Ignited (Most Wanted #3)(23)
Author: J. Kenner

How had I come to this? I felt as if my whole life I’d been walking around made of some sort of combustible material, and I’d only just realized it. I’d been safe, so long as I stayed away from a spark.

But then I’d edged too close to Cole and he’d ignited me. I was going to burn—that much was inevitable. But dammit, I wanted to pull him into the fire with me.

He sat watching me, silent, waiting for me to go on. But I didn’t know what else to say. “So that’s it,” I finally said. “Will you help?”

“What makes you think I can?”

“I know about the Da Vinci,” I said, referring to a forgery of a famous Da Vinci notebook that I knew he’d created years ago.

His brow lifted almost imperceptibly. “What Da Vinci?”

I cocked my head. “The one that’s in Angie and Evan’s condo. Do I really need to elaborate? Or maybe I should recite the litany of your various criminal activities over the years? I’ve been right here, remember? I’ve seen a lot. And I understand what I see.”

There was a moment of silence, and then he leaned back in his seat, so cool and so casual that it was easy to see how he’d become so powerful. Nothing rattled the man. Or, at least, nothing rattled him until he exploded. And then the entire world shook.

“If I’m understanding you right, you’re looking to retain the services of someone who could forge a holographic will.”

“I am,” I said after a brief moment’s hesitation. “Honestly, I don’t know what else to do.” The truth was, I understood what giving that forged will to Muratti would do—it would put the old man at risk. But right then, right there, I had to think about my dad. And hope that somehow, some way, everything would work out.

“Even if I could find someone to retain, why should I?”

“Because I’m here and because I’m asking,” I said. “And because I need your help.” I thought of the girls at Destiny that the knights had been helping for years. I thought of the art students that Cole taught in his nonexistent free time, and the professional artists like Tiki who he mentored.

He wouldn’t deny me—I was certain of that. And, yes, I was playing a game and using his good nature to roll the dice, but I had a feeling that in my position, Cole would do the same.

“All right,” he said. “Done.” He rose, then moved across the room to get another drink.

I watched him go, appreciating the view, but also feeling a bit shell-shocked. “That’s it? No negotiation? No back and forth?”

“Disappointed?”

I shook my head. “How long will it take to make up the forgery?”

He leaned against the bar and took a long sip of his whiskey. “I’m not going to make a forgery.”

“But you said—”

“I said that I’d help. I didn’t say how.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but shut it again almost immediately. I wanted a solution that didn’t require a forgery, after all. And considering the kinds of deals and schemes Cole manipulated and skirted every second of every day, I was confident that he could come up with a plan that both made sense and kept my father—and the property owner—alive.

“All right,” I said. “I trust you.”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “That’s good to know.”

I drew in a breath, then got up off the couch. I moved to him, hoping that he would put his arms around me and draw me close. He didn’t, though, and I was left standing there, a little lost, a little aroused, as the air between us hummed hot and heavy.

“I really do trust you, you know,” I said softly. “Whatever it is that you think we need to talk about, I promise you, we don’t.”

“Kat.” He pressed his hands to my face, then held me gently as he peered into my eyes. I swallowed, unnerved by his intense inspection, but my gaze didn’t waver, and what I saw in his face gave me hope.

He bent forward then and captured my mouth with his. I could taste the whiskey on his breath, and I felt suddenly lightheaded. But I wasn’t sure if it was the liquor or the man.

Unlike our kiss the night of the gala, this one was soft and sweet and a little sad, and I was already shaking my head in anticipation of his words as he pulled away.

“I can’t be the man you need.”

“You’re wrong. You can’t be anything else.”

He reached into a pocket in the sweatpants, then pulled out a smooth green stone. It was oval-shaped and flat, with a thumb-sized indention on one side. He held it in his hand as I’d seen him do numerous times before, turning it over and over as he stroked and toyed with it.

“I know it confuses you,” he said. “But I care about you, Katrina. And you can scream and rage and hate me all you want, but this isn’t going any further. I can’t stand the thought of hurting you, and you deserve someone a whole lot less fucked up than I am.”

“Hurting me?” I repeated. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? You say that you want me—that you care about me. And you know damn well that I care about you, too. But you’re pushing me away? That’s what hurts, Cole. Not this.” I turned so that my back faced him, then tugged down the sleeve of my T-shirt to reveal the still-red scrapes on my shoulder.

“Jesus,” he said, his voice like a low, pained curse.

“You didn’t hurt me,” I said, emphasizing each word. “How can I make you see that? It’s just scrapes. It’s just flesh. It’s nothing compared to what there could be between us.”

I wanted to throw up my hands and scream in frustration and bewilderment. Frustration that I couldn’t get through his irritatingly thick skull. Bewilderment that I cared so much. I’d never cared so much. Not about anything, really, and certainly not about a man.

Things were changing, though. Or rather I was changing. I cared about my house. I cared about finding a better job. I cared about my friends and my father. About getting settled. About those roots I’d told Daddy I was planting.

And I cared about this man. I cared so desperately that I wasn’t sure if I wanted to slap him or kiss him or cry on his shoulder.

Slowly, he reached for me, then gently stroked my shoulder, careful to avoid the worst of the scrapes. I felt my pulse increase in tempo, and I drew in a long, stuttering breath. His hands were like magic upon me, sending swirls of enchantment all through me. Awakening me. Warming me.