The blond man opened the case, counted the money with a quick, precise glance, then looked up. His voice was low and dry, the Serbian accent shaping his English. “That is how contract works.” He paused, then asked, genuinely curious: “What did he do that was so terrible?”
“He is stealing my company and my daughter from me!” Oscar snapped, launching into a furious, twenty-minute tirade about everything Tommy had done. He paced the room, voice rising and falling, while the blond man sat with his chin to his chest, arms folded, listening without interruption.
When Oscar finally ran out of steam, the man straightened. “Well,” he said mildly, “he sounds like he deservesthis.” He rose, lifted the briefcase, and fixed Oscar with an expectant look. “When do you want him picked up?”
“He’ll be at Green-Wood Cemetery this afternoon,” Oscar said, already picturing the scene. He’d chosen the time because he knew exactly where Tommy would be and who he’d be with — no chance of interference, and Tommy would be much more likely to cooperate if Evie were left alone. “There’ll be a young woman with him. She is not to be harmed unless absolutely necessary. Understand?”
“Yes, yes. Leave the woman unharmed.” The blonde waved his hand dismissively as he walked to the door. “My understanding of the English language is comparable to your own.” He left the room, and Oscar noticed that despite his size, he never made a sound. The door closed with a soft click, and he leaned back and began to chuckle. He wasn’t sure how he was going to have the big blonde dispose of Tommy, but he figured he could have some fun coming up with it.
Chapter Two: Ambushed
Giddy with happiness, nineteen-year-old Evie Stanley bolted off the elevator and through the lobby of her Amsterdam Avenue apartment building. She pushed open the front doors, scanning the street and grinned when she spotted Tommy Sloane, her godparents’ son and lifelong big-brother figure, leaning against the side of his latest obsession: a red Porsche 718 Cayman.
“Tommy!” she called, sprinting across the sidewalk and throwing her arms around his neck. He laughed and swept her up off her feet, spinning her once before setting her down again.
“Hey, Princess,” he said warmly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “It’s so good to see you! Miss me?”
“Always!” she laughed. “What are you doing here? I thought you were in Berlin for another two weeks.”
Their families had been close for as long as she could remember. Her mother, Della, and Tommy’s mother, Mary, had been inseparable since childhood, and their fathers’ business partnership had turned into genuine friendship. Mary and Henry Sloane were Evie’s godparents and had spoiled her rotten, a tradition Tommy had happily continued after their deaths in a car accident ten years earlier. He’d leaned on her parents for support afterward, spending more and more time with her as she grew up, taking her on day trips and little vacations whenever he could.
She watched in confusion as he gave her a surprised, almost concerned look at her question and wondered if she’d missed something.
“Have you forgotten what day it is?” He asked, tilting his head at her. Evie stared at him blankly for a moment, her brain scrambling as she tried to figure out what he was talking about, and then it hit her.
“Oh, my God!” She clapped her hand over her mouth in dismay. “I'm so sorry, Tommy! Exams... I've completely lost track of the days.” It was his parents' death anniversary, and they always visited their vault together to pay their respects.
“Hey, don’t worry about it.” He rubbed his hands gently along her arms, then pulled her hand away from her mouth with a reassuring smile. “Do you have study plans? We can go tomorrow. University comes first.”
“No, we’re going today,” she said quickly, shaking her head as she dug for her phone. Now that she remembered what day it was, nothing would keep her from going. She was the only family he had left, and after everything he’d done for her, she wasn’t about to let him go alone. “Give me two seconds to let my study group know I won’t make it.”
“You’re sure?” Tommy tilted her chin up, worry creasing his brow. “Don’t feel like you have to drop everything for me.”
“I’m sure.” She met his warm brown eyes and smiled. “I’m really sorry, Tommy. End-of-semester exams have been ruling my life. I could use the break.”
“I’ve been there, Princess. Not for a while, but I get it.” Tommy brushed her hair back from her face, then stepped away to open the passenger door. When she climbed in, he closed it gently and jogged around to the driver’s side.
“So, any boyfriends I need to meet and vet?” Tommy grinned as he shifted gears, voice teasing.
Evie laughed and shook her head. No one in her classes had caught her attention. She’d gone on a few dates with some very nice guys, but there had always been something missing, something important she couldn’t quite name. None of them had excited her enough to want a second date.
“No, I’m not seeing anyone.”
“Really?” Tommy raised an eyebrow, shooting her a sidelong glance, disbelief written all over his handsome features. “You’re telling me that there hasn’t been a single guy on the entire Columbia campus who’s managed to get your attention?”
“Well…” Evie tilted her hand back and forth. “There sort of was this one guy at a mixer at the beginning of term…”
She trailed off, remembering the tall man with dark brown hair and flashing grey-blue eyes. They’d literally bumped into each other - she was on her way to the bathroom; he came around the corner and almost knocked her off her feet. He’d caught her by the hand to steady her, and the jolt that shot through her had been almost electric.
He’d apologized, asked if she was okay. She’d smiled, told him she was, apologized too, and had just started to introduce herself when a brunette appeared, slipped her arm through his, and led him away without a word. He’d given Evie an apologetic look over his shoulder before disappearing into the crowd.
“I was going to talk to him, but he was with a girl,” she said with a small shrug. She hadn’t seen him again, and Columbia was big, but when you were in the same program, you tended to cross paths eventually. The fact that she hadn’t run into him since made her think he might have been visiting someone. “Anyway, he seems to have vanished.”
“So, you’ve been there almost five months and haven’t had a single relationship or fling? Not even some experimentation?” Tommy looked amused as he shook his head. “You and I are very different.”
Evie burst out laughing. Tommy was, for lack of a better word, a complete man whore. Women, men, it didn’t matter. If they caught his eye and could hold a decent conversation for more than twenty minutes, they were fair game. His relationships never lasted long, something he freely admitted was his fault, which had earned him the nickname Casanova from Evie.
After six months or so, he’d usually get bored, or someone else would catch his attention, and he’d end things. But he’d never cheated. He’d been very clear with Evie about that, telling her firmly that cheating, whether physical or emotional, was the lowest thing a person could do to another.
