Later that night Shadow was spending way too much time in his basement watching Riley. She was … unique, different, and he didn’t know what to make of her. Today she’d been a mixture of fire and ice. Not once did she go to the police or put a call through. The window had been repaired, and he’d supervised the guys who did the job.
One of them had been trying to hit on Riley, to get her number and ask her out. There was no way in hell he was allowing that to happen, so he’d told them that she belonged to him. She was his woman.
Damn it.
This was not supposed to be complicated, and yet that was exactly what was happening. Shadow’s life with Killer of Kings was extreme—murder and everything seedy in the world. Riley was right about him. He was living a lie, just like she was. Shadow lived in the suburb because he was essentially playing house. The feeling of normalcy gave him a high, even if counterfeit, because it had always been out of reach.
Running a finger along his lip, he watched as she leaned across her bed to grab the far book. It was one for frostings, and had so many notes scrawled over the pages. She had notes everywhere, which were all about baking.
All day he’d watched and listened as she worked. Her passion was her shop. It was her one place in the world that no one could take away from her.
The insurance company was a dodgy one. He didn’t like it. The owner of the plaza was even worse, charging rents that were through the roof, and Riley didn’t have any protection from any of that shit. He didn’t like it when the big men took advantage of others. She just wanted to make a life for herself.
He got up from the basement, and grabbed a couple of beers from his fridge. Not caring that it was a little after eleven, he jumped the fence into her backyard, grabbed a stone, and threw it at her window.
Shadow was an expert marksman, and if he wanted to, he’d have totally smashed the glass. He wanted her attention, not to cause her more trouble.
Seconds passed, and when he threw a second stone, she finally came to the window.
“What the hell are you doing?” she asked, leaning outside. The negligee she wore was a cotton one with a cute little duck on the front. It was totally the opposite of what he expected her to wear, and yet it suited her.
“Want to share a beer?” he asked, holding up the bottles.
“Really?”
“Don’t you want to know more about me?”
He wasn’t about to tell her a damn thing. Still, he wanted a beer, and he liked her company. She wasn’t like most women who demanded attention. Riley didn’t ask him if she looked good, and didn’t constantly check her appearance. What he really wanted was to take his dual lifestyle to the next level. He wanted to come home after a day of killing to the love of a good woman. But that wasn’t possible.
Boss had already called him and torn him a new asshole, or tried to for causing a stir at the bar. He didn’t give a shit about what Boss thought. All that mattered was the message that got across loud and clear—he had to leave Riley, and her bakery, alone. The cleanup crew had handled the aftermath in less than an hour. It was like the incident never happened, but Boss wouldn’t forget so easily.
She opened the back door, and now she was wearing some kind of long cardigan that covered up way too much.
Taking a seat on one of her deck chairs, he waited for her to take the bottle from him.
“This is new,” she said, a soft smile on her lips.
“What is?”
“You coming to pay a visit.”
Shadow didn’t consider himself the possessive or protective type, and yet he’d completely dominated Riley’s world. If she moved, he knew about it. Her privacy was completely gone, she simply didn’t know it yet.
Not that she’d ever know it.
This was a big mistake. Asking her for a beer. Taking care of her, getting to know her. It left a trail of evidence to who he was. Even as he knew it was a mistake and should be doing everything to leave, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
She made him … want. He wanted the fantasy, wanted Riley. How was it possible to go so long without realizing he was missing something?
“I’m sorry,” she said, startling him.
“Sorry?”
“You know, for today. I was a total bitch to you. I shouldn’t have been. You were helping me, and I wasn’t exactly the nicest person to be around,” she said. “You could have been hurt.”
“You watched me kill someone, and I don’t know if I’m happy that you’re not freaking out,” he said.
She chuckled, actually chuckled. He couldn’t believe it.