by Sam Crescent
He adjusted his stance, leaving the gun in his waistband. “For what?”
“You were right. I was following you. It was stupid, I know, but my curiosity got the better of me,” she said.
Shadow narrowed his eyes, staring at Riley Church under the glow of the streetlights outside. She didn’t know who she was fucking with. He’d lost count of his contracted kills. “Curiosity killed the cat, no?”
He refused to turn on the lights in the garage. Darkness had always been a friend in his line of work, and he didn’t want to face her right now. Or ever.
“That was a really bad part of the city,” she said, ignoring his comment.
“And?”
“Why were you there?”
This time he chuckled; he couldn’t help himself. This chick wasn’t his girlfriend or wife. Their only connection was the proximity of their houses. She either had balls of steel or a death wish. “You just apologized for following me, and now you’re giving me an interrogation? Good luck with that, sweetheart.”
“Right. Not my business,” she said. “Thank you for saving me from those jerks.”
Shadow needed to put an end to this before it got out of hand. He didn’t need a friend, a woman, or a private eye invading his life. The only way to ensure she kept her distance was to put a little fear in her, because obviously the scare at the gym wasn’t enough to set her straight.
He slapped his palm on the wall panel near her head, making her yelp. The double garage door began to lower. “Those gangbangers weren’t your real problem,” he said, slow and steady. “You should be worried about being alone with me.”
Chapter Two
“You should be worried about being alone with me.”
Riley nibbled her lip as she thought about her neighbor’s last words before the garage door closed between them. That was a threat, wasn’t it? What other way could it be taken? Sitting along at home, she’d locked all of the windows, doors, and was sitting at her dining room table, with the garlicy pasta she’d just cooked. His words went through her head, over and over again.
That place had been scary. It was a gym, but those men were going to hurt her. She’d seen the glint in their eyes, and she’d never been so terrified. Over the course of her life, she’d gotten into some difficult situations—men wanting a little more than she could give. It was all part of the course of living on the streets.
Sometimes she’d get caught and thrown back into the foster system. No one gave a shit about her, but she was street smart. Riley knew how to take care of herself. When a little randy daddy thought he could try it out on her, she’d held a knife to his dick, ready to take it off.
What she found most ironic about her times on the streets, was the fact the street people were the nicest people she’d been around. Maybe it was because she was a kid, or that she was in the same boat as them so to speak.
It was the other kind of people she had to watch out for—the predators, the ones that trolled the streets looking for easy targets. Riley had seen evil firsthand. She’d looked it in the eye, and stared death straight on.
When she’d been sixteen, a pimp had tried to get her to work for him. First, he’d tried to be nice, offering her food, drinks, and stuff like that, but she wasn’t a vulnerable teen fresh on the street. She’d recognized the routine, and had been warned about it by a couple of the whores she knew. They’d told her not to accept anything unless it was at one of the shelters. She had to treat everyone as if they were the enemy, always expecting the worst. It was a depressing way to live.
Riley pulled herself out of her memories as she really didn’t like delving into her past. She’d reinvented herself, working hard to get where she was with no help from anyone. She finished her pasta, washed her dish, and then made her way to her room. Her bedroom was in the back of the house, overlooking the garden, and she paused as she saw her mystery neighbor outside.
There was something very different about him. He didn’t match the house, the street, the suburb. This neighborhood was all about falsehood. They would speak nicely to your face, and stab you in the back. Riley couldn’t stand fake people.
Some of the guys were cheating on their wives with a few of the neighbors. She’d seen it all. She didn’t fit in, would never be part of their little crowd, and something told her, neither did her neighbor. He was like her in a way.
Riley had looked death in the face, had seen pure evil up close, but there was something else about her neighbor. She didn’t know what it was, but she couldn’t stop obsessing over him. He made her curious, and for her, that in itself was a very dangerous thing.
What secrets was her neighbor hiding?
She didn’t for a second believe that he was just some ordinary 9 to 5. Dangerous men like the ones at the gym didn’t back away because of one look from a guy.
