Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
“Yeah… too bad.” I ended the call, not about to tell him she was getting a divorce.
“What was that all about?” Serenity met my gaze, her arms crossed and her brows furrowed.
“I guess their guy Grizzo made us last night. Told his squad all about it, so Dino called to warn me.”
“Why would Detective Scardino do that? How does he know you, anyway?”
“Well… you know Vanetti’s a…” I hesitated. “A business man. He’s got connections.”
Her mouth tightened. “You mean… he’s a mob boss?”
We both froze for a few seconds. “Yeah,” I finally admitted.
She let out a breath. “I, uh… figured that out on my first job, but I didn’t want to believe he was a bad guy. He’s so nice and normal. He doesn’t seem like a criminal, you know?”
“Oh… he’s not a criminal.” I smirked. “He’s never been convicted of a crime in his life.”
“Well… that’s a relief.” Sarcasm dripped off her words.
“Sure is.” I sent her my trademark smile. Before she could comment, I brushed my fingers across her forehead, moving a strand of hair out of her eyes. “Now… I believe we were starting our lives of hiding out together.”
Her eyes widened, but instead of leaning into me, she took a step back. “Um.” She licked her lips. “I think… that maybe we made a mistake.”
My heart twisted. “A mistake?” The space she’d opened up between us left me cold and aching.
“Um.” She still looked at me like she wanted me. “I mean, you can’t hide away forever. We’ve got to find the guy who’s after you. We can’t do that in… hiding.”
A corner of my mouth quirked, though my chest tightened. “Right. We need to find him and… end this?”
She nodded. “Right. I… I really don’t want you to die.”
“Well, that’s something at least.” I stepped forward, and she swayed toward me but didn’t take the bait.
She held up a hand. “And this, uh, that… kissing… can’t happen again. I need to be professional. You’re like… my boss; and that’s gross, so no more… uh… shenanigans.”
“Gross?” I was a little offended. No woman had ever called me gross.
“Not you.” She widened her eyes at me. “But I’m not sleeping with a client. I’m a PI, for heaven’s sake, not a—” She cleared her throat. “So, professional. Got it?”
“Fine.” My brows rose. “No more shenanigans.”
“Good.” She huffed out a breath and stepped toward the door. “We need to go. Aren’t we supposed to look for someone at a bar?”
I leaned my back against the table and crossed my arms. “Yeah. But first, I think we should talk about this vision of my death. I’d like to keep it from happening. Are you sure you didn’t see more… like when it’s supposed to happen?”
She pursed her lips and shook her head. “No. But I don’t think it’ll happen today.”
My brows rose. “Why not?”
“You were wearing a different shirt.”
“Oh… well, I guess that changes things.”
“So, can we go now?”
It pained me that she was so eager to leave. That kiss had rocked me to the core, and she acted like it was nothing. Of course, her eagerness to leave also implied that she knew if she kissed me again, she’d never be able to stop. She’d also said that wasn’t the kind of… professional she wanted to be. I could respect that… even if I teased her a little.
I checked the time. “Sure. The bar should be open by now.” I shook my head. “But, from what’s happened so far, it doesn’t seem like Anna has anything to do with this.”
“I tend to agree. But it won’t hurt to eliminate her as a suspect. I mean… what have we got to lose?”
Chapter 14
Serenity
Isent Stone a professional smile, hoping to convince him that the kiss we’d shared was no big deal. Of course, since it had shattered every last shred of defense I had against him, he’d see through my facade pretty quick. Still, if it got me out of his house without me throwing myself at him, I’d have a chance to control my impulses and make sure it never happened again.
Something inside me wilted at the thought. All those imagined kisses had never amounted to a sliver of how amazing the actual kiss had been. Stepping away from him had taken more will-power than I knew I had.
I wasn’t sure I could do it a second time, let alone a third or fourth. I was doomed. Thank goodness for that phone call, or I would’ve gone all the way with him. It didn’t help that seeing him get shot and die in that stupid vision made me want to throw myself at him right this very minute.
If he died, I’d never have the chance to make love to him and know how it felt. Just the thought was nearly enough to make me throw caution to the wind and shove him back into his bedroom.