“Yeah,” he said, rounding the counter into her private space.
“Hey, this is my bakery, and right now you’re stepping over personal boundaries.”
He grabbed her arm, and took her toward the window. She liked how firm his grip was on her arm. She didn’t reach for her knife, but she was tempted for a second.
“What are they saying?” he asked, pointing to a man and woman.
She’d gotten his interest, which now she was wishing she really hadn’t. Blowing out a breath, she decided to play along. What was wrong with a bit of fun? She’d done this so often to keep herself amused over the years.
“You’ve got to stop texting me. My wife is getting suspicious,” she said. “I can only see if they don’t move. The woman I can’t see. She’s got her back to us.”
“What about that couple there?” He pointed people sitting on an indoor bench in one of the other stores. They were quite far, and she shook her head.
“I can read lips. I don’t have bionic eyes.” She pulled out of his hold. “What were you doing at that gym?”
“Working out.”
“They were afraid of you. Why?” She folded her arms, challenging him.
Never in all of her life had she ever gone this personal before, or this invasive. From the moment she had started, she knew she had to stop. The words were just tumbling out as if they had a mind of their own.
He didn’t say a word.
“What’s your name?” she asked. “That’s a fair question. You grabbed me, manhandled me right to first base. I think I have a right to know your name.”
He smirked. “I’ll tell you my name when you earn it.” He left her shop after a wink, and a rush of frustration took her by surprise. Putting her hands back on her hips, she walked behind the counter. She would find out everything about him.
Even with his threat ringing in her head, she didn’t care. She wanted to know who her neighbor was. Her bullshit sense was tingling, and that guy was filled with a whole lot of it.
****
Shadow watched from a dark corner as Riley closed up her shop. She didn’t even realize that he’d been keeping tabs on her all day. He’d underestimated her, that was for sure. When she had said Boss’s name, he’d nearly given himself away. Of course, he almost died of laughter when she asked if he was gay. He had nothing against being gay, he just most definitely wasn’t. Women were his thing, but he loved it when they didn’t have hearts and flowers in their eyes. He wasn’t a good man.
His life at Killer of Kings had made it so. Being a killer came naturally to him. What he wanted was to fit in. He’d been to Viper’s, Killian’s, and Bain’s special lockup homes. They were like fortresses, and were constantly guarded.
He liked the idea of being an ordinary guy, something that had eluded him his entire life. What he hadn’t expected was having a very nosy neighbor, which was exactly what Riley was.
She was intrusive, but he believed her ability to read lips was a unique gift that he could use to his advantage. He’d have to be careful around her. Boss hadn’t wanted to text him any vital information in case it got hacked, and seeing as Shadow had a photographic memory, all he needed was to be told or to look at something, and he’d remember. That was one of his skills.
One look at a map, and he’d remember it for the rest of his life. The skill had served him well in the military and during his life as a hitman.
With his latest mission from Boss, the man had no name as he was constantly changing faces. The asshole was wanted in several countries for just about every crime imaginable. Boss had contracts from numerous sources, so it would be a big pay day once this guy was in the ground.
It wasn’t always about money for Boss. In his spare time, he liked to help certain causes. Shadow knew firsthand that Boss’s heart wasn’t all black, and one of his pet peeves was the human trafficking of women and children. About five years ago, Shadow had been hunting a man who’d stolen a wealthy man’s kid. He paid top dollar for his safe return. They’d discovered a black market specializing in the smuggling of women and kids. It had sickened Shadow, but Boss, he made sure every man involved lived to regret it. He hunted them down, and declared war on anyone who had anything to do with it. Shadow had witnessed Boss torture a woman who had beaten kids into submission so they could be sold. There was a lot of sick shit in the world.
With Riley’s back to him, Shadow moved in until he was standing directly behind her. He kept to the shadows because he could blend in. No one would ever hear him.
“You’re closing up late,” he said.
She gasped and spun around. Riley reached in her purse, pulling out a blade and holding it in front of her.
When recognition softened her features, she lowered her arm. “I don’t like to be sneaked up on,” she said. “What do you want?”
“You didn’t use that knife last night.” He noticed she didn’t shake. What had happened to her that made her so confident in holding a knife?
“I didn’t think I’d need it. You told me you were the real threat, anyway. I live next door to you. If you don’t give me your name, I’m going to start calling you Ghost.”
Shadow smirked. He had never met a woman like her. She was a fighter through and through. “I need a ride home,” he lied.