Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 104127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Temptation in the sweetest form.
When she removes her hands, her face comes into view, confirming my assessment.
A goddamn siren.
I don’t know what I expected, but she isn’t it.
She’s nothing like her brother. She’s a loner. Existing in a world of her own. Shuffling from work to this dump, if Tony is to be believed. And somehow superb.
What the fuck, Gideon?
I know better than to let her beauty cloud my judgment. In my world, beauty is a weapon, and this woman is the sharpest, deadliest of them all.
I continue to observe her, trying to determine whether she’s strung out. If she’s anything like her brother, fuck the promise I made. Drug abusers are loose cannons, and I don’t have time to babysit.
She does nothing out of the ordinary. Just sits and stares at the building across from her, lost in thought.
I wonder if I should step out of the shadow and tell her she’s in danger. Allow her to take care of herself. Then I won’t have to deal with this ridiculous promise. One destined to end with her writhing beneath me. My willpower is only so strong.
Yeah. That’s exactly what I’ll do. I’ll warn her and leave her to fend for herself.
Wipe my hands clean of this whole mess.
I’m about to do just that when my phone rings.
I hit the answer button, growling out, “Speak.”
Julian chuckles. “Is that any way to answer the phone, darling?”
As my right hand, he’s the only person allowed to speak to me like this. Since Tobias Kosta stepped down, the two of us have run the show.
I keep my voice low. “When it’s you, always.”
He laughs. It lasts a single beat before he clears his throat.
My back goes ramrod straight.
Something’s wrong.
“What happened?”
“How do you know something happened?”
“Don’t draw this out.” My foot taps the ground. “We both know I’m good at reading the room. Right now, the room says you’re calling with bad news.”
“There’s an issue with a package. I need your help.”
“Take care of it. There’s an eight-figure cavity in my wallet that says it’s what I goddamn pay you for,” I snap. “I’m currently indisposed.”
“Stalking…”
I hang up without a word. When I step out from my hiding spot, Sasha Lennox is no longer there. Pity. I’ll have to deal with this later because, unlike her, my shipping problems can’t wait.
Well, maybe for a couple more minutes…
Just long enough to get a closer look.
2
SASHA
“How’d you do?”
Johnny asks the same question every time I clock out. And every time, I offer the same half-hearted shrug.
He adjusts his apron, which has his Head Chef title stitched onto the breast. “That bad?”
Understatement of the year.
I nod, crinkling my nose. “Let’s just say that today was a bust.” A long, drawn-out sigh sails past my lips. I finger the flimsy wad of cash before shoving it into my purse. “I won’t be paying my rent with it.”
Nor will I be paying for dinner, groceries, electricity…I wonder how much a kidney goes for these days. Enough to buy a four-ounce steak and fries?
On second thought…I turn my nose up, inhaling the fragrance wafting from the kitchen. It’s an assault against my senses. It smells foul and looks unappetizing. My belly churns, my mouth dries, and my appetite has long since fled the building. Am I desperate enough…?
My stomach heaves, as if to say, I swear to God, Sasha, if you eat that, I’ll be your first organ to volunteer for black-market removal.
Normally, the food here is decent—greasy but edible. Today, Johnny tried something new for a special. Spoiler alert: it won’t be on the menu again anytime soon. And I might just petition our boss to demote Johnny from head chef to anything that pries him away from the stove and the crime against tastebuds that just left it.
“You’re working at the wrong diner, kid.” Johnny snorts. “Nobody’s paying their rent on tips from this hellhole.”
He isn’t wrong. This isn’t exactly the best place to work for tips in the city, but it’s a quick walk up the block to my apartment, and with enough shifts, I can actually pay my bills.
However, today crawled by with half our usual customer flow. A setback I can’t afford. These days, I can barely afford to breathe.
“It’s even worse that the tips were abysmal because the people sucked too.” Johnny snaps off his latex gloves, shoving them in the breakroom’s trash can. “If I have to hear one more person bitch about the eggs, I’m gonna lose my goddamn mind.”
To be fair, Johnny’s idea of eggs over easy is eggs nuked to the point where the CDC, a hazmat team, and full-body PPE couldn’t revive them.
“They were especially rude.”
A harsh breath rushes from my chest as I think about one customer in particular who practically hurled her plate at me, with the added bonus of calling me a floozy when it was her husband who checked out my ass, not the other way around. I was minding my double-cheeked business when her country-fried chicken frisbeed past, crashing into the wall above me. I just know it’ll take two showers to wash the gravy out of my hair tonight.