“Two.”
I groan. “Fine, fucking two, but if she annoys me enough, I’m allowed to kill her.”
“No.”
“Fuck, why do you get all the fun? You get sex and I get fuckingBarbie.”
“Youwantto watchBarbie.”
“Irrelevant!”
Chapter 17
Gable
Operation: Distract Ella and resist killing her.
Easy enough, right?
Wrong.
After getting dressed, she decided she wanted to go to the flower shop—alone. A way to regain her confidence, apparently, which seems reckless as fuck but worked in our favor. It means I can follow her but not spend any time with her. Win–win.
So, how do I distract a woman I hate and who hates me?
I buy every orchid from her local flower shop. Every. Single. One. I have them delivered to the local hospital, hoping for some good fucking karma, and watch from a distance as Ella steps out of the flower shop, defeated.
I stand across the street, leaning against a tree, sucking my lollipop and cackling. “What’s the plan now, Gibson?”
Predictable as always, she stands outside the store on her phone, probably searching for the nearest flower shop with good reviews. Which is A Flowers Day, and all of those orchids are gone, too.
I can’t wait to see her disappointment when she walks all the way there and leaves disappointed, again.
Except someone runs past and snatches her phone.
And Ella takes off running after them.
“Jesus fucking Christ.”
She throws her purse over her shoulder, anddamnthis girl can run. No wonder she’s caught two muggers in the past. I’m not sure if she runs every day or if adrenaline is fueling her, but she’s sprinting full speed, which means I have to run, too.
Why can’t shit ever be easy with her?
I break out into a sprint on the other side of the street, dodging people, trying to keep my eye on her. I watch in half horror, half amazement as sheties her hair upwhile running so it doesn’t impede her view.
Is this woman a superhero?
The mugger turns a corner and Ella follows, screaming something at him; I almost get hit by a car as I cross the street to try and grab her before she gets herself killed. Asher would somehow find me at fault for that.
My lungs are already fuckingburning. This is why I do my job. It’s easy to subdue a guy when you’re as strong as I am; cardio isn’t totally necessary to choke a guy out, and right now I’m running more than I have since I was fifteen and got caught robbing a store.
Ella skids to the right, almost losing her footing, and disappears down an alley. And I already know what I’m going to find before I even get there.
I follow, almost colliding fully with Ella, a gun pointed at the both of us.
“You …” I wheeze, hands on my knees. “Are afucking nightmareof a woman!”
Ella has her hands up. The mugger looks panicked, the gun shaking. “I’ll shoot you! I swear I will!”
