Page 38 of Intrepid

He huffed a laugh and I could almost see him shaking his head. “You’re killing me, Sera. Now move the book and send me another one.”

“All you sent me was a video of you climbing a tower.”

“You want to see more? Tell me what you want to see.”

That was easy. I wanted to see more of his eyes—those angry, broody, bedroom eyes capable of seducing without much effort on his part. “Show me your face.”

About a minute later, my phone buzzed and I stared down at his striking blue eyes, as he sat casually atop the crane, smoking a cigarette.

“Now move the book.”

“How do I know you won’t post it somewhere?”

“You don’t. But I won’t.” The sincerity in his voice prodded me further.

“Why?”

He blew what I assumed was a drag of his smoke and sniffed. “Because I’m a selfish and jealous prick. I want it all for myself.”

“To do what with?”

“I’m having a custom rubber fuck doll made in your image.”

A burst of laughter died to a growl in my chest. I moved the book away as he’d asked, and yanked down the tank top to just below my nipple. Fist to my breast, I covered most of my flesh, while flipping him off in a quick shot I snapped from the neck down.

Not even a minute later his quiet chuckle rumbled through the phone. “Now that’s just cold. Why you gotta be such a tease? I’m gonna have to—” His voice cut out briefly, breaking up his response.

“You’re gonna have to what?”

“I got another call. I’ll see you Friday, angel.”

“Talk about a tease.” Call abruptly ended, I tapped the Add button, and saved Ty’s phone number in my contacts.

I shook my head at yet another encounter that only served to heighten my curiosity in the guy. I refused to acknowledge it as anything more than that. His interest in me still made little sense, but I’d begun to see the way he appreciated things that most didn’t bother to notice. The broader perspective that my narrow-minded thinking just couldn’t seem to grasp.

Maybe he saw something I didn’t.

13

Ty

Two years ago …

Chill October wind howled past the window beside me, as I stared out at the early flakes of snow melting against the thick pane separating me from the line of jumbo jets out on the tarmac. It’d been a week since I buried my uncle Hank, and the thought of having packed up and sold the last of his shit sat heavy in my gut. The man hadn’t had much in life, but he’d left more than he’d ever taken. Aside from a decade’s worth of advice, and a few ego-cracking bruises of tough love, he’d also willed me the small fortune he’d accumulated in cryptocurrency. A stockpile of cash he’d never bragged about, nor made known at any time during the ten years we’d lived on spam and Wonder bread. I couldn’t have begun to imagine where he’d gotten it, but I kept it stored away in a wallet for the day I’d up and explore the world, as he’d insisted in the letter he left behind.

The plane ticket to Dubai sat on the table beside the empty shots of Jameson whiskey and a full pack of Marlboros. The city was home to one of the tallest cranes in the world, and since I’d climbed damn near every crane and skyscraper in Detroit, I needed something more. Something higher. More dangerous. Something that would make me fall to my knees and thank fucking God I was still alive, because most days, I just couldn’t muster the appreciation.

I stared down at the third shot of the night. With Hank gone, the last string binding me to anyone, or anything, had officially snipped, and I was nothing more than a ghost. Completely alone. No home, no family, no consequences, and as far as the world was concerned, I didn’t exist.

I couldn’t decide if that was a blessing, or a punishment.

As if on cue, an obnoxious laugh reached my ear—one bearing a certain familiarity that tugged at the pit of my gut, dredging up visuals of a man with tattoos across his throat and a snake inked on his hand. Cold branches of fear climbed the back of my neck, and I lifted my own hand to see it trembling.

Another laugh.

I snapped my gaze toward a heavyset guy, sitting at the bar with his back to me. He leaned in toward the bartender, and seconds later, they were both laughing.

“No brain, no pain, that’s what I always say!”