“Callie, we need to talk about this.”
“What is there to talk about?” She burst out laughing. “I guess you do travel a lot with your kind of business. You kill people, right? Do you think I’ve not heard of the Bogeyman after working for Dante Morelli for years?”
“Then why are you so angry?”
“Because I didn’t know!” She yelled at him. This was the most humiliating experience of all. She had no clue, none whatsoever.
“What?”
“That’s right. For the longest time I didn’t exactly know who Dante Morelli was. I thought I had gotten a great job. Not one that paid overly well, but enough for me to have a somewhat comfortable life so long as I lived within my means, and that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. I had no idea he was a capo. No idea he was connected to any kind of mafia. None. I had no idea about anything. So you can laugh now. Yeah, stupid Callie didn’t know her life was in danger.” It was so humiliating just thinking about it.
She had known who he was and what he was capable of by the time she had that book in her hands, but the truth was, it had been too late. Callie had never seen Ruin though. Once she realized who Dante was, she had tuned in to the gossip, and that hadn’t helped at all. The Bogeyman had seemed like a myth. The guy that killed without mercy. The man that had no face, that disappeared.
“Is this even what you look like?” Callie asked. “Or is your face a mask too?”
“I’m real.”
“No,you’re a ghost. A tale to scare men into doing as they’re told.” She felt so drained. Her body hurt as did her head, and as for her heart, well, that was sure as shit broken. “You know, you’re the first guy I’ve ever had feelings for.” She hated how pitiful she sounded.
“Callie, whatwe shared was real.”
“How can I believe that? How can I trust what you’re saying is true?” she asked. “You’re the Bogeyman. You work for Aldo Giordano.”
“I work for myself, Callie. I’m no one’s tool.”
“Yeah, well, you’ve made me feel very much like a tool. Please, let me go.”
“Do you seriously think I can let you go now?” he asked.
“Does it really matter? This thing is over between us. You were sent to kill me and you lied to me. How can that be the start of anything good?”
ChapterEight
Work was mundane.
Callie went through the motions for the next week. Each night, she didn’t go to bed but stayed in her chair, staring at her apartment door. Waiting. She didn’t trust Aldo Giordano to not kill her. When she thought about the risks, he had every right to kill her.
No one came.
One week without sleep left her tired, exhausted, and just empty.Not only that, some of the women at work had wanted to know about Ruin. She had told them it was over, that he wasn’t who he claimed to be. Once they realized she didn’t have a hot guy waiting for her at home, they soon left her alone.
Shewas aware of Ruin as well. He was … everywhere.
When she left her apartment building, he stayed a couple of feet away, but he made no attempt to hide. He made sure she got to work, was always there at lunchtime, when she went to the grocery store, and he’d even been present as she did her laundry. This had all happened within one week.
Another little shockwas that the codes and security on the apartment building were back up and running. She nearly had a panic attack when she tried to get inside, only to find the doors were locked. Ruin had been close, telling her to use her codes. She wanted to tell him to go hell, but of course she ignored him. This is what she planned to do—ignore him in the hope he’d get the message and leave her alone. That was the plan. She had no idea if he’d even listen to her.
The knitting groupwas on Sunday. She had her bag ready and it was sunny outside. The world was carrying on as usual. Everyone acted the same. No one in the past week knew she had a freaking hit man after her. She stood at her door and wondered if she should just knit at home today.
“Sweetheart, you’ve got to learn to mingle. To get out there. To be part of the big bad world. It’snot a scary place.”
“Damnit, Mom, itisa scary place. Someone was sent to kill me. Someone nearly did.” She rubbed at her temple and the guilt of ignoring her mother was too much. She left her apartment and stepped out of the building.
Ruin was across the street. She glared at him, but started walking toward the park. A moment later she glanced across the street to see him following her. She held onto her bag tightly and sped up. The walk took about twenty minutes. Usually, she enjoyed taking her sweet time, taking in the sights, and being outside on the weekend. Not this time. Her heart raced and tears were so close to making their escape.
You fell for a man sent to kill you.
You gave your virginity to a man who was going to kill you.