Page 85 of Vicious Impulses (The Capo and Ballerina)
He strokes the scruff on his chiseled jaw. “When really it’s about what information you can get from them.”
I nod. “No one suspects the dancers. We’re docile and obedient. We’re trained to be that way.”
“Trained in other ways as well.”
My fingers uncurl in my lap as my gaze lowers to them. Nail-bitten and chewed, they’re the fingers of a woman that’s lived much of her life under duress. I return to my bad habit, picking at my frayed cuticle, feeling the satisfying sting of the skin I rip away. The tiny gash I leave behind.
Caelian watches me as if he understands what I’m doing. He makes no effort to stop me like he has in the past. He allows me to indulge in my habit as I think through my thoughts.
“We were trained in the basic tenets of espionage,” I answer. “Combat, weapons training, surveillance and counter surveillance.”
“Suddenly, it makes so much sense how you were able to take out the gunman at the theater. That kick of yours…”
“I’m not skilled. I’m not a physical threat, Caelian.”
His slate-gray eyes narrow. “Nevi, your diminutive and unassuming size and nature are a threat enough.”
“I’ve never been a good spy. I’m not cut out for it.”
“Yet you’ve managed to fool me for weeks.”
“It wasn’t by choice. You have to believe me.” I stand up from where I’m tucked into the armchair by the window. I move toward it for a look at the white powder floating in the dark. “I was told if I went against my instruction, I would be risking my father’s life. I was told he would be killed, Caelian. My mother insisted I continue no matter what.”
He stands up from his position on the edge of the huge king-sized bed and comes up behind me. His Herculean presence engulfs me in masculine heat without touch. It’s visceral enough I can feel the energy he exudes.
“I didn’t want to keep it from you,” I say, my throat sore. My voice strangled. “But I didn’t know if I could trust you. The longer I was with you, the harder it became to lie. The more I pleaded with my mother to find me an out so I wouldn’t have to lie to you any longer.”
His titan-sized hands come up to grip the ball of my shoulders. Tight and firm but strangely soothing. “You thought I would use you against Nero?”
“I have sensitive information,” I confess. “Information Nero didn’t want you to have.”
“Which is why he tried so desperately to get you back.”
I labor another breath, its sound gritty to my ears. “I hated feeling like I was betraying you, Cael. After how hard you tried to make me happy, I realized I didn’t want to deceive you anymore. But my mother insisted if I wanted to keep my father alive…”
He squeezes my shoulders, then bows his head and nuzzles his face against mine. “I understand,bella. You were carrying out what you were told to do. You had no allegiance to me. I forced you to be here.”
My stomach rolls with unease despite his words. “Did Nero demand you give me back?”
“Yes,” he answers. “But I won’t be doing so. You’re mine, regardless of what consequence that comes with.”
I do my best to mask my relief. I meet his gaze in the reflection of the glass window and allow for a subtle quirk of my lips. A small but poignant gesture.
His grip tightens on my shoulders. “What is the information you have, Nevi? What do you know that Nero is so concerned about?”
I think fast, weighing options, choosing my reaction carefully. “I’m not exactly sure. I have a key. It unlocks some kind of code that’s important to Nero in gaining control of your family’s pharmaceutical company. My father gave it to me. I hid it in the city.”
Caelian’s broad, muscled frame eases half a step back from me. His hands go nowhere, smoothing down the length of my arms and then gliding upward again. “I figured it would be something like that. His desperation to have you returned was too much. It wasn’t out of affection or even lust. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve suspected he wants you for another reason. Where in the city is this key?”
“In my old dorm. I never grabbed it before I was brought here.”
“And you don’t know what it unlocks beyond that it’s a code?”
“My parents have never told me. They’ve wanted to protect me.”
Caelian grunts, but says nothing else.
“W-what now?” I stutter out. My brows knit watching him in the window glass.