My locks were designed with that knowledge, so imagine my surprise when I open my door to find a scantily clad woman currently standing in my kitchen.
“Oh, you’re still here,” I said dryly, scanning the room to make sure everything was still in its place. I was just thankful I’d locked my fucking office, because the last thing I needed was my latest fuck stumbling across my work.
At least she had the decency to look offended, but she quickly recovered with a sensual pout. “I’ve been waiting for you,” she purred, walking over with an extra sway to her hips. Her fingers reached up to brush against my chest, but I caught her wrist before she could make contact.
“Don’t touch,” I growled, and she winced a little under my grip. It wasn’t a warning. It was a rule, one that I had made perfectly clear when she was bouncing on my cock. “I thought you’d left.”
No one stayed here after sex. I never allowed it. She must have pretended to leave and then hidden herself while I showered and left for the club, because there was no way in hell I’d have been distracted enough not to notice her. She had a great pussy, but it wasn’t fucking magic.
“I thought we could… you know.” She rose onto her toes, lips barely a breath from mine before I shoved her back. Another rule. I didn’t kiss. Ever.
Kissing was too vulnerable, and I had an almost neurotic need for control. Touch in an intimate setting Icouldmanage, but only if I initiated it. Anything beyond that edged into surrender, and I didn’t surrender to anyone.
I’d already showered after spending a few hours with… fuck… I didn’t even know her name. But if she carried on, I’d have to shower again, scrub my skin under the boiling water until it felt raw.
“I’m a little busy, love.”
She hesitated, confusion flickering in her eyes. So I cupped her jaw, thumb grazing her throat just enough to make her shiver. Leaning in slowly, I watched hope spark behind her lashes. But rather than give her what she wanted, I guided her backward, step by step, until she was out into the corridor.
“I’ll call you,” I said with a wink, slamming the front door shut. I wouldn’t, but she didn’t need to know that.
Mental note: don’t fuck the clingy brunette with great tits again.
Waiting until said brunette had finally left, I tossed my leather jacket in the rough direction of the coat stand and strode to my office.
My computer screen already displayed the camera outside Violet’s door, and sitting back I stared at it for a moment. Hoping maybe she’d finally give me the information I needed, but alas, she was probably already fast asleep.
Sighing, I looked down at my notes and the limited details I’d been given by my client. My gaze moved over to the single photograph of a dark-haired woman holding the hand of a little girl no older than three, pinned in the centre of my investigation on the wall. The image was grainy, clearly a CCTV image and taken from an angle that was borderline stalkerish considering the woman looked to be running from something. The girl had big green eyes, and while Violet’s hair had darkened to gold rather than white as she’d aged, it was unmistakably her.
With her social media presence, and limited information from the contact, she’d been easy enough for someone as talented as me to find. But that didn’t matter when it came to this job, because technically she wasn’t my target.
Her mother was.
And while Violet was a stalker’s wet dream, her mother seemed to have disappeared off the face of the planet six months ago. That left me with only one lead, and she just happened to be made of fucking sunshine.
Chapter 6
Violet
I woke with a scream caught in my throat, the nightmare nothing but a blur as I wiped at my face, finding tears wetting my cheeks. It was always the same nightmare when I was stressed, a phantom pain waking me like a violent whip against my bare skin.
Each time it was pure panic, my heart racing as if I’d been chased. Taking a moment to calm myself down, I slipped out of bed and checked my phone, groaning at the time. I’d slept past my alarm, which meant I didn’t even have time to shower.
Fuck… I couldn’t be late again. Noah already threatened to fire me last time.
Getting dressed, I stumbled out into the living room to find the sofa bed was empty, mum’s sheets messily piled at the bottom.
“Morning. I’m sorry, I’ve got to run or I’ll be late,” I called, raising my voice so it would carry into the kitchen.
Grabbing my keys, my pens, and my sketchpad, I froze at the silence that followed.
“Mum?”
“Where were you?” She stepped out from around thecorner, gripping a large knife. “There was a man outside last night, watching us. I thought… I thought you’d been taken.” Tears slid down her cheeks, even as her face remained cold. Disappointed.
“There was no man, mum.” I warily approach, holding out my hands. “Give me the knife.”
Mum frowned, a pained sound escaping her lips. “They’ve found us. How have they found us? It was the mirrors; they’ve always been behind the mirrors. Maybe, maybe they must have…” Her eyes zeroed in on my arm. “You must have a tracker.”
