“Oh.” I stare at Julian, feeling uneasy. I can only imagine what Peter intends to do with those soldiers. “So did you give him this list?”

“Not yet. I’m working on it. A lot of this information seems to be classified, so it’s not easy.”

“Can’t you ask your contact at the CIA to help you?”

“I did ask him. Frank is dragging his feet because there are some Americans on that list.” Julian looks annoyed for a brief second. “He’ll come through eventually, though. He always does. I just need to have something the CIA wants badly enough.”

“Right, of course,” I murmur. “A favor for a favor… Is that why Peter is working for you? Because you promised him this list?”

“Yes, that’s our deal.” Julian smiles sharply. “Three years of loyal service in exchange for getting him those names at the end. I also pay him, of course—but Peter doesn’t care about money.”

“What about Lucas?” I ask, my thoughts turning to Julian’s right-hand man. “Does he also have a story?”

“Everybody has a story,” Julian says, but he sounds distracted now, his attention straying to the computer screen. “Even you, my pet.”

And before I can pry further, he busies himself with emails, putting an end to our discussion for the day.

14

Julian

The next few weeks come as close to domestic bliss as I have ever experienced. Other than one day trip to Mexico for a negotiation with the Juarez cartel, I spend all my time on the estate with Nora.

With her classes having started, Nora’s days are filled with textbooks, papers, and tests. She’s so busy that she often studies late into the evening—a practice that I dislike, but don’t put a stop to. She seems determined to prove that she can hold her own with the students who got into the Stanford program on their own merit, and I don’t want to discourage her. I know she’s doing this partly for her parents—who continue to worry about her future with me—and partly because she’s enjoying the challenge. Despite the added stress, my pet seems to be thriving these days, her eyes bright with excitement and her movements filled with purposeful energy.

I like that development. I like seeing her happy and confident, content with her life with me. Though the monster inside me still gets off on her pain and fear, her growing strength and resilience appeal to me. I never wanted to break her, only to make her mine—and it pleases me to see her becoming my match in more ways than one.

Although schoolwork consumes much of her time, Nora continues her tutelage with Monsieur Bernard, saying that she finds it relaxing to draw and paint. She also insists that I continue giving her self-defense and shooting lessons twice a week—a request that I’m more than happy to fulfill, as it gives us more time together. As the training progresses, I see that she’s better with guns than with knives, though she’s surprisingly decent with both. She’s also becoming quite good at certain fighting moves, her small body slowly but surely turning into a lethal weapon. She even manages to bloody my nose one time, her sharp elbow connecting with my face before I have a chance to block her lightning-fast strike.