul with those perceptive, piercing cerulean eyes. “Try me, Princess.”
The only reason I even know what the world cerulean meant was because I was obsessed with the color of her irises. I was obsessed with how I could describe the exact perfection of their shade.
As a bit of a clothes horse, she’d kept swatches of the colors that matched her skin. I saw the color, and asked what it was.
She’d answered me in French. “Un bleu céruléen.”
That exact moment of our lives was emblazoned in my mind. Her hair was clipped up, tendrils falling down her shoulders. Her lips had the lightest gloss, and she had bags under her eyesfrom a late night of dancing in the rain. She was getting a cold, so I made her tea.
I held the swatch in my hand, just one of dozens that were stapled together.Un blee céruléen.
“I swear, I will fix this. I’ll fix our family.” I looked between her shining, tear-stained eyes, looking for the answer I wanted. The answer I needed. “Give me a chance.”
She was on the brink of sayingyes.I could see it from the way the corner of her mouth pulled back to form the word. But then someone clinked their knife against the side of a champagne flute. The sound of metal on glass ringing like a bell surrounded us, as everyone forced the newlywed couple to kiss.
The moment was over. It was time for the bride’s parents to take their seats.
I reluctantly left Teri at the table. I had to track down Sonia Norkus and get her to tell me what she knew.
She was standing with a Secret Service agent, her arms crossed, one hip jutted out in her skin-tight business suit. She looked like trouble, and not in a good way.
“Norkus,” I said through gritted teeth.
Her head turned fast, but I knew she wasn’t surprised. She’d been waiting for me. Spies can’t have a normal God damnconversation–ever. We’re always pretending to be something else. In this case, she was pretending to be engrossed in conversation with the Secret Service agent.
She smirked, tilted her head. “How can I help you, Mr. Guerro?”
“First, if you ever imply that you and I are having an affair to Teresa Guerro, I will fucking murder you. Am I completely clear?” It wasn’t an idle threat. It was an absolute promise. “If you ever come near my wife, I will gladly slash your throat.”
“Your wife?” She tapped a single red nail against her matching red lips. “I thought you were divorced.”
I growled, towering over the Lilliputian woman. “I don’t care what the fuck your intel says, Norkus. She’s my wife. Don’t fucking forget it.”
“Oh, look at you. Big, bad Ghost Guerro, protective over a woman.” Her laugh was as piercing as the cutlery tapping against crystal that erupted in the reception hall, making the bride and groom kiss over and over again. “I want a job with Paradigm. I don’t need anything fancy. I’ll happily take an entry level position.”
“A job?” I was incredulous. As far as asks, that was a rather small one.
Still, my gut churned. Her, working for my family’s company? “You’re a CIA black ops pod commander. Why the hell would you take an entry-level position?” I looked at her with absolute scorn. “Especially when yourbossis wrapped around your finger.”
