When Villains Rise (Market of Monsters #3) - Rebecca Schaeffer Page 0,28

a lot of questions. It was a bit stilted. But I could see her, the girl I grew up with.” His voice was earnest. “Thank you.”

Nita blinked. “For what?”

“For talking me into this.”

Nita looked away. “This was all your choice. No need to thank me.”

“No, I do.” He sighed, and a bitter grimace painted his face. “I haven’t really been in the best frame of mind since I killed Henry yesterday.”

Nita nodded sagely. “You’ve been brooding a little.”

He mock gasped and put his hand to his heart. “Brooding? Me? Like a stereotypical bad boy?”

Nita tried to keep the grin off her face as she said solemnly, “Indeed. It’s been very dramatic. Posed shots of you in dim lighting declaring your tragic death in one week. Mournful closeups of you trying to hide your grief in a veneer of brooding pain. Very cinematic.”

His lips twitched into a smile, and his voice was soft. “I have been a little broody, haven’t I?”

Nita shrugged. “I think you have a right to be. Things are fucked up. You just killed the man who was like a father to you, and even in death, he still managed to betray you one last time. You’re allowed to feel shitty.” Nita’s voice went hard. “It’s been over a week since I found out about my father’s death, and I broke down and cried on you how many times? You’re allowed to grieve, Kovit.”

For a moment, she thought he was going to cry then, that her words would be the key that set loose everything he’d been trapping inside him since last night, and that his emotions would spill like blood on the table between them.

But then he took a deep breath and gave her a shaky grin. “I know. I did what I had to do to stay alive, to keep my friends alive, and even though it hurts, I don’t regret killing him.” He lowered his eyes as he whispered, “But that doesn’t make it any easier.”

He swallowed heavily, and just under the surface, that broken, shattered look lurked, trying to press through his thin veneer of composure. But now she could see it wasn’t a fatal break, it was the kind of break that was in her own soul too. The kind of break that stemmed from too much loss and betrayal, and you could either let the world break you or you could storm through the world and fill the cracks with the blood of those who’d hurt you until you were a semblance of whole again. Maybe not the same person, but still you, still alive, still moving forward on your own.

She’d been scared Kovit would crumble, and while his cracks were large, she trusted he would pick himself up and sharpen the broken edges into weapons.

Nita reached her hand across the table and covered his, a silent sign of support.

He meshed his fingers with hers and cleared his throat, his voice a little hoarse as he changed the topic. “What’s the plan?”

She took a deep breath. “Okay. I have an idea for getting you off the list.”

“And?”

She kept her gaze steady on his. “I want to use the information at Tácunan Law to take down INHUP.”

He stared at her, mouth slightly open. “What?”

“You heard me.”

He looked at her in concern. “But, Nita . . . it’s the police. I have my issues with INHUP, but I don’t want to destroy the police.”

“Countries have their own individual police forces and laws. They don’t need INHUP. They were fine before INHUP, and they’ll be fine after it.”

“I suppose.” He shook his head, disbelief marking his features. “You really want to take on the black market and the police?”

“I do.”

He burst into laughter. He tipped his head back, and when he smiled at her, it was vicious and cruel and delighted.

“What the hell? Why not. Go big or go home.” He considered. “Well, for me it’s probably go big or get dead.”

The waitress had been approaching, sort of shyly eyeing Kovit while he was being adorable about his sister, but when she saw that laugh and grin, full of darkness, her eyes widened, and she quickly returned the way she’d come.

“You’re not going to die.” Nita’s voice was fierce.

“No,” he whispered, and she could almost see him shoving the fatalism aside and smashing the determination on top of it to keep it down. “I’m not.”

For a moment, they were silent, letting their energy hang in the air between them, a promise of survival. They’d made