I look up and find Ever watching me. He’s been watching me all night.
“You know, the way you watch me kinda reminds me of that piece of shit ex,” I call out, because I’m tired and irritated and my mouth has a mind of its own.
Ever grunts in lieu of an answer.
“Make no mistake,” Shiloh drawls, stretching. His shirt pulls tight across his chest and shoulders, and my mouth goes dry in spite of myself. “We’re watching you for an entirely different reason than he was.”
My gaze dips without permission—to the V just visible at his waist, to memories I don’t need to invite back in. When we lock eyes again, his are heated, his smile pinned tight at the edges.
How much did he see in my backpack? My stomach drops.
“I don’t know what that even means. Are you the kind of men who would watch out for me if he happened to come through the door?” I ask, forcing the question out flat, casual. Like it doesn’t matter.
“Like you said,” Ever answers, voice rough. “Your business is yours.”
It’s a warning. Curiosity is one thing, as long as I don’tbring my trouble to their doorstep any more than I already have.
I give a thoughtful nod and set the broom in the corner, then pick up a rag and begin polishing a section of the bar that already shines. My fingers tremble slightly and I curl them into the rag.
Which I guess means it’s time I laid at least some of my cards out between us.
“So. Part of the reason I’m here. I heard there are…people for hire. Someone named… Midnight?”
Stillness creeps into the room and infects everything. The bustle of the other staff fades to background noise. The air constricts until it grows heavy in my lungs.
Ever’s expression stays neutral, but his voice cools. “Training’s over, Reva.”
My stomach drops through the hole in my gut—the one I thought had an end. I give a weak smile. “That means I’ve got the job, right?”
Ever and Shiloh exchange a look. “We’ll get back to you on that,” Shiloh says.
Shit. I pushed too far. Took a stupid risk, and now I’ve lost my only access point.
Too much. Too soon.
When a man like Ever says training’s over, it doesn’t sound like he’ll be giving me a schedule. It sounds like a verdict.
And the worst part is—I can’t tell if he means I’m done learning…or if I’m just done.
Yeah, yeah, stick with me, kid.
—Ash
CHAPTER TEN
EVER
Reva asksfor a killer like he’s part of a secret Starbucks menu.
People for hire.
Her voice doesn’t shake, but her fingers tremble as she wipes the bar and refuses to look at either of us.
Shiloh’s expression stays easy while his eyes go sharp. The words fall from my lips without thought.
Training’s over.
I’m not even really sure what I mean by them. Am I firing her, right after I hired her? I don’t know. No…I can’t do that—we’re supposed to keep an eye on her, so that won’t work.
