CHAPTER NINE

Good Christ her eyes were haunting.

They bore into my fucking soul with a power I didn't know could exist. The soft, cornflower blue sat nestled in the centers of wide contours, surrounded by dark, heavy lashes. They were distracting. Dangerously.

They watched me now with confusion over my words. I could see her trying to piece it together. To make it make sense.

"I see," she whispered softly. "May I ask why?"

How was she so calm?

It baffled me. Most people — not even women specifically — would have been hysterical. They would try to make a run for it. They would have said things like, No! You can't do that. Useless things. Part of me had been surprised when she'd come out of the bathroom at all. I'd expected her to have crawled out the window. The jump would have been high, but there was a whole trellis down the side she could have used to climb down. I'd been prepared to go in after her if she hadn't come out, face freshly washed, hair tamed, and looking so small in my top.

"You saw me kill a man," I reminded her.

Katie Smith blinked. "Oh! Of course," she murmured as if it made all the sense in the world. "You really don't have to worry about that. I won't tell anyone."

I would have laughed if she didn't look so ... adorably genuine. It was as if she hadn't seen a movie in her life. Did she honestly think that would work?

Yet, I nodded. "I know." Because I did with zero doubt in my mind.

I may not have known much about my new puzzle box beyond the lies on paper, but I did know she was on the run. Telling the police wasn't a mistake she would make.

"Then why?" she pressed.

I moved around the foot of the bed to stand mere feet from my guest with her big eyes and full lips. There was such a fragile innocence to her, a softness that made the dead thing inside my chest ache. I could tell her that was the reason I was keeping her. Or that I didn't let anyone leave after I'd caught them on my property. I could agree she knew too much.

In the end, my sole conclusion was, "Because I don't want to," which was also true.

Katie Smithstared at me. Not with fear or anger, and I didn't get it.

Maybe she was broken.

Maybe she hit her head too hard on the driveway.

Whatever her issue was, it fascinated me.

"Go back to sleep, Blue. It's still late. I'll get you in the morning."

Without waiting for her shock to wear off, I turned and left the room. I closed her door behind me and waited.

I waited for her to run out.

I waited to hear her curse my name — which she hadn't even asked.

I waited for her to do literally anything.

The light beneath the door shifted as if she'd moved past it. Bed springs squeaked. I heard the sheets rustle and then silence.

Had she really just gone back to bed?

Bemused, I pushed away from the wall and straightened. My gaze stayed trained on the firmly closed barrier between me and the strange woman on the other side.

Maybe it was a trap.

Maybe she was going to wait until she heard my footsteps before making a move.

Maybe I'd been paranoid too long and had finally lost my mind.

Nevertheless, I carefully undid my laces and dragged my scuffed boots off. I hooked them on my fingers and made my way gingerly on my toes to the stairs, feeling ridiculous the entire way.

Cyrus glanced up when I descended the steps in my socks. A brow lifted, but he made no comment.

"Who was the guy?" I asked instead of addressing the amusement in his eyes.

He fell into step with me towards my office. "It's three in the morning."

I shot him a sidelong glance.

"All the normal people I would ask for information are still in bed," he explained.

I exhaled, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. "Anything about her?"

I went to my desk and pulled back my chair. Cyrus stayed on the opposite side of the oak.

"Just what was in the bag," he paused for a heartbeat before adding, "Who do you think she's running from?"

I sat and dragged my chair closer. "No idea. Didn't get much from her, except her name."

"Want me to ask around?"

I shook my head. "If someone is looking for her, I don't want them to find her yet."

"Understood."

The pen that found its way between my fingers tapped several times on the wood in rapid succession while I contemplated my new predicament.

"She knows about the roses." I raised my eyes to the other man. "That's where they were when I caught them. I don't think she touched anything, but she knows they exist."

Cyrus momentarily closed his eyes in a wince. "Shit."

The pen tapped a little harder. "I don't want her going anywhere until I know what we're dealing with. We can't let her tell anyone."

The other man sighed. "Understood. I'll alert the men. We'll keep word of her presence quiet."

"One more thing," I sat back into the cool leather, "she's off limits. I will personally disembowel anyone who touches her."