My eyes lowered to his plump lips, partially hidden by a low beard and mustache.
“Ah, so Cillian did send you?”
I sat back and folded my arms across my chest. “Maybe. But my name and who sent me is irrelevant here because you’ll still be dead by sunset.”
Silas had one dimple on his right cheek, and when he released a humorless laugh, I couldn’t help but be drawn to it.
He cocked a brow, brown eyes lighting up with amusement. “I invite you to try.”
“Try?” I scoffed. “I don’t miss.”
“If that were true, I wouldn’t be sitting here.”
I leaned forward, a smirk on my face, knowing damn well he had a clear view down my shirt and that I wasn’t wearing a bra. As if on cue, his eyes dropped instantly, and I chuckled, laying on my good girl voice. “You’re really going to shoot me? Here?”
Grazing my fingertips along his wrist, I trailed up his tanned arm. The contact caused a light sizzle to spark beneath my skin. I swallowed hard, mouth sliding into a grin as I fisted his sleeve and levered up to brush my lips against his beard. The man was fucking beautiful; I’d give him that. Dark, alluring eyes, a mouth that made a girl want to sit for a test drive—maybe tonight I’d get off to visions of riding his face.
“You know, Silas. It really is a damn shame. Our circumstances and all, because I’m not quite over the sight of that pretty dick of yours.”
His hand flew up and clenched around my throat. Not enough to restrict airflow, but sufficient to prevent an escape.
“Don’t fuck with me,” he growled.
“This is your kink, huh? A girl could get used to this.” His eye twitched at my words and the smoky tone of my voice. “Tighter, daddy,” I whispered.
It was only a fraction of a second when his muscles tensed as the words left my lips. And I took the opportunity the only way I knew would work. Snatching a steel fork, I sunk the damn thing into one of his muscular thighs with everything I had. Instinctively, his hold around my throat broke, and I ran for it. Too many witnesses for a bullet to the skull.
The expletives roaring out of his mouth made me look back in time to see him flipping over the table and dashing angrily after me. I half expected him to shoot me in the back. But he gave chase, and I was all for it.
Come and get me.
Four
SILAS
Warm trickles of blood stained the front of my pant leg where that crazy bitch stabbed me with a fucking fork. But I pushed through the pain and took off after her while people stared and gasped at the sight of me, tearing through the outdoor cafe like a rabid animal. I berated myself for being weak, for not killing her when I had the chance like I’d done with the others.
Why?
Ignoring that glaring question, I pushed forward down the busy street where I’d seen her last.
“Sir, are you all right?” An older woman tried to catch my elbow, eyes focused on the blood streaking down my leg. But I ripped my arm away and kept shoving through the crowd. As I turned the corner, I caught sight of the back of her brown hair as she stepped into a monorail station. I wouldn’t allow her to escape again, so I gunned it. But it was as if the moment I blinked, she was gone again, lost in the sea of people.
For fifteen minutes, I searched the main level, to no avail, and just as I was about to give up, I saw her slip between a distracted employee and climb onto the train. But not before blowing a mocking kiss my way.
“Just wait,” I whispered to myself, my hands practically buzzing to fix around her throat. At six foot four, there was no way I’d be as stealthy as she’d been with the attendant. I needed a distraction. Scouring my surroundings, I spotted a well-dressed young man chatting it up on his cell phone, drink in hand, as he approached the platform. In a shameless tactic to create a diversion, I did the first thing that came to mind and stuck my foot out as he walked past. Once the poor bastard hit the floor, his drink exploded all over his tailored suit, splashes of liquid reaching the family waiting to board in front of him.
The commotion was instant. Seizing the moment, I slipped past the unmanned entrance and onto the monorail. Eyes immediately fixed on me and my bloodied pants. Damn that woman. I moved through the car, searching for the unique caramel tone of her hair.
Somehow, I felt her gaze on me from some obscure corner, watching and reveling in the chase. Trailing her this way was not my usual M.O. I’d have snuffed her out or skipped town two days ago, when she’d tried to kill me the first time. But call it morbid curiosity, because the thrill of the hunt had me feeling more alive than I had in months. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t enjoying the hell out of chasing this woman. Fork to the thigh, blade to the rib, and all, though she’d pay for every drop of blood.
“Maybe you should sit,” an older man offered, motioning to one of the benches. I put a hand up, waving him off and pressing forward. A strange, restless energy was in the air, crackling like sparks of electricity. The sensation rippled through me, settling low and drowning out the throbbing in my leg. I didn’t know how, but I felt I was drawing closer.
As I moved through another compartment, she stood, blatantly not trying to hide. Leaning against the wall, one hand held a metal bar above her head while the other fell casually at her side. Our eyes locked, and the corners of her pouty lips pulled into a grin.
I had no doubt she was part of Hades, though I hadn’t seen a signet ring on her finger. Her skill and fearlessness were evident, even in the calm way she watched me. Waiting. I wasn’t sure what my plans were. Kill her right here? In a tram full of witnesses. Not that I wasn’t already on Hades’s shit list, but the last thing I needed was all The Six coming down on my head for recklessness in public.
“Took you long enough,” she said, her gaze now trained on the window across the small aisle.
