ELARA
Mira: Are you all dressed up for your date, Sissy?
Ismile as my phone lights up on the dresser. When Mira’s non-verbal response to her trauma gets really bad, she can’t even text, so this is a major relief. I shoot a text back.
Elle: Hell yeah.
But as I look in the mirror, my confidence falters just a little. I’m wearing a form-hugging dress, emerald green, with keyhole mesh detailing above my cleavage. I’ve straightened my hair and applied more makeup than usual, but not too much… I hope.
We’re planning on killing a man, and here I am worrying about my outfit.
I straighten the dress and practice smiling in the mirror. I wish I could smile and not have to worry about the implications of this night.
A gasp punches out of me when I walk into the living room. Rhett is wearing a shirt that hugs his thick arms, stylish trousers, and shiny shoes. Gel holds his black hair back from his face.
“You like?” he asks, as he shrugs on the suit jacket. “Makes me feel like a cop again…”
“I… like,” I tell him, a crazy part of me wondering what people will think when we walk into the restaurant together.
He turns fully to me, his eyes snapping open. A shiver moves through his entire body, an involuntary response to laying eyes on me. “Damn, Sunshine,” he murmurs. “You look beautiful. Even more beautiful than usual, which I didn’t think was possible.”
He rushes across the room like he’ll go crazy if he doesn’t get his hands on me as quickly as possible. I match his desperation, throwing myself into his arms. He crushes his lips against mine, groaning through the tight press of our mouths.
His crotch stiffens as he pushes against me, passion making him hard. I find his tongue, caress it with mine, savoring the hungry groaning noises he makes as his hands sink greedily into my hips.
“We won’tgetto the date at this rate,” I say between hungry gasps.
He chuckles, tucking my hair behind my ear, keeping his face close to mine so he can look directly into my eyes. “Maybe that’s the point.”
I push my hands against his chest, which does nothing to stop the lust pounding through me. He’s so firm, so hot under the fabric of his shirt, like he’s burning up just being close to me.
“I didn’t know my boyfriend was so greedy. Dinner first… dessert later…”
He laughs, but it’s forced. I wonder if he’s tiring of the fake boyfriend-and-girlfriend angle. Maybe it’s because he wants the real thing. Or because he wants it to end. Or perhaps he’s trying to save me from becoming a killer.
“We should go,” I say, before he can try to talk me out of this again.
He nods and takes my hand.
In the car, we drive out of the gate, the sun beginning to set. I watch the treeline, looking for glints or any sign Lucian is watching us.
“What if he doesn’t follow us?” I ask.
“He is following us,” Rhett replies calmly.
I look at the road, the forest, seeing nothing. “He is?”
“Look ahead,” he tells me. “Near the entrance to the hiking path. There’s a car parked under the trees, covered in leaves. It’s difficult to make out because it blends in.”
I turn my head and see what he’s talking about. Someone has covered the car in leaves. Only the wheels and headlights are visible. “Whoa,” I mutter. “It seems so obvious now that we’re looking. Should we just?—”
“No damn way,” he cuts in. “If we’re doing this, we’re doing it right. That doesn’t include starting a gunfight out in the open. Anything could happen. We bait him, let him think he’s in charge… then we strike.”
I wrap my arms around my waist.
He must sense my mood because he reaches over and gently squeezes my leg. “None of this is going to be easy. If I was handling this alo?—”
“But you’re not,” I remind him pointedly. “We’re handling it together.Like we agreed. Okay?”
