Where was she going?
More importantly, why?It was the middle of the night.No one roamed around someone else’s home with pure intentions.
AJ’s concerns rattled around in his brain.Bringing her here hadn’t been smart.This place held every secret Fink possessed.If she were sent here to destroy him—whether it be by the law or his competition, he’d made it far too easy.
The problem was, if she were a cop, FBI, CIA, or whatever, it wouldn’t just be him impacted.There was enough shit in his house to take down multiple criminal syndicates throughout the country.While Fink didn’t have a problem meeting his maker if it meant a chance at fleeting happiness, he couldn’t let AJ or other people burn with him.He’d made the choice, no matter how foolish, to trust her.They couldn’t suffer for it.
Carefully, he pulled the covers off him, opened his side table, and removed the Glock with the silencer from it.After checking the magazine, ensuring it was loaded, he crept out of the bed, avoiding every floorboard that could give him away.
The idea that Sydney had tricked him into believing she killed for the first time nagged at him.He’d never been this wrong about anyone before.Somehow, she had bamboozled him.He was as entranced by Sydney as the sailors lured to their deaths by a siren’s call.
What an absurd thought.
If she were lying, though, he had to act like she was as trained and skilled as he was.Better safe than sorry.He hadn’t survived this long in his profession by not being prepared for the worst.
With his back against the wall, he stalked through the upstairs of his home.His brain told him to be on high alert.His heart warned that she could be in the other bathroom for some reason.
What could that be?It wasn’t like she was poop-shy.They’d shared a tiny apartment for days.If he wanted to, he could chart her bowel movements.They were natural bodily functions.She wasn’t ashamed of them.So then what?
He had no idea, but he remained hopeful.
The irony wasn’t lost on him.He’d been labeled heartless by so many.When he finally discovered he had one, it could lead to his demise.If he weren’t in the thick of this conundrum of whether or not to trust Sydney, he might actually laugh about it.
The office was empty.
A wave of relief washed over him.All his secrets, his connections, details about every one of his targets were in there.Sure, they were encrypted and supposedly unobtainable by anyone but himself, but he wasn’t so sure.Especially if she worked for one of the three-letter agencies.
Either way, he would take the tiny victory as it came.She wasn’t snooping in his private files.
Then where was she?
Not shitting in a different toilet.The bathroom was clear.
If she remained on this level, that left one place.Now his heart revved up.The tension in his neck tightened.His finger rested on the trigger of his weapon.
The most sacred of locations in all the world—his library.
Within the walls were not only every textbook he studied about the human body, serial killers, hunting, military strategies, etc., but this was his trophy room.He was like everyone else who killed multiple people; he took little prizes with him every now and then.Not with every kill, just the ones that were particularly fun or challenging.
He was more sentimental than he’d ever admit.
Atop the shelves and shelves of reading material were trinkets he’d stolen from each of his memorable victims.Tie clips, jewelry, keys—little souvenirs.He’d intended to put Grant’s golf trophy with the rest of the things.Except he never got to snag it.
Sydney had been his memento from that job.
He shook his head.Wouldn’t she look adorable sitting on a shelf in his library?
For Burke, the heart.Though he’d promised it to her.Maybe in the preservation process, if they got to that point, he could snag a piece for himself to keep among all his other little tchotchkes.
After standing outside the room for far too long, he inhaled deeply.He had to open the door, but should he point the gun at her?Instinct and training said yes.He had the element of surprise.If she were a threat, it’d be the quickest way to subdue the target.
But if she weren’t…
Would it scare her for him to aim a weapon at her?
Would it turn her on?
Both were possibilities.Sydney had proven to be the most complicated and alluring enigma he’d ever come across.She was his addiction.He couldn’t get enough of her.
