CHAPTER 87
She tried to remain calm and not let her expression change. She wasn’t sure she was successful. “It’s a mermaid now, not a monster?” she said. “And before it was a ghost. Next will it be a werewolf?”
“You’re very cute, you know,” he said. His eyes were so narrow, so intently focused on her. His smile was so wicked, enjoying whatever this was too much.
“Excuse me?”
“Pretending you haven’t seen it.”
“Based on how often it changes, I doubt you have either.” She smirked.
That got some anger and he actually raised the barrel of the gun to point to the side of her head, just inches away from her temple.
“Don’t you dare laugh at me.” She wasn’t sure she had, but there was no chance of that now with a gun near her head.
She found she couldn’t take her eyes off of it.
Was this how she was going to die? “Mr. Runington—”
“Zadock.”
“You cannot possibly be forcing familiarity with me at gunpoint—”
“Zadock.” He said the two syllables like each was a word of its own, and was she crazy or did the barrel get closer?
Fear told her to say it, but everything else revolted. She was not about to give in. Give one inch and he’d take them all. “Mr. Runington.” She prayed he wouldn’t shoot, but she held her ground, meeting his eyes now and not the gun.
They glared at each other until finally he laughed and the gun lowered. “My God, I like you, Miss Wains. We’re going to make a great couple.”
She almost twitched. This man was impossible.
“Just tell me one thing,” he said.
“What?”
He leaned close to whisper in her ear. “Could you not swear to chastity because of that mermaid then?”