Nex.
The minute I stepped off the elevator, the door at the end of the hall opened. A smile eased across my face as Cia Malone exited the room and turned her back to drag a suitcase into the hallway. By the time she shoved it out the way and the soft click of the door sounded, my chest was at her back and my fingers pressed into the soft flesh of her hip through baggy cotton sweats. Cia sucked in a deep breath and her body stilled, forcing her muscles to go rigid.
“Looks like I made it just in time,” I rasped lowly next to her ear. She didn’t move or speak for a long moment.
“Merrick or Warren?” Her tone was low, but steady, which surprised me. Cia was a woman on the run with a lingering future she didn’t want. Her question confirmed that she assumed I was here to drag her back to the hell her family was sending her to, yet she didn’t show fear. Only anger that she hadn’t escaped before I arrived.
I leaned in closer so my lips grazed her ear when I spoke. “Neither.”
Cia pushed away from me. I let her. When she turned and her eyes met mine, she stumbled back, landing with a thump against the suite door. Her eyes flickered with recognition and I smiled… sinfully slow.
“You know who I am, don’t you?”
She shook her head hesitantly and I laughed darkly.
“Yes, you do, Little Flame. You know exactly who I am, which is good. That means you won’t try anything stupid.”
She tensed and her eyes darted past me. I could read her thoughts.
Maybe I can run?
“You can try, but you won’t get far. I’m being paid a lot of money to keep you occupied for the next couple of days, which means you’ll be my guest. How comfortable that stay is depends on how smart you are. If you run, fight me, or try to outsmart me even once, I’ll tie you to a bed and you’ll stay that way until I get word to let you go.”
“Let me go?” she rasped in a scratchy voice. I nodded slowly and she quickly countered, “You don’t let people go.You…”
“Kill them,” I finished for her and stepped closer. She tensed, pressing her back against the door harder. “I thought you didn’t know who I was.”
“I do,” she stated quietly. “Nex. They call you Promise because anyone who ends up on your list is promised death.”
I smirked. “Good, and lucky for you, Ciana, I don’t kill women, which means you get a pass as long as you follow my rules. If you don’t, I know plenty of people who don’t have a moral compass and would gladly do what I won’t. Now, is that all you have or is there more inside?”
She frowned briefly then her eyes lowered to the suitcase before slowly crawling back up to mine. “You said neither. If Merrick or Warren didn’t send you, who did?”
“Does it matter?”
Her eyes narrowed and she pushed away from the door, edging closer to me. There was less than a foot between us so she didn’t have far to go. Cia lifted her chin enough to peer directly at me.
Little Flame found some confidence. My dick twitched.
“Yes it matters. You’re obviously here for me. Even if there’s a sliver of ethics in you that prevents you from killing women, the person who sent you after me might not be so kind. Who sent you here?”
“That’s none of your business, but I can assure you, the person who did won't lay a finger on you.”
But I just might.
Her eyes narrowed and I exhaled a sigh before asking, “Do you want to marry Warren Harte? I hear he’s a sick son of a bitch where pretty things like you are concerned.”
Her eyes narrowed a bit more and I smiled. “I’mnotmarrying him.”
Fuck, she was beautiful. I’d seen her plenty of times in passing. However, right here, right now, staring into those beautiful browns brought a different visual.
And the fact that she was completely pissed about the situation she found herself in made my dick hard with the thought of taming that anger.
“If you truly mean that, then I’m the best option you have right now.” Something flickered in those beautiful brown eyes of hers.
“If you won’t tell me who sent you, will you at least tell me how much they’re paying?”
“No.”
