Hitman Next Door

“I gave you permission to take care of my daughter, Evans. I did not give you permission to use her.” Rocco opened the file, and Nate didn’t need to glance down to see the pictures. “You’re not going to look?”

“I don’t need to look when I’m the one who sent them to you,” Nate said.

He wasn’t going to keep looking over his shoulder. Rocco was a powerful man. He put his fingers together and leaned forward, resting his hands on the table. “I know who you are, Rocco, and what you’re capable of. I know you care very deeply about your daughter, and I admire you for it, but I also know that you cannot take care of her.” He held his hands up. “I mean no disrespect. I’m stating a fact and the truth. You and I both know it.”

“You know nothing.”

“I know Lemon wants nothing to do with you. She never speaks of you. She talks about her mother all the time. You, not a mention. You have a real family. A wife and kids, and Lemon is never going to fit into that world. We both know this. It’s why you fell for her mother. She was never touched by darkness, and neither is Lemon.”

“Let’s cut the crap. What is it you want?”

“Lemon. She’s mine. I sent you those pictures to give you a chance to calm down. So we can talk like gentlemen.”

Rocco brandished a gun, aiming it at him. “And you think I negotiate with men like you?”

“I’m the best man there is. The threat to Lemon’s life will never go away. Do you think she will ever forgive you if you draw her into your life? She cannot stand you. That’s not going to change overnight, if at all.”

“What do you propose?” The gun was still pointed at him, but at least Rocco wasn’t losing his shit either.

Nate stayed perfectly still. This was a risk.

The pictures were not his finest work. He didn’t want anyone to see Lemon naked, and in truth, no one could. They just got the hint that she was. He covered her completely.

All the cameraman could see was her face, tilted back in rapture, looking so beautiful. He’d stared at them for a long time before he came up with this plan.

He hoped Rocco was a man of sense rather than shooting him. After years of proving his loyalty, he hoped it granted him some reprieve.

“I will stay with Lemon. My time as an acting hitman at your side is over. I will continue to take jobs, but they will be open and closed cases. I will do my job when you need it. The company will be set up permanently. That will be how we continue our business, through them so Lemon doesn’t ever get suspicious. I will devote my life to keeping her safe and in time, you might be able to come and see her.”

Rocco laughed. “You think you are going to be the one to bribe me with my daughter.”

“Not bribe, Rocco. The aim is to get her to see you in a way that makes her want to know her father. Not constantly distance herself from you. Did you know she still has pictures of you, but she bends them back so you’re not in them?”

Rocco put his gun away. “You planned this?”

“No, I didn’t plan anything. I had every intention of doing the job you set out for me to do, but shit happens.”

“I should kill you right now. Do you know why I won’t?” Rocco asked.

“You know what I’ve got to say makes sense?”

Rocco tutted. He lifted one of the pictures. “The way my daughter looks at you. I would kill you, Nate, for touching my daughter. For defying my orders, but this picture, this tells me many things. This tells me that my daughter is very much in love with you.”

Nate’s hand clenched at his sides. This wasn’t what he wanted to be talking about, but he couldn’t deny it.

With the way Lemon looked at him in that photo, he had to wonder if she did love him as well. If she had feelings for him.

There was no other explanation, and he liked that. He wanted her to like him. No, not like, love. He craved Lemon’s love more than anything else.

Gritting his teeth, he stared into her father’s eyes.

“I love my daughter, Nate. Tell me, do you love her?”

“I have feelings for her.” He didn’t know what love was.

Rocco laughed. “Feelings? You think I’m going to agree to this ridiculous plan just because you have feelings for my daughter? I’m not a fool, and I will not have my daughter taken as one either. There is far more to this than a mere like, Nate.”

“What do you want?”

“Lemon deserves love. She doesn’t need a hitman in her life. I have enemies, but so do you.”