She couldn’t answer. Not only did she not know her neighbor’s name, but she’d suddenly lost her ability to speak.
“Maybe she came looking for a good time,” said another man from behind her.
“I don’t mind some extra cushion for the pushin’.”
Riley remembered the knife she always carried in her purse. She pulled back the zipper and began to casually root through all her junk. The asshole in front of her snatched her bag and tossed it to his friend.
“Hey!” she shouted.
She was too caged in to run or try to get her purse back. Her adrenaline spike made her dizzy. Why did her neighbor come here, to one of the worst areas of the city? It was riddled with gangs. There were stabbings and shootings reported every night on the evening news.
All of a sudden, the whole group of men backed away from her as if she was on fire. Their looks of malice were replaced with submissiveness. It didn’t make sense.
“Why are you following me?”
Riley whirled around, nearly toppling over when she saw her next-door neighbor standing at the entrance. He was even taller up close, well over six feet, his shoulders massive. His dark eyes held no hint of emotion, just the same blank slate she’d seen time and time again.
“I w-wasn’t,” she stuttered. Her fear morphed into a heady embarrassment. She looked like Ms. Desperado or maybe he thought she was a psychopath.
He had a black gym bag slung over one shoulder. When he jutted his chin, the man who’d taken her bag rushed to hand it back to her. She held it against her chest like a life preserver.
“This is a bad neighborhood,” he said. “Not a place for little girls.” He pointed a finger to the gym, and all the men who’d harassed her fought to get through the double glass doors, leaving them alone.
Why did they listen to him? Why were they afraid?
Up close, she guessed he was in his early forties, but fuck he looked good. The rush of adrenaline, plus being so close to the object of her obsession, made her pussy pulse with need.
“I was just leaving,” she said.
“Be smart. Keep to the suburbs.”
She walked around him when he wouldn’t budge, heading to the main door. The moment her hand touched the handle, relief cascaded through her. She wanted to be anywhere else than here. Her worst-case scenario had come to fruition. She’d have to awkwardly face mystery man every day of her life.
****
Shadow knew his neighbor had been tailing him from the second he left his house. In fact, he knew everything about the curvy little number. Killer of Kings didn’t hire fucking amateurs. He knew the asshole three blocks down smoked a cigarette on his front porch every night after sunset, the woman across the street was having an affair on her husband, and Riley Church had been on the streets since she was twelve years old.
What he didn’t understand was why she wanted to follow him. He’d worked hard to create a veneer that masked his lifestyle, every detail to keep nosy neighbors at bay. No matter how hard he tried, it seemed a normal life wasn’t in the cards for him.
When he’d made his appearance at the gym after watching from a distance, he didn’t like the fear he saw in Riley’s eyes. Shadow had wanted to teach her a lesson for her own damn good, choosing not to intervene right away. When he heard them taunting her, he wasn’t expecting the rush of possessiveness that heated his blood. It took all his resolve not to pull out his Glock and start taking out the pricks one by one. But they were just mixed up young men, and they respected Shadow. Or maybe it was just fear.
He didn’t have time to babysit a girl determined to get herself killed. And he sure as hell didn’t need her digging around his private life. He’d lived in his house on the same street for almost ten years without issue. He refused to move. Boss had mentioned on numerous occasions that the best place for a hitman was a secure condo downtown or a stand-alone off the grid. Shadow knew he was playing house, trying to create the life he’d craved since childhood. It was all a fucking illusion, but it was a part of his humanity he refused to give up.
So his brave little neighbor needed to learn her place. The rest of the neighborhood kept their distance, and she needed to do the same. He had her on security camera at least a dozen times trying to snoop in his windows or peek over the backyard fence. Shadow hadn’t thought much of her meddling until today. He hoped this scare had put some sense into her.
After finishing up his usual Thursday session at the gym, he headed home. He’d pushed himself harder than ever, and he knew Riley was to blame. He couldn’t get her off his fucking mind. She only came up to his chest, and her curves were even thicker up close and personal. He ground his teeth together, trying not to think about digging his fingers into her rounded hips as he fucked her from behind. She was way too young for him, and he wasn’t in the market for a woman anyway. His solitary life suited him.
It was nearly eleven, only the streetlights and faint glow of the moon illuminating his street. He pushed his entry fob and the garage door opened as he approached his house. His cellphone vibrated moments after entering the garage and cutting the engine.
“Yeah.”
“I’ve left you alone for a while, but I have a job for you,” said Boss.
It had been well over a month since Shadow had heard from Killer of Kings. The clean-up after they took down part of the Dead Angels MC was a fucking headache. He’d appreciated the time off, but he was ready to get back to work. His trigger f
inger was itching, and he needed an outlet stronger than the gym for the darkness growing inside him.
“You want to text me the details?”