I nod. “Yeah.”
Sable swallows, and I watch her throat bob. “Excuse my ignorance, I don’t see how it’s any different than a hitman?”
I let out a gust of breath, keeping my tone even as I get ready to explain.
“Hitmen take contracts. They kill whoever pays the most. I don’t do that. I handle problems for people who don’t have another option. People who deserve justice.”
I feel my jaw tic as I finish, remembering the many faces I’ve helped and the depraved things I’ve done to right wrongs.
She drums her fingers against the bar, the kind of jittery rhythm that betrays someone silently debating fight or flight.
“You knew,” I say after a beat. “At least, you must have heard something. When you contacted me about the blonde, you knew.Didn’t you?”
She scoffs, crossing her arms.
“We didn’t know what fucking website we were on. Demi called it thedark web,”she says while wiggling her fingers in a hectic manner.
I arch a brow.
“The dark web?” I question, having a hard time holding back a snicker.
Her mouth opens, then closes, and I watch as her eyebrows scrunch together almost in embarrassment. “Is that not a thing?”
I shake my head, smirking despite myself.
She’s rattled, but she’s still Sable. Still quick. Still standing here listening instead of running for the door. That has to mean something.
I step closer. She doesn’t move away.
“I’m not gonna lie to you,” I say in an effort to build some trust.
She presses a hand to her chest. “Bless your heart.”
Sable blinks up at me, searching my face. I don’t know what she’s looking for. Reassurance? An explanation that makes all of this easier to swallow? Hell, if I knew, I’d give it to her.
After a long beat, she exhales.
“Well, that’s refreshing. Finally, a man who can give me a proper fucking orgasmanddoesn’t want to lie to me.”
I chuckle, the tension in my chest loosening a fraction.
She rubs her temples, then says, “Okay, so let’s pretend I—again,hypothetically—accept all of this as my new reality. What does that mean?”
“It means you don’t have to be scared of me or anything in this world for that matter,” I tell her, voice steady. “I know you’ve got a kid. I know you’d never want him around someone dangerous.”
My fingers ache to touch her, but I hold myself back. Not the time. I shake my head. “I’m not dangerous, Sable. Not to you. Not to anyone who doesn’t deserve it. I protect the people I careabout. But you do what you need to do. Process. Tell Demi if you need to.”
Something shifts in her face. Softer now. She bites her lip and nods.
She’s going to tell her little redheaded firecracker of a friend. I can already see it. And maybe that’s okay. If this thing between us goes anywhere—hell, if it becomes what I think it might—her best friend’s going to know everything anyway. Including the size of my dick.
Might as well let her in on the little murder secret while we’re at it.
Sable parts her lips on an exhale, her shoulders lowering just slightly. “I need to go.”
I nod. “Yeah. Okay.”
She pauses. Her eyes move across my face with the quiet urgency of someone trying to memorize it. Then she grabs her phone, heads for the door, and walks out.
