my opponent. Walking away is like taking a bite of cake and throwing the rest in the trash. It’s like a man bringing you to the edge of climax and then leaving the room.” I moved my knee away and stood to put distance between us. “But if you have a rule against killing, that’s all I need,” I said, quickly covering my tracks so she wouldn’t have someone scrub my memories before I left the building. “I want this job. I need this money. I can walk away without killing if that’s what you need me to do.”
When met with silence, I turned away and watched two men in white coveralls mopping the bloody floor in the room below.
“I want to make you a proposition,” she began. “This reminds me of that game show with the curtain. What was that one called?”
“Let’s Make a Deal,” Pablo replied.
She laughed blithely. “All those silly humans, dressing up in costumes for a chance at winning a dishwasher. Robin, we’ll take care of you as long as you are loyal to us. But if you crave excitement and danger, I can offer you something behind curtain number two. But that would mean walking away from this position, and if you reject my second offer, we’ll have no choice but to wipe your memories clean. My assistant is thorough, and you’ll lose all memories of everything that’s happened between today and Friday. She doesn’t pick and choose; it all goes.”
“What kind of job?” I asked, still watching the men clean the room.
“If you settle for the current job, we’ll provide you with a schedule. If you’re curious about my second mystery offer, then reject this position and I’ll see you on Friday. I’m afraid you’ll have to go in blind. What will it be?”
I turned on my heel. “I guess I’ll see you Friday.”
“That pleases me more than you know.” She rose to her feet and changed the topic to my recent victory.
I glanced down, and horror swept through me. The necklace! I clutched my chest and searched the floor.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
“My necklace is gone.”
“After today’s earnings, you’ll have enough to buy a hundred necklaces of your choosing.”
“It’s sentimental. My father gave it to me.”
Pablo neared the glass and looked down. “It’s there… by the wall.”
“Fetch it, darling.” Audrey smiled at him when he gave her a thorny look.
I wanted to smash my fists against the glass. All this juicy information, not to mention Audrey’s face, and none of it captured on Wyatt’s stupid video camera.
Once Pablo disappeared down the stairwell, Audrey approached the glass. “I don’t know why I’m so awful to him. Pablo is the most loyal companion I’ve ever had. Don’t fool yourself, Robin. Money isn’t the most valuable thing to an immortal—loyalty is. You can have all the money you like, but you can’t buy loyalty. Not truly.”
“Why else would he be loyal to someone who talks down to him?”
Her voice fell to a whisper. “Love.”
Pablo entered the room below. After retrieving my necklace, he borrowed a clean rag from one of the men and polished it.
“When you find loyalty like that, never let go. That’s the only real way to survive. If you have at least one person in this godforsaken world who will fall on a blade for you, then nothing else matters.”
I turned to face her.
“Just be sure you never break that loyalty,” she said with resolve. “Once you do that, you can never really trust them all the way.” Audrey placed her hands on my chest. “Before I leave, I need to collect my winnings. Think about the fight and bring that memory to the top. It makes it easier, dear.”
A red glow emanated from her palms, and my body warmed all over. Afraid she might start digging around, I thought about walking into the empty room. As soon as the thought entered my mind, a smile touched her lips, and the memories flipped through my mind like someone thumbing through the pages of a book. Everything rose to the surface—the physical punches and internal pain, the elation I felt when taking control of the fight, the feel of my opponent’s body trembling beneath mine as I drank her core light.
“Mmm, this one’s good,” Audrey whispered to herself.
Once she pulled it out, I had a strange feeling of detachment.
After she let go, she wiggled her fingers. “Am I your first?”
I shuddered. “That feels weird to think about it now.”