Into deception

"Kinda fun"

📚

"There are twenty or thirty men in here. Enough to keep everyone occupied for a few minutes. I know you'll survive— that isn't what concerns me. Your friends, however... they're a different matter."

"I could just kill you now."

"Believe me, I'm tempted." He stood. "Just not today." His expression never changed. "You still have a part to play. If you decide otherwise, my sniper has orders to kill your friends the moment I give the word."

I can't help but smile. He's got audacity.

He walks behind me, close enough that I can feel the heat of him before he ever touches me. Slowly, he lowers his head until the rough stubble along his jaw brushes against my cheek, the scratch of it deliberate, lingering.

"I hope to see you soon, Mia. I honestly mean that."

Before I can react, warm lips graze my skin.

It's only a kiss to my cheek, brief enough to be over before I can move, but it leaves behind an irritating warmth that refuses to fade. As he pulls away, his scent follows him instead of leaving with him—rich cedar threaded with the faintest hint of lavender. Expensive. Clean. The kind of fragrance you only notice when someone is standing close enough to steal your air.

"She tastes sweet, Nicholas," he says with a quiet chuckle into my earpiece. "Do you miss it?"

I sit perfectly still, refusing to turn around even though every instinct I have is begging me to go after him. I listen as his footsteps fade, waiting...

Nothing. Not a word from Bane. No order. No interruption. Not even his breathing.

The silence settles heavily in my ear, and I know exactly what it means.
A dead man walking has never sounded so fitting.

"Mia."

Will's voice cuts through the ringing in my ears, dragging me back to the task at hand.

I push myself to my feet and turn around.

They're all still there.

Every pair of eyes in the room is fixed on me, waiting. Some grip broken bottles, others hold pool cues or knives, but none of them move. Not yet. It's as if they're all waiting for someone to throw the first punch.

"Mia, we took out the snipers. Do not engage— we're on our way!"

The words barely leave his mouth before one man steps forward. The crowd parts around him without a word, opening a path straight to me.

He's enormous.

A worn pool stick hangs loosely from one hand as he walks with slow, deliberate steps. His eyes never leave mine.

Crack.

Without breaking stride, he snaps the cue clean in half between his hands and lets the splintered pieces settle into his grip.

He smiles, striding forward.

I quickly move my dress to the side, fingers finding the familiar grip of my two knives hidden beneath the fabric. The weight of them settles me. Something solid. Something I know.

"That's going to be pretty difficult, Will."

"Can you make it to the door?" His voice comes out shaky through the earpiece, his breathing uneven as he tries to manage both talking and running at the same time.

I almost laugh.
Almost.

"If I could, I wouldn't—" I don't get the chance to finish.

The air shifts with instincts taking over. I bring my arms up just in time to block the swing coming down toward me. The force behind it is enough to make my entire body jolt.