I turned and ran straight into him.
Cassian.
I steadied myself instantly, posture smoothing into place like muscle memory. “You,” I said flatly.
His smirk bloomed, blue eyes lighting up like a damn Christmas tree. “I’ll be honest—I half expected you to be the one making kids cry.” His gaze flicked to my plate. “Not smiling through your teeth and eating—” He frowned. “Is that an ice-cream cake?”
He leaned closer, inspecting it like it personally offended him. “Wait. We have ice cream here? In this heat?” He rocked back on his heels and checked his watch. “Huh. Learn something new every day.”
I didn’t bite.
“Where’s the husband?” he asked casually.
My jaw tightened. “He has a name.”
Cassian shrugged. “Pawn. I know. I like the sound of it.” His smile sharpened. “You picked a good one, by the way. Once a little bitch, always a little bitch.”
Heat flared in my chest, but I stayed still.
“To think,” he continued lightly, “a bodyguard to the Abandonatos—someone who ran errands for the syndicate—thought he could pry his way into the five families?” Cassian laughed under his breath. “Adorable.”
He lifted his hand and pointed past me. “And yet… there he is.”
Playing house.
I followed his gaze before I could stop myself.
Louis was crouched near the picnic table, helping one of the kids scoop fallen ice cream back onto a plate, listening intently like it mattered. Like this moment counted for something.
My throat tightened.
“At least he’s good for something,” Cassian said pleasantly.
I forced my voice steady. “What?”
Cassian’s grin widened—slow, satisfied, like he’d been waiting for that exact question.
“Distraction,” he said. “People never see the knife when they’re watching the smile.”
His eyes slid back to me, pinning. “Tell me, Tempest—are you testing how much poison he can take… or how much softness you can afford?”
The vial burned hotter in my purse.
And for the first time all day, Cassian wasn’t smiling for fun.
He was smiling because he knew.
Louis chose that exact moment to walk up. “Oh look, cake.”
I shoved mine into his hands. “Let’s go inside.”
"Right.” He eyed Cassian and nodded his head. Funny how it was the little things that made you pause. And for Louis it was just that. It wasn’t in the way he barely acknowledged Cassian, it wasn’t even his bored expression.
It was the way he moved past him.
Completely unbothered that he was next to one of the most dangerous assassins the syndicate had to offer.
A man who played both sides.