“It’s me or no one.” His blue eyes shine brightly. He knows he has me cornered. And he’s about to go in for the kill.
“I’ll make sure that every man knows that you’re mine. That you are tied to the Black name.”
I grip my coffee cup tighter but don’t show any other outward signs of my anger. “Always using the Black name instead of your own.”
“The Black name is my own.”
I run my tongue over my teeth, drawing his attention to my mouth. “Just another lie. You can pretend that it doesn’t matter that you aren’t Enzo’s brother by blood, but it matters. He has a real brother now. He has another best friend. You are nothing but a disposable soldier to him.”
I stand to get up. I don’t need a hitman anyway. I can kill the man myself. And I can find a way to ensure that no one ties me to the crime.
Langston catches my wrist, though, before I’m even fully out of my chair. I’d forgotten how quick his reflexes are.
“When?” he asks, not letting me have any control. Just one of the many reasons why we will never work.
I inhale a deep breath, taking my time. I may not be able to deny him, but I can prolong my answer. It’s a mistake, though, because all I smell is his husky scent. It fills my nostrils, and it’s going to linger there all day. Every time I take a breath in, I’ll breathe in him—a burning reminder of a man I wish I could get rid of forever.
“Saturday night.” I don’t give him any more specific details. I don’t have to tell him what time or where. I know he’ll find me. He always finds me.
He nods.
I think he’s finally going to release me, but his hand is still wrapped around my wrist.
“We still need to discuss payment,” he says.
“$100K. I told you how much in the ad.”
He shakes his head. “I don’t want your money.”
“That’s the only way I’ll pay you.”
His jaw tightens, and I chance a glance at his eyes. He doesn’t have to tell me with words how I will pay him back. I know. I know what he wants from me. The same thing most men want from me.
But it’s the one thing I’ll never give him.
4
Langston
Li
esel ran from the only family she’s ever known. She did it years ago to start a new life. To get a fresh start. To stay away from what she deemed evil and brought up too many painful memories for her.
I understood at the time why she ran.
I know why she’s disappointed in me.
I know why she’s been gone all this time.
She’s been running from her past. But it seems her past has caught up with her.
For a while, she lived in the middle of nowhere. She was hidden. Safe.
But that isn’t the life for Liesel. She likes to be near people; she likes to matter. So she moved back to the city and started up her life again as a lawyer. She bought a high-rise condo. She became the powerful woman she once was. She thought she could hide in plain sight, but there is no hiding from our world.
I know—I’ve tried. Once you are in this world, you are in. There is no quitting. You can try to outrun it, but eventually, the darkness from your history catches up to you.
Liesel wants to hunt and kill a man.