Erasing Faith(77)

He shrugged.

I held in a scream. “Give them to me.”

“What, these?” He held up the keys. “No. Not until you listen to what I have to say.”

I couldn’t contain it anymore — the scream escaped, a screech of sheer frustration and anger. “Ruining my life once wasn’t enough for you? You really came back for round two?” My voice was borderline hysterical. “God, what don’t you understand? I don’t want to talk to you, or listen to you. I hate you.”

Something flickered in his eyes, but it was gone far too quickly for me to read it.

“Still stubborn as a f*cking ox, I see,” he muttered under his breath. “The thing is, I don’t give a shit what you want. You’re going to listen.”

I stared at him, fuming. Adjusting my grip on the gun, I tried not to let him see that my hands were trembling with effort to remain in control.

Just looking at him ached like a bullet wound to the stomach. It was like seeing the ghost of everything I’d ever wanted in life, come back to haunt me. I stared at the man I thought I’d loved, at the lie I’d so easily fallen for, and I felt myself slowly bleeding out inside. Blood filled my chest cavity as my shrapnel-shredded heart was ripped open again for the first time in three years. It was a miracle I managed to stay standing as whatever scar tissue had managed to heal over was torn away like paper, the old wound made fresh once more.

I dragged a deep breath through my nose. “There’s nothing you can say that will affect me or my life.”

His grin faded a bit. “Well, then there’s no harm in hearing me out, is there?”

I fought the urge to roll my eyes at his logic. “If I listen, you’ll give me the keys?”

He nodded.

“Then get it over with.” I somehow found the strength to make my voice steady, when inside I was falling apart. “I’d like you out of my life again as soon as possible.”

“Fine.” His jaw clenched tighter. “I’m here to tell you you’re in danger.”

I tried not to scoff.

“The mission in Budapest three years ago — I was there for a man named Szekely. He’s an arms dealer, but not the kind who f*cks around with old army regulation AK-47s and sawed off shotguns. He’s next-gen. Heat-seeking missiles, drones, biological warfare. My protocol was to gather intel on his front company—”

“Hermes,” I muttered darkly.

He nodded. “I planted cameras and got eyes inside—”

“By using me,” I supplied, my voice venomous.

“You know, for someone who said she wanted this over as soon as possible, you sure have a lot of f*cking interruptions,” he noted pointedly.

My mouth snapped shut.

“I was looking for a prototype. When we raided the Hermes offices, we also raided Szekely’s compound. There was nothing — and no one — inside by the time we got there. The entire place was cleaned out.”

I felt my eyebrows go up in curiosity, though I still didn’t understand how this translated to me being in danger.

“Someone tipped him off. Someone on my team.” His anger was apparent, suffused in every word that escaped his tight-pressed lips. “Szekely has a lot of money. His bribes have carried him a long way.”

I couldn’t keep myself in check any longer. “And this matters to me because…”

His eyes locked on mine and the expression on his face was so serious, I felt my stomach flip in foreboding. “Because, in the past year, everyone who was even remotely involved with the Szekely operation — from the couriers to the men who raided that facility by my side — has wound up dead.”

“What?” I breathed in disbelief.

“They’re dead — the girls you worked with, the men on my team. Someone is hunting them down and killing them. A professional — the hits are clean, execution style.” His voice was low, each word intent. “You are in serious danger. Trust me, I wouldn’t be here if you weren’t.”

Trust him. Trust him. Was he freaking kidding?

I stared at him, torn between laughter and tears. His words seemed ludicrous, but they had their intended effect — I was scared, even if I didn’t fully believe him. Each word he spoke, each expression on his face was so convincing, it made me falter for a moment.

But then I remembered this was the same man who’d deceived me once before. The man who’d fooled me so thoroughly, so successfully, I’d thought I was in love with him.

“I don’t believe a damn word you say.” My voice was cold. “You’re a liar. You’ve proven that in the past. Who’s to say you aren’t lying now?”

“I’m not lying.” His words were adamant. “You think I was the only one watching your house, waiting for you to slip up and come home? If they know where you are, you’ll be dead before you can so much as reach for that pretty little pistol you keep waving around.”

“I heard what you had to say.” I stared at him blankly, careful to conceal all the pain and heartbreak that was tearing me up inside. “Now, give me the goddamned keys before I shoot you with this pretty little pistol. It might be small, but it shoots straight and true. And its bullets will kill you just as quick.”

He stared at me for a long moment before nodding and tossing the keys by my feet. “Fine. It’s your funeral.”