“Of course.” He agrees. “But I hope you know what you’re doing.” With that, he gets into his car, starts it up, and drives off.
THIRTY-SEVEN
CHARLOTTE
It’s dark out. The clock on my dash tells me that it’s after ten o’clock. I woke up a few hours ago naked in my bed. I felt a little tired and managed to relax in the bathtub, trying to go over what the fuck had happened and how I got home.
Slowly, the pieces came back to me. Last night at Blackout. The call I got from the unknown Lord and then the call to Haidyn. Him showing up at the club, the drinks, the drive to his house. The water…me asking him to be my first. Then there was a gap.
Where had my entire day gone? Did I do ecstasy at Blackout? Had I taken something that I don’t normally do?
Then like a fucking baseball bat to the face, it hit me. Waking up taped to the chair this morning, him giving me something, asking me questions, and putting me to bed like a child.
I sat at my desk to log what we had done, only to find my laptop gone. The one that the Lords gave me. It was there yesterday before I went out, so he had to have taken it.
That leads to now and why I’m pulling into Haidyn’s driveway and slamming on my brakes. Getting out of my car, I rush to the front doors and shove them both open, not evenbothering to knock. For a man who should always be on alert, his door isn’t locked.
“Haidyn?” I shout, slamming them shut. “HAIDYN!” I scream, stomping my way to the living room and come to a stop when I see him sitting on the couch, leaning back with his arms across the back cushions. His blue eyes are on mine, and there’s a smirk on his face. “Where the fuck is it?” I demand, my hands going to my hips.
“Hello, doll face?—”
“I’m not in the fucking mood, Haidyn. Where is it?” I step forward, my right hand gripping the strap on my purse. I’m not even going to bring up the fact that he drugged me. I’ll save that for another day.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,Annabelle.” He slowly gets to his feet.
The sound of my name just infuriates me more. A reminder that I tricked him. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so goddamn stupid and did his homework before he and hisbrotherslet me into their home. I huff. “I’m giving you one chance to hand it over. Right now.”
He no longer tries to hide his smile. Instead, he lets it light up his face, showing off his dazzling white teeth, and it just makes my skin boil. “Or what, doll face?”
I reach into my purse and pull out what I need. Dropping the Louis Vuitton to the floor, I point my gun at him.
If he’s surprised, he doesn’t show it. Instead, he takes a step closer to me, and I don’t retreat. Get as close as you want, motherfucker. It’ll just help my odds.
“Going to shoot me, Charlotte?” He arches a brow, but I can hear the laughter in his voice.
I square my shoulders. “In a world where it’s either you or me…I’ll always choose me.”
He stops as the end of the barrel hits his chest, and I glare up at him. “Pull the trigger, doll face.”
“Give me my laptop,” I bark out. He knows I can’t shoot him because then what will I tell the Lords? I’ll be fucked. My assignment isn’t to kill him. Will they give me another one? Will they allow the other Spade brothers to throw me in a cell at Carnage? Hell if I know. But I won’t allow them to punish me for killing him.
“Go ahead and pull the trigger. Make sure you aim for the heart. I’ve survived a bullet to the chest before.”
I’m not surprised that the bastard has been shot. No doubt a woman who he pissed off. “How about your face?” I arch a brow and lift the gun, aiming right between his eyes.
He just stares down at me, the gun shaking in my hands. I’m not nervous or afraid. I’m fucking pissed. “Haidyn?—”
He grabs the barrel of the gun and twists it out of my hand. I grind my teeth at the sharp pain that runs up my arm. Wrapping his hand around my throat, he shoves my back into the wall and presses the end of the barrel to my cheek.
I’m gasping glaring up at him. “Second time I’ve taken this from you.” He laughs, and it pisses me off even more. A burning feeling in my chest that I let him win.Again.I just want to stomp my feet and scream at the top of my lungs how much I hate him.
“Third time’s a charm,” I say through gritted teeth, knowing this isn’t the last time I’ll want to kill him.
He steps back and removes the gun from my face. His eyes remain on mine as he pushes back the slide, emptying out the chambered bullet and removes the magazine—which he pockets—then holds it out to me. “Never shoot to wound. Always shoot to kill. And don’t talk too much. Don’t ask questions or explain why you want them dead. Just kill them, doll face.”
My eyes drop to the gun and yank it from his hand, and he turns starting to walk away from me. “Where the fuckis it, Haidyn?” He doesn’t stop walking toward the couch. “Goddammit, Haidyn,” I shout, starting to run after him.
He spins around with a smirk on his face, and I just want to knock it off. So I go to slap him with the gun, but he leans back, forcing me to miss. The momentum spins me around, giving him the perfect opportunity to wrap his arm around my neck, holding my back to his front.
