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you-had-your-chance-but-I’ve-moved-on oh ? “I could collect you around six?”
    “Collect me?” she asks, clearly bewildered by this turn of events.
    “Pick you up at your place,” I clarify.
    Silence again. I drop my head into my free hand, positive she will say no. “That sounds fine. My address is fifteen Magnolia Way—it’s an old house split into a duplex, so I’m B. See you in a couple of days.”
    “Bye, Everly.”
    She ends our call first and I stand there, head in my hand and phone pressed against my ear. There’s a scratching sound at the front door. I straighten and slip the phone into my pocket, right beside the envelope Everly gave me.
    Peering out the display window, I find the little cat waiting and move to open the door. “Couldn’t stay away, huh?”
    I kneel, scratching the cat under the chin. The bugger flops to its side, demanding more attention. I shake my head. “Come inside. I’ll feed you.”
    Whoever rented the shop before me installed a cat door in the front, but I had it blocked off. Perhaps this cat is used to coming here. In any case, I re-open the tiny door. “Not because I like you. I just don’t want to be bothered with letting you out,” I say as I stand and step back.
    The cat races inside, and I lock the door before following it to the empty storage room. “If you’re to stay, then I expect you to pull your weight around here.” Pausing as it eats, the cat looks up at me. “Kill the vermin, yes?”
    Of course the bloody thing doesn’t respond, so I leave the room and head to my office, grabbing The Secret Lives of King s along the way. After a few hours of research on a prince that would make Joffrey from Game of Thrones look like an angel who dispenses love taps, I lean back in my chair, rubbing my eyes and stretching.
    The cat jumps onto my desk and then into my lap. Absently, I pet the creature and it starts to purr. The sound calms me.
    “In less than two months, I will end a man’s life,” I murmur in Russian to the cat. “Will you let me pet you then?”
    If Everly were to know the truth, and I knew with absolute certainty she would be safe, would she want to be in my presence again? Or would she look at me differently, seeing only the monster and not the man?
    Then again, maybe the man never existed in the first place.
    *
    After two days of unbearable waiting, it’s finally Friday afternoon and I’m getting ready for my date with Everly. Unsure of what to wear for an evening of dinner and kicking bad guys’ arses, I dress in my usual suit and pack a gym bag with a second set of clothes. I tuck my trainers in last and zip it closed.
    Koshechki, or little she-cat, as I call her—it was easier than referring to her as an it, or so I tell myself—jumps up on the dresser, staring at herself in the mirror.
    “You are a vain animal.” She turns up her nose at me, and I grunt. “ Very . Vain.”
    I adjust my tie and then forego it entirely, leaving my top two buttons undone. One last look in the mirror, and I run a hand through the front of my dark hair, then smooth it a little.
    “ Blyad,” I mutter. It doesn’t matter. None of this does. Once I’ve satisfied the powers that be by dating, I’ll move to another city, so Everly will remain safe and can’t be used as a pawn.
    Sharp claws scrape at my insides at the thought of never seeing her again, but I ignore the pain. It’s more important that she remain safe. That she remain alive.
    *
    Everly is standing outside when I park beside the curb. With her hair in a loose bun, she’s wearing a pair of ankle boots, black trousers, and a light blue sweater. The sweater and trousers cling to her curves, highlighting everything I lust after.
    Her eyes widen a little when she realizes I’m the one in the Porsche. I do find it amusing that she barely noticed the car when I pulled alongside her.
    Cutting the engine, I get out and walk to her. “You should have allowed me to colle—pick you up properly at