“So, have you picked a design yet?” she asked, moving toward him.
“I was wondering if you could show me some of the cake sizes. I’m sorry, I really don’t get the whole size and look ratio thing. All of these cakes look really small, and I won’t do small.”
You’re a fucking liar.
If he got her to go to the back of the bakery, he was going to try to kill her. Avoiding the bakery would arouse his suspicions and right now, she just wanted to live through the next few minutes.
If I live through this I swear I’m going to stop stressing about the little things, and enjoy life. I’ll have sex more. I’ll do more of everything and less of the boring stuff. I’ll live my life to the fullest and never allow a dull moment to interrupt my awesomeness.
She thought about Shadow and how he’d made her feel in the few times they’d been together. Last night had been magical, and the thought of never seeing him again, filled her with pain.
“Sure. Two seconds. Let me just lock the door so no one comes in and tries to steal the stuff that I’ve got on offer.” Her heart raced as she flicked the lock into place. I can do this.
Smiling at the man, she walked into the back of her bakery.
He was close behind her, and within seconds he had a gun pressed against her skull. Reaching into her pocket, she felt the only thing that she knew how to use. Breathing in and out, she closed her eyes.
“You really shouldn’t have fallen into my lap so easily.” He spun her around, and she forced herself to look at him. To stare at the man who intended to kill her. “It’s a shame. You’re pretty for a fat girl. I’d have loved to fuck you, but I don’t have time. I’ve got to meet my boss. I can’t keep him waiting.” His gaze ran down her body, but she didn’t think. She stomped on his foot, and jarred her elbow into his stomach.
The shock of her attack put him in a vulnerable position, and after he’d pressed a gun to her temple, she wasn’t in a forgiving mood. She was pissed off. Without another thought to what she was doing, she plunged the blade into the bastard’s eye, pulling it out, and stabbing him in the throat. She acted on pure adrenaline, her only thought to survive, and she took the guy by surprise.
She gasped, and stepped away, holding the knife in her hand like it was a lifeline. The man gargled, screamed, and then fell to the floor, blood dripping from his eye and his neck. She had just killed a man, and she stared down at the floor where he’d collapsed into a heap, frozen in place.
“Well, I have to say I’m surprised.”
Riley spun around and saw Boss standing in the entryway. “But I locked the door.”
“Being the owner of Killer of Kings, you learn a few things. Like getting spare keys to the places of the women in your workers’ lives. Shadow has been interested in you for some time. I thought he’d have actually taken you by now, but he was always a bit of a dramatic bastard, and self-serving as well. The martyr.”
She pointed at the man on the floor. “He was going to kill me.”
“Yes. I don’t think he anticipated the knife, do you?” He laughed. “The name’s Boss, by the way.” He held his hand out for her, and she merely stared at it.
“Are you high?” Her hand was covered in blood, and she’d killed a man. All of the evidence was in her bakery, and she had nothing to tell the cops, and her life had just gone to shit. Everything was collapsing on her.
Suddenly Boss caught her arms, holding her up. “Don’t freak out on me.”
“I’m really kind of losing it right now. I don’t need to be dealing with this.”
“Take a deep breath.”
“Get your hands off her,” Shadow said, appearing behind Boss. “How the hell did you get here before me?”
Two other big men entered
the bakery soon after Shadow. She still held the knife in her hand and she stared at Shadow, needing him more than anything, but Boss didn’t let her go.
“Apparently, she had it all under control.” Boss finally released her, and she began to shake. Boss leaned down, and checked the tattoo. He whistled. “Another body double. Shit, there’ll be a lot of these fuckers out of work now.”
“What the fuck is the meaning of this?” A guy with an accent spoke up, and she frowned. “That was supposed to be my mark.”
“You didn’t get the hit, El Diablo, Shadow did. I never doubted him.” Boss grabbed the knife from her hand, closing it up, and pocketing it. That was the knife that had gotten her through many scrapes and there was no way in hell that anyone was going to take that away from her.
“Give me back my knife.” Whatever shock or trance she’d been in faded at him stealing her knife.
Boss ignored her and faced the other men. He began to talk, but she wasn’t listening to him. Her mind buzzed, and she felt faint, but she was still determined to get what belonged to her.
“Give me back my damn knife.” Her temper began to increase, and she really, really needed her knife back. Her sanity slowly slipped away. When he didn’t give it to her, she took matters into her own hands, and shoved her hand in his pocket.