“Oh. That sucks.” Disappointment crossed Nina’s face. “So you were a spy, and Jackson was in the military. How did you end up married?”
Nope, not going there. “I don’t think there’s enough time to tell that story. Falling in love and getting married was the easy part.”
“Fair enough. What drove you apart?”
Definitely not going there. Essie leaned back in her chair and crossed one knee over the other. “If I won’t tell you how we got together, what makes you think I’ll share the details of our divorce?”
Nina grinned. “Persistence is my superpower.”
“No shit.” Essie held back a smile. Over the years, she’d made it a policy to keep people at arm’s length, but a part of her was seriously tempted to consider this woman a friend. Despite the mafia family connection, she seemed like a decent, down-to-earth person, with a quick wit, a dry sense of humor, and a whole lot of people willing to put themselves in harm’s way to keep her safe. Maybe at some point in the future, when she was no longer responsible for Nina’s safety, she’d test the friendship waters.
“Unstoppable force, meet immovable object. Pick another subject to discuss, and no, it can’t be about me because I’ve shared all I’m willing to share.”
Nina straightened in her seat, her head tilted to the right. “You don’t trust easily, do you?”
It was an honest question, and Essie didn’t see the harm in giving an honest answer. “Some people see the glass as half full. Others see it half empty. I look at the glass and wonder what kind of poison is in it.”
“No offense, but that’s an awfully cynical way to go through life.”
“It’s kept me alive for a very long time,” Essie said. “I highly recommend it.”
Spend enough time in covert ops, and you learned all about the worst the world had to offer. Often, she’d worked against them, but there were times when she’d worked alongside them out of sheer necessity. After a while, it became second nature to always be on alert and view life through a jaded lens.
For what had to be at least the thousandth time, she mentally kicked herself for trusting Vaughn. Taking her former mentor at his word had been a naïve rookie mistake that had almost gotten her and Nina killed. And although she couldn’t change the past, she would do everything in her power to make sure nobody ever collected a single penny of that bounty.
Worry drew Nina’s pale eyebrows together. “Do you honestly think you can keep me alive? The truth, not what you think I need to hear. If we’re doing all this for nothing, I’d rather know now so I can get my affairs in order.”
“You should get your affairs in order regardless of whatever happens. It’ll make things easier for your family if you have an aneurysm or get hit by a bus.”
“I’m being serious.” An edge crept into Nina’s voice. “Can’t you just give me a straight answer?”
Essie went silent for a good, long moment while she weighed the possible responses. A comforting lie would roll off her tongue with ease, but the steely resolve in Nina’s eyes convinced her to stick with brutal honesty. The woman had placed her life in Essie’s hands, and she seemed the type who could handle the truth without the benefit of sugarcoating.
“I never make guarantees, but I will tell you this: in all my years of covert ops, I have never lost an asset once it was under my protection. Your chances are strong if you do exactly what I tell you. But keep in mind we’ve only got one shot to pull this off. If you deviate from what I tell you to do—even one bit—that contract will hang over your head for the rest of your life, however long that is. I’m sure your husband’s very good at what he does, but he can’t protect you forever. It won’t matter where you go, what you do, or whether you alter your appearance or your name. With that much money on the line, they’ll find you, or they’ll use your family and friends to get to you. Is that a straight enough answer?”
Face grim, Nina blinked several times and then nodded. “Thank you for trusting me with the truth.”
“Trust has nothing to do with it. You asked a question; I gave an answer.”
There was a long, awkward pause, and then Nina shook her head. “You are so different from what I expected.”
Normally, Essie didn’t give a damn what anybody thought of her, but this time her curiosity won out. “How so?”
“I don’t know.” Nina shrugged. “I suppose I thought you’d be…I don’t know …softer, I guess. Jackson’s so big he can be intimidating, but he also has this easygoing side that can lighten the mood in a room. I guess I thought you’d be like that.”
Essie scoffed. “Nothing about me is easygoing.”
“I’ve noticed.” Nina arched one eyebrow. “So are you and Jackson getting back together?”
“No.”
“That’s a shame. You seem really good together.”
“We are, until we’re not.”
“Care to expand on that?”
“Not really.”
