“I made a promise,” I said out loud to no one.
I needed my cameras back; not watching her was killing me. I’d spent all night trying to convince myself she was just a job like the others, but the need I felt, the craving, the overwhelming urge to see her… that wasn’t normal. And being that close last night and having to walk away, that was the worst kind of torture.
“Fuck it,” I muttered, reaching for my keys and heading towards the front door, knowing I needed to make a deal with the devil if I had any hope of getting what I wanted.
“Is he in?”I grunted at the receptionist, who sat outside the three large offices in the over-polished penthouse floor of Lanton House. The blonde looked up at me, her eyes widening as she took me in, and then a flirty smile spread across her lips. “Let me guess. Roman Black?”
I tilted my head. “How did you know?”
“He mentioned the beard.”
I raised an eyebrow, but her warm smile was incredibly disarming.
“Give me a second. Do you want to take a seat?” She pointed to a gun-metal grey sofa across the room, but I shook my head. She then pressed a buzzer on her desk. “Mr Lanton, he’s here.”
Minutes later, a door opened in one of the offices, and out walked a suit-wearing Thomas, looking more like a CEO of a bank rather than a deadly mercenary who ran an agency full of ex-servicemen and women who helped him rid the world of monsters. He was followed by an equally scary looking grey-haired man, who offered me a two-fingered salute.
Sean Slone.
“Welcome to the team,” he muttered as he passed. I’d worked with both of them in the past, but my conditions were always clear: I didn’t see them, they didn’t see me, and I remained freelance. Me even being here meant Thomas was about to get the one wish he’d admitted again and again over the years—for me to come and work for him… with him. Face to face. No more hiding.
My gaze flicked to Thomas, who replied with a one shouldered shrug.
“I thought you’d retired years ago, old man,” I mumbled.
“I did, but Sean’s working on another job right now, so you’ve got me.”
He unfastened his suit jacket as if to remind me he was armed. Not that he needed to. His reputation in this fucked up world we worked in preceded him—the man was always armed and ready for a fight. Which, I guess, was why he was who he was. But, despite knowing all this, I couldn’t keep my anger to myself, my hands fisting at my sides as I stared at him.
“Sorry for the attire. We had to deal with a little problem this morning, so I needed to look the part.” I frowned, wondering if I should ask what theproblemwas, but Thomas continued speaking. “So, Roman, what brings you here?”
I huffed and rolled my eyes, and he chuckled. “Can we go somewhere to talk?” I asked.
He held out his arm in the direction of the office he’d just come out of, and I stormed towards it, sitting in the chair on the other side of his desk while he closed the door.
“I have to say,” he started as he slipped off his jacket and took off his holster, placing it and the guns in a drawer next to where he sat. “I thought I would have heard from you before now. I mean, it’s been a whole thirty-six hours since my little surprise.” He sat, steepling his fingers beneath his chin.
“Really? And why would you think that?”
Thomas offered me a half smile, letting the silence settle between us as I seethed at his calm demeanour.
“What’s she doing here?” I fired out when I couldn’t stand it any longer.
“Who?”
I leaned forward, grabbing the edge of the desk. “Hana. Who else? What did you do?”
“You mean the woman you’ve been obsessed with for almost ten years, the woman you hunted down for four of those years, and now you’re stalking.”
“The woman I’ve been watching quite happily. From. A. Distance. Because watching people is my job. How the hell did you even get her here?”
Thomas shrugged. “I’m a very rich man.”
I glared at him. “Good to know. Remind me that next time I need a loan.”
“I bought Pete’s Place and the cottage she’s living in, and then I put an advert in front of her that she couldn’t resist. Oh, and I might have arranged a surprise health inspection on the place she worked and had her building condemned, so it was the perfect time for her to make the move.”
“What the fuck?” I spluttered, not believing what I was hearing. “You bought a diner and a house for a woman you’ve never met. And you say I’m messed up?”
