Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 145721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
“Fine,” he growled, clearly upset that he was giving in to her demands. “But I will only pay the full amount upon completion of the task. Your expenses will come through me.”
“Done.”
She kept her smile to herself. Holy shit. She hadn’t expected him to go over three mil.
She’d already gotten the main things she wanted: money and safety. She didn’t expect him to guarantee hers. She could die in this job. She’d known that from the start. Her real concern was her friends.
Because she was going to fucking make it out of here if she could help it, but in the event that she couldn’t, they were all that mattered. Her chosen family had to survive.
She lifted her chin. “And if I die, the money goes to Gen and Ethan.”
He nodded once.
“I need you to say you agree,” she demanded. “They are what matters here. I do the job. They get the money. They remain safe.”
Something like surprise shone in his eyes at the demand, but all he said was, “Done.”
“Good.”
“Anything else?” he pressed.
The only other thing she really wanted was information. But Graves hardly seemed like the kind of person who was going to tell her everything she wanted to know. She actually doubted he’d tell her everything she even needed.
It was sort of how she operated anyway. Need-to-know basis. She couldn’t flat-out ask him to give her the info she wanted, but she wasn’t doing this without hoping to find out more about herself, too.
“I’m not going to ask for a guarantee of my safety, but I think we both know the real currency in this city is information. I can’t be the valuable asset you need me to be without knowing what I can do.”
“You’ll be trained,” he said flatly.
“On my magic?” She nearly choked on the word but managed to keep her head up and meet his mercurial gaze.
“Your magic, your mind, your body.”
Her eyes widened at those words. “Explain what that means.”
“If you’re going to be working with me, then you’ll have educational assignments and weapons training.”
“Trust me, I’m pretty handy with weapons.”
“Not spears.”
She shot him a skeptical look. “Why would I need to know how to wield a spear?”
“Because, Miss McKenna,” he said gravely, “that’s what you’re stealing.”
“Oh,” she whispered. Well, now she had more questions. “Why are you stealing a spear?”
“I’m a collector. I collect rare objects. As you might have noticed when you cased my house.”
No use denying it. “I did notice that. And you need this for your collection? For ten million dollars?”
He didn’t even blink. “It’s worth it to me.”
“Okay.” She ground her teeth together. “Fine. Weapons training. But educational assignments? What kind of assignments?”
“I don’t deal with the uncultured,” he told her flatly. “I’ll provide you books to read, and we’ll discuss them.”
“Uncultured,” she said with narrowed eyes. He just stared her down as if willing her to disagree with him. She was a thief; she hadn’t the luxury of culture. “So, reading, weapons, and magic lessons.”
“When you’re ready for them, yes.”
“And will I learn about your magic?” she asked.
Those gray eyes seemed almost impressed with her audacity. “You have spirit, I’ll give you that.”
“So, is that a no?”
He rose to his feet, buttoning the front of his dark suit. “If information is what you’re after, I applaud you for trying. I am a man of many secrets. No one person knows all of them. Very few know any of them. Most people don’t even know my name or my likeness. You’re going to have to take what I will offer.”
“And what is that?”
“I will train you the way I know how. You may or may not enjoy that. What you discover about yourself in the process is at your disposal, but all else . . .” He waved his hand as if to say that was beyond him. “My secrets are my own.”
Kierse stood and held his gaze, despite feeling like she should shrink under it. He’d seen right through her line of questioning. This was going to be more difficult than she’d thought.
“I understand,” she said, offering her hand.
He didn’t take it but instead said, “Then I will provide my terms.”
She let her hand drop and waited for his side of the negotiations. Other than the money, hers hadn’t gone as well as planned. She didn’t want to make it easy for him, either.
“Which are?”
“You must stay in my residence.” She opened her mouth to reject—no way was she staying here—but he barreled on. “It is mandatory. You cannot stay with your friends and hope to keep them safe. You stay here.” He waited for her to argue, but she could hardly do so.
“Their safety is my first priority.”
She hated that he knew that information about her. But they were allies now, however tenuous. Hopefully that meant they would stay safe.