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I still don’t interact much with Harlan and Miles. The men don’t seem to mind, though. Things have been much better since Miles swapped Harlan and me and I don’t have to deal with the patrons.

Things between Annie and me have been pretty much the same since the night I almost kissed her. She hasn’t brought it up, doesn’t ask prying questions, and brightens my nights with sweet smiles when she pops into the kitchen.

Laufer has switched to checking in on me once a week, but I know the marshals are keeping tabs on my movements. I feel it in my bones.

Things have settled into a dull routine, but I still struggle with my overwhelming emotions. It’s weird because they only calm down whenever I’m around Annie, even though she’s responsible for ninety percent of the chaos I’m feeling.

I walk into the laundry room but come to a sudden stop when I see Annie sitting on top of the table, sucking on a lollipop while looking at something on her phone.

She lets out a burst of soft laughter, her lips curling up, then she continues to go to town on the lollipop.

Like a dumbstruck fool, I stand rooted to the spot, my eyes devouring the shorts and T-shirt she’s wearing. Her hair is piled on top of her head in a messy bun, exposing her slender neck to me.

Christ.

My body reacts to the erotic sight, and as I grow hard, my breaths come a little faster.

Just then, Annie glances in my direction, and her face lights up like the Fourth of July. “Oh, hey. You also doing laundry today?” Using the lollipop, she points at one of the washing machines. “That one is open.”

I lower the basket so it covers my groin and walk to the corner with one hell of an uncomfortable hard-on. When I load my clothes into the machine, Annie asks, “Why do you only wear black?”

Before I can censor myself, I reply, “Colors make you stand out.”

“Interesting,” she murmurs. “I take it you don’t want to stand out?”

I shake my head as I shut the lid and press the buttons on the machine.

When I glance at Annie, she nudges her foot against one of the plastic chairs by the table. “Want to keep me company?”

I move closer, and grabbing the nearest chair, I spin it around before I straddle it and sit down. Resting my forearms on the back of the chair, I look at the purple nail polish on her toes.

This woman will never be able to blend into the shadows. She’s all color and light. People will see her coming a mile away.

“How have you been?” she asks.

“Okay,” I reply as I meet her eyes. “You?”

“Bored.”

Fuck, that makes two of us.

She scrunches her nose in a cute way that has me clenching my jaw and fisting my hands.

One of these days, I’m going to crush her to death with the cuteness aggression she keeps giving me.

She lifts an eyebrow at me. “Besides working out, what do you like to do?”

I used to like watching people before I killed them. I got glimpses into different lives. Some were family men, acting like regular people while straddling the line between good and bad. Others were evil fuckers, and when I killed them, I would picture their victims smiling with relief.

“Owen?” Annie says to get my attention.

Right, she asked me a question.

I don’t have an answer, so I shrug and throw it back at her. “What do you like to do?”

“Hmm . . .” She begins to swing her legs, drawing my eyes to her calves and freckled skin.

I wonder how many freckles she has all over her body. Probably close to a thousand.