Millie

"Millie wait."

I ignored Marcus as he shouted after me, choosing instead to pick up the pace. No one would accuse the man of being out of shape, but his preferred workout sessions included dim lights, new age music, and men in extremely short shorts holding downward dog. He threw in weightlifting for variety and building muscle and cardio only between the sheets. His words, not mine.

"Damn it, Millie."

Every syllable was separated by a pant, and the sound of his footsteps faded. The flat line I'd forced my lips to hold while Greg laid out his plan wavered, the left end turning up ever so slightly, but after a few seconds, the smirk collapsed into a frown. Marcus deserved every panicked breath and thought, but torturing him like this only made me feel better for a moment. It didn't solve anything.

I halted, keeping my back to him while I peered down the dark city street. The storm I'd witnessed approaching before my meeting with the Butcher had come and gone, leaving a silver sheen on sidewalks and the road, and every car that passed sent a hissing spray of water into the air. A few, broad wisps of clouds lingered in a night sky that never truly went dark in the city, and while the moon was bright and almost full, if any of its white glow made to me, it was lost in the light pollution.

"The fact," Marcus said, coming up beside me and bending forward, hands on his knees to catch his breath, "you can move that fast in those shoes impresses me."

"Your opinion doesn't matter anymore."

"Millie—"

"No." I spun on him. "You set me up. All of this. The day you showed me that video... that wasn't the first time you'd seen it, was it?"

Hooking his hands together, he rested them on his head and tipped it back. "No."

"Well, at least this conversation is going to start with honesty."

I rubbed my arms and glanced around. Standing out here made me feel exposed, but now that I'd made a deal with the devil, what lurked in the shadows shouldn't frighten me. Something skittered down my spine, and my shoulders curled forward. No, it wasn't the demons in the dark I feared, but the avenging angel who could descend upon us at any moment.

"Look, I didn't have another choice. This is all so much more fucked up than you can understand, Millie."

"Make me understand it."

"All you need to know—"

"No," I shouted, startling a couple sitting on steps in front of a building across the street. Waving at them to assure them I was fine, I lowered my voice. "No. You don't get to decide what I need to know anymore."

"And you don't get to tell me what I have to share."

We glared at one another. "What a childish answer."

"You're the one acting like a child."

My shoes clicked on the pavement as I stepped back, hands flailing between us. "You absolute asshole. I was just given the choice between forfeiting any hope of a normal life—or a life at all—and betraying someone I... someone who is a good man. Lochlan Sloan is a good man."

"What's new, Millie? We've been betraying people for years. One more time, and you're free."

You said that last time. "The people we've targeted before were bad. They hurt people. Took from others. They're not like that."

"For fuck's sake, Millie. You're planting a flash drive on the guy's computer, not murdering him. What is it really going to hurt?"

The flash drive in my pocket suddenly weighed a hundred pounds. "I don't know what it's going to hurt, Marcus, because you won't tell me what it's for. You won't trust me."

"It's not that I don't want to, Millie. You want out of this life, and the more you know, the harder it is to get out. Tell me what you want more: your freedom or what we're doing with that flash drive."

Some of the bitterness I felt toward my old friend softened. No matter what he was hiding, what he was saying now wasn't a lie. But then, a thought occurred to me.

"Can you tell me this? Does this have anything to do with Marianna?"

"Freedom or knowledge, Millie."

That was probably a yes, then. Strange how I'd come to this city claiming to be Marianna Reed, but until this moment, I had given little thought to the mystery around her disappearance. She was merely a character in a sad story, but Marcus' denial ripped open a well of curiosity inside of me. And just maybe my way out of the deal I made could be found in solving her mystery.

Sighing, I started to walk again. "This isn't going to be as simple as you think. If I show up after running away like I did, you don't think he's going to be suspicious?"

"Tell him you got scared. Tell him you spent a night on the streets and realized you wouldn't make it without help."

"Why me? Couldn't someone pose as a maid or something and plug it in?"

I didn't have to look at him to know he was giving me side-eye. "You don't think we would do that if we could? His staff goes through more background checks than a government employee, and his office is notoriously off limits."

Except for last night—god, had that only been last night? And how had that been the only time we'd kissed? My body tightened, recalling the way he'd taken charge, toeing the line between passion and assault as he devoured me, and even if he had crossed the line, I would have gone willingly. My panties grew wet just thinking about the way he'd moved me over his hardness, hitting exactly where I needed it with every pass. It was one of the most erotic moments of my life, and we hadn't removed a single stitch of clothing.

"Millie?"

I squeaked and tripped. Marcus caught me before I face planted. "Sorry."

"Where did you go?"

"Just thinking."

He nodded and glanced at the watch on his wrist. "Let's get you put up somewhere tonight. You can get some sleep and go back in the morning."

"He's gonna be so pissed," I said. Not just because I'd worried him but because he would see my escape attempt as a betrayal after our day together. "Are you going to stay with me?"

"No. I have somewhere else to be."

"The mystery man?"

The sharp point of his elbow dug into my ribs. "Don't ask questions, Millie, and don't worry about Lochlan. He'll come around. If he won't calm down, show him your breasts."

"W-what?" I burst into laughter even as a heat rushed through my body. It was a completely absurd idea, and one I seriously didn't hate.

Marcus shrugged. "Straight men lose all train of thought when they see titties, right?"

"Never say the word titties again."

We bickered the rest of the way to the hotel, and my face hurt from smiling by the time I made it to my room. Did I forgive Marcus for the lies and secrets he continued to keep? Not completely. But for a little while, my world felt normal again. I would hold on to that for as long as I could because tomorrow, the game was changing. And nothing would ever be the same again.