"What," he said, his voice dropping to something dangerous, something that made the air in the car feel thin, "did you just say?"
The rage wasn't at Lila for knowing... he'd always known she was sharp, too observant for her own good.
It was her brazenness that cut through him. The way she'd tossed Linda's name into her twisted little game like it was just another card to play.
Before Lila could draw another breath, his hand shot across the console.
His fingers wrapped around her throat... not squeezing, not yet... just there. A promise. A warning. The weight of his palm against her windpipe made her entire body go rigid.
"Say it again," he whispered, his voice deadly calm. "I dare you."
Lila's eyes went wide. Her hands flew up instinctively, wrapping around his wrist, but she didn't pull. Didn't struggle.
Just held on, frozen, as the reality of how badly she'd miscalculated crashed over her.
This wasn't a game anymore.
