Chapter 2

“Go to bed?” My voice comes out far too high. “Together?”

I’m twenty-two, not twelve. I know what married people do in bed. I just haven’t done it, and I’m not about to start with a man I met ten minutes ago.

A man who kills people for a living.

Luca stops on the stairs. “We’re married. Why wouldn’t we?”

“Well, yes, but you don’t remember me.” I tighten my grip on the railing. “We should take things slowly.”

“All right. We’ll start by sharing a room.”

That is not nearly as slow as I had in mind.

He continues up the stairs, then turns when I don’t follow. “Coming?”

I’ve never been inside a suite like his. One night here probably costs more than everything I own. Normally, I’d be checking what I could slip into my pockets. Tonight, I’m checking the exits.

The door clicks shut behind us, and I stay pressed against the wall.

“Still worried about Nico?” Luca asks. “I can have him come back tomorrow and apologize properly.”

“No! Really. We’re fine.”

He slips off his jacket, and for a moment I forget about the exits.

He’s the best-looking man I’ve ever seen. Broad shoulders, a shirt that fits far too well, and hands I should not be admiring after seeing how quickly Nico put his knife away.

Unfortunately, being gorgeous doesn’t make him safe to lie to.

If he gets his memory back, I doubt there’ll be enough of me left to bury.

The window is open. Outside, a narrow ledge runs along the wall toward a fire escape.

I edge closer.

“Where are you going?”

“Just getting some fresh air.”

“It’s cold out. Don’t stay there too long.”

If he’d stop worrying about me for five minutes, I might actually get out of here.

“I like sleeping by the window,” I add, taking another step. “So I can look at the moon.”

“I’ll sleep beside you.”

“No, I mean I sleep alone!”

“Ruby.” He catches my hand before I can reach the sill. “Are you afraid of me?”

“Of course not! Why would I be afraid of my own husband?”

“Then why won’t you share a bed with me?”

Because you could kill me before I got a foot out of it.

“I’m a restless sleeper,” I tell him. “You’ll end up getting kicked.”

He guides me to the bed and presses me gently down onto the mattress.

“I’m the best in the world, sweetheart. I can dodge.”

I lie on my back with my hands at my sides, like a corpse waiting for someone to close the lid.

Luca lies beside me, eyes shut, breathing steadily.

Once he’s asleep, I’ll leave.

I wait until he hasn’t moved for a while, then inch toward the edge. My foot barely clears the mattress before he speaks.

“Where are you going?”

“The bathroom.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“No, thank you! I can manage.”

He catches my wrist. “You’re not hiding something from me, are you?”

I nearly confess everything.

Then he sighs and pulls me back toward him. “You don’t have to pretend you’re not scared. There’s nothing wrong with being afraid of the dark. My mentor used to lock me up when I was a kid. I cried too.” His fingers settle over my trembling hand. “I can feel you shaking.”

“Right. The dark. It terrifies me.”

He draws me against his chest. “I’m here. You’re safe.”

His arm settles around my waist, leaving me nowhere to go.

“Honey? You’re holding me a little tight.”

“Don’t want you running off.”

“Run off? I love you. I can’t stand being away from you.”

“Is that why you were halfway out the window?”

“I was trying to get you the moon!” I blurt. “I’d do anything for you, honey.”

He laughs softly against my hair. “Lucky me.”

He believes that too? How much of his brain went missing with those memories?

“Tomorrow, you can take me somewhere.”

“Where?”

“Georgia. That chapel where we got married. Since I don’t remember it, you can show me.”

I’ve never set foot in an abandoned chapel in Georgia. I made the whole thing up.

Before I can invent a reason we can’t go, he brushes my hair away from my ear.

“Good night, sweetheart.”

His breath is warm against my skin, and I’m suddenly grateful he can’t see my face.

I need to find a chapel that doesn’t exist, and he’s making me blush.

-

Outside the window, two crows perch on a tree beside the Bellmont.

The skinny one nudges his companion. “What’s wrong with him? Why’s he pretending to have amnesia? I thought he said relationships were a distraction. So much for staying single.”

The other crow keeps his camera trained on the window.

“Oh, let him live. He might finally stop moping around like a widower. This is the first time I’ve ever seen him flirt, and I’m getting every second.”

“You’re filming this?”

“Of course. And I’m posting it online.”