“I don’t have anything like that to wear.”
“Leave that to us.”
I scoffed. “You think you can just go out there, buy me a dress, and have it fit perfectly?”
“It’s a talent of mine, yes.”
You know those moments where you become a slave to your own memories? When your brain decides to throw a temper tantrum and remind you of things you were better off not knowing in the first place? As Axton loomed over me with those predatory eyes of his, my brain decided to hide itself. It didn’t matter that I was intrigued with this talent of his. It didn’t matter that I felt safer than I had in days. It didn’t matter that he was on one side of the bed and that I was on the other.
I guess, the only thing that mattered was his presence.
“Wake up, bitch.”
I remembered back to the first time I ever heard his voice. It had been accompanied by a kick to my chair that startled me awake.
“Ah!” I exclaimed as my head ripped up.
Before the pain that shot through my skull caused me to lean over and vomit onto the floor.
“Disgusting bitch,” he growled as he fisted my hair.
“No!” I exclaimed as he ripped my head back, forcing me to stare up at him.
“Shut the fuck up and listen,” he snarled. “You’ve committed sins you have yet to atone for, so consider me your God. Do you wish to confess?”
I whimpered. “What am I confessing?”
The crack of his first slap against my face jolted me out of my own trance, but when it did, I found that Axton was no longer standing in front of me. No longer did he loom over me like the brutal man his scars boasted him to be. Instead, my body trembled as I searched for him.
Before finding him perched on the edge of the bed near my head.
“Axe,” I whispered as a tear slid down my cheek.
He cleared his throat. “All you’d do is wear a nice dress, some heels, and you’d mingle. Dante will go with you as your date and—”
I blinked. “Dante?”
“Yes, Dante. He’s the one that coordinates security jobs like this, so he’ll be the easiest date for you to slip in there with.”
“Seriously? That man’s ready to gnaw my muscles off my bones.”
To my shock, Axton laughed. He barked with it, actually, and the sound disarmed me. “He blends in well with that kind of crowd, believe it or not. He doesn’t stand out and wears a tux well enough to hide who he really is.”
I nodded slowly. “So, what happens when you catch my sister?”
“We hand her over to who wants her.”
“Is that another thing you guys do? Bounty hunting or whatever?”
He stood to his feet. “Getting your sister off the street and into the hands of those who want her is the only way for you to get back to your life. So, are you in or out?”
I noted how he dodged the question, but I didn’t call him out on it. In fact, I didn’t hesitate at all when I answered him.
Which shocked even me.
“You should know that green is my color,” I said as my back straightened.
“The point is to blend in,” he said, starting for the door, “not stand out.”
