“Hello, Mr. Raines. Thank you for agreeing to open for me on such short notice. I’m boarding a flight back to Europe tonight, and I couldn’t leave New York without seeing your new collection.” I unbelt my trench and slowly slide it off of my shoulders, tossing it on a chair. I walk toward him, rubbing myself against him as I lean to look at a piece in one of the cases below.
His breath is hot against my ear. “Don’t waste your time looking at those. I have many, many others that are much more worthy of a beautiful woman like you.” He nods his head toward the viewing room, which my surveillance already told me was in the far-left corner of the storefront. “Let me show you.” He turns toward the security guard. “Nick, you can go. I’ll take it from here.” He crosses the floor and locks the door behind Nick, his only source of security and protection.
Cheap bastard. He’s really going to wish he hadn’t done that.
I follow him into the viewing room. He bolts the door behind us and adjusts a set of cameras that cover multiple views of the storefront and the outside. He grins at me. “This is just a safety precaution. With the push of a button, I can have the cops here in seconds.”
Raines doesn’t need to worry about what is happening outside of his place.
Because I work alone.
In my experiences, men just fuck everything up anyway.
I’m better off by myself, collecting what people owe us and destroying the ones who take from us.
I always get the job done.
It’s why my father trusts me as his number one.
What Raines should have been more focused on was the mysterious young woman who showed up at his door, instead of any crew she might be working with.
But that’s what happens when you get sloppy, and when you’re too money-hungry to think about the consequences of your actions.
“So the cameras serve as your security guard, hmm?” I ask, fluffing out my fake blonde hair with a black leather-gloved hand. “You’re not scared of little old me? You’re willing to put your trust in a complete stranger?” I keep my tone light and flirtatious. There’s no hint of an accent, either. Another little trick I’ve perfected.
The corners of Raines’s lips lift upward into a sinister smile. He reaches under the desk and places a gun on the table next to him. “Of course, Miss Blake. My complete trust is right here next to me.”
I smile, running a finger over the semiautomatic pistol. Too bad he forgot to remove the safety. “Oohh, the scent of death and the sparkle of diamonds,” I say in a breathy voice. “I love it.”
“You can’t be too careful in this business.” Raines folds his arms across his chest. “Now what can I show you? I believe you said you wanted to wrap this up quickly to make your flight.”
I never said anything like that. He’s squirming. I think it might be time…
“Well…” I pretend to think for a second. “I’d love to see something that really pops, you know? Like maybe the shipment of cocaine your organization intercepted and stole from my father before it hit Miami?” I look around. “Did you save any of that? Or have you sold it already and buried the cash?”
The color all but drains from his face, and he grabs the gun, pointing it at me.
“Tsk-tsk, Raines,” I say, pulling off my glasses and dropping them onto the table. “And after he gave you a massive loan to fund your new jewelry collection. You couldn’t get that money from anyone else because you’re a lying, manipulative scumbag who can’t be trusted. My father saved your ass, and how do you thank him? By fucking him over. You used his money to fund your little plan. I bet you thought it was poetic justice, right?” I eye the gun he’s pointing toward me and smirk.
“I took back what was rightfully mine. Your father crushed my business. He forced me out of the game. Well, fuck him. What I stole is nothing compared to what he’s about to lose. He’s got a lot of enemies, Ms. Ivanov. And rest assured, when they hear about this little stunt of yours, they will not be happy.” He walks out from behind the desk, still holding the gun tight in his hand. He slides his free one down my torso and over my hips. I grit my teeth and let the asshole manhandle me for a second. I want him to feel comfortable that I have nothing to hide.
And regretful that he should’ve pulled the trigger when he had the chance.
Sucker.
I slip away from him in a blink, hooking an arm around his neck to cut off circulation. I bring my other hand down hard over the one he’s clutching the gun in, slicing at it with all the strength I can muster. The gun clatters to the floor.
Shock and awe.
It’s my trademark.
They never see me coming.
Raines gasps for air, writhing against me as I pull harder. “Never bite the hand that feeds you, Raines. Because if you do, it’ll always come back and bite you back. Hard.”
I tighten my arms around his neck, yank, and pull, waiting for the satisfying crack before I drop Raines face-down on the floor.
I check the security footage and confirm that the immediate area is still desolate before opening the door a crack. I keep one eye on the store while I fumble around with his security system to delete the feeds for the past thirty minutes and empty the trash on his computer so that there is no trace of me or my car in this vicinity.