Someone had spotted her?
She was so careful, but clearly not careful enough. Her stomach turned. This was all her fault.
He’d come back for her. Her hero. Had he followed her? Had he been here already? He had to be here. She didn’t hear him come in.
Now she was pissed. Why had he come to her apartment? The person who was inside could be after him and not her. She wasn’t going to shout at him though. The bedroom door opened, and she wanted to scream.
No one rushed into the room. She stared at the door, waiting for pain, and explosion. Nothing.
Seconds passed.
She spotted the gun coming past the door frame, then a pair of hands, and finally a body.
Her hero didn’t shoot right away.
The guy hadn’t checked out the whole room, and as he turned toward them, her hero shot him in the head.
She didn’t have to cover her mouth.
Her hero was doing that for her and not even in a kinky way.
Another man rushed into the room, and he ended up dead on the floor.
They waited.
There was no sound. Nothing.
Her heart raced.
The man behind her, he wasn’t in any rush. He leaned in close, and his breath brushed across her neck. Considering there were two dead men in her room, she was a little disturbed with how her body was reacting.
“I didn’t think you’d be so stupid as to return here.” He let her go.
She wanted to storm up to him, scream, shout, and even hit him for scaring her, but what if there was another man?
“There’s no one else around. They will only send two people for someone like you.”
“Someone like me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
He raised a brow.
“What? I can’t be a little freaked out right now? There are dead men in my room.”
“If it makes you feel any better, they’re bad men.”
“No, that doesn’t make me feel better. I’ve never hurt anyone in my life, and I’ve got people after me, trying to kill me.” She ran her fingers through her hair. With her bandaged hand, it was hard to do. “What the hell am I going to do?” She hadn’t even been here all that long. It wasn’t like she’d lain down and gone to sleep.
“You shouldn’t have been here,” he said. “Simple as that. I figured you’d do the smart thing and leave.”
“I had savings here and clothes. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a job with this?” She held up her arm. She’d considered it as well. Why hire a woman with a broken arm when they could hire someone without anything broken?
“How did you know where I lived?”
“All your details were in your bag. I looked, and I’m here.”
“That’s creepy.”
He shrugged. “Don’t care. If you want, I could have left them to kill you.”
“Did you follow me?”
“Nope. I was already here.”
“How?”
“I figured Peace would try to finish the job. All he got at the warehouse was bodies. No woman. You’re out there, and he wants you dead.”
“What about you? Wouldn’t he want you dead?”
This man, he smirked. “He does.”
“What is your name?”
His lips pressed together.
“Ugh! Stop it. Okay, stop it. You just saved my life again. I think I have a right to know your name. You keep saving me, and I want to know the man I owe my life to. You already know mine, and if you needed any proof about my situation and if I’m working for that asshole, you just got your answer. I’m not. So, stop being an asshole and tell me your name.”
She really had to work on her manners. Calling someone names and demanding their real name, well, she didn’t think he’d tell her.
“Fine. The name’s Riley.”
“You told me.”
“You put up a good argument. Grab your things,” he said.
He began to push and smash things in her apartment.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“The cops are going to come. Wouldn’t it look better if this was a break-in gone wrong as opposed to me killing them?”
“What does it matter?” she asked. “It’s not like they’re going to catch you.”
“True.”
“I have nowhere else to go. What am I going to do?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just grab your things.”
****
The only time Riley had ever fucked up in his life was with Bethany. He’d not trained her in dealing with outsiders. The way she had gotten herself killed was she’d believed in the wrong people.
Cops, dressed as civilians, had seen her in the street, and they’d approached her. She believed they worked alongside him and were employees of David’s. During a nice long lunch and dinner, she had spilled a great many secrets.
David had been made aware of Riley Lord’s wife talking to the cops. Before David needed to lift a finger, Riley had taken them out. They were dead before they could even get to their car, thinking they scored the jackpot on information.