He’d given that away about himself, and it had only added to his intrigue.
The following day, as she was putting the finishing touches on the birthday cake that was due to be picked up by three, she still hadn’t fathomed what the deal was with him. She didn’t have the time to be staring into space, wondering about one guy, and yet that was exactly what she was doing.
Come on, Riley, get a damn grip.
Once the cake was packaged and in the cooler to make sure the buttercream frosting didn’t melt, she served out a couple of cookies, and made up some sandwiches for her regular customers. And then froze. Her neighbor was right outside of her shop, and he was talking with another man. She didn’t recognize the guy, but the frown on her neighbor’s face gave him an even more menacing look. He shook his head and told the guy that he shouldn’t be there.
Had she seen right? Had he call the guy “boss”?
Was this one of those BDSM things?
Had she misread her mystery man entirely?
This was going to drive her crazy for, like, ever. She hated having one of these curious minds that demanded to know answers. Unless she was sure the answers were on the opposite side of the page, she never did a crossword puzzle. She liked answers to all of her questions, and if she didn’t get them, it tended to ruin her entire day. She was that weird.
Suddenly, hot neighbor looked up, and saw her staring. This time, though, she raised a brow.
She watched as he said goodbye to the guy, and then moved toward her shop. Once he walked in the door, the delicious scent of his musky cologne wafted around her.
“Are you following me again?” he asked.
“I work here.” She stared at him. “Why are you following me?”
“I’m not. That’s your deal, remember?”
She smiled. Was he flirting with her? “I didn’t leave my shop. I’m right here, and I’ve got nothing to hide.”
“You’re saying that I do?”
This was strange. “Of course not. Can I get you anything?” she asked.
He glanced down at the small display case she’d filled that morning with buns, cakes, and cookies, tapping his fingers on the glass. “You like to bake?” he asked.
Was he trying to make small talk? She had no clue. Everything about him was an enigma.
“Yeah, I do.” After all she’d been through, she found baking relaxed her, and it gave her a purpose. There was something about creating a cake from scratch and turning it into something beautiful, that was what she loved more than anything else. It was her dream that her bakery be a little bigger, but right now she’d take whatever she could get. “What about you? What do you do?” she asked. If he asked her a question, she should be allowed the same rights.
“I handle several investments. I work from home.”
His answer was vague, but she was shocked he gave her an answer at all. She glanced out of the window, and just couldn’t help herself. “Are you gay?” She felt her cheeks heat since he looked a little taken aback. “It’s not a problem or anything. I just … you were very close to that guy out there, and you were calling him boss. That’s fine.” She couldn’t help but rem
ember how scared those men were of him. Stop rambling!
“How did you know his name was Boss?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.
She had this uncanny way of reading lips. It had aided her when she was a street kid. “I saw you say his name. It’s not that hard.”
He did that frowning thing. “You can tell conversations from reading someone’s lips?”
Okay, he was starting to take a really big interest in that, and she no longer felt comfortable with this. “I better get to work. Do you want anything?”
“Yeah,” he said, rounding the counter into her private space.
“Hey, this is my bakery, and right now you’re stepping over personal boundaries.”
He grabbed her arm, and took her toward the window. She liked how firm his grip was on her arm. She didn’t reach for her knife, but she was tempted for a second.
“What are they saying?” he asked, pointing to a man and woman.
She’d gotten his interest, which now she was wishing she really hadn’t. Blowing out a breath, she decided to play along. What was wrong with a bit of fun? She’d done this so often to keep herself amused over the years.
“You’ve got to stop texting me. My wife is getting suspicious,” she said. “I can only see if they don’t move. The woman I can’t see. She’s got her back to us.”
“What about that couple there?” He pointed people sitting on an indoor bench in one of the other stores. They were quite far, and she shook her head.
“I can read lips. I don’t have bionic eyes.” She pulled out of his hold. “What were you doing at that gym?”
“Working out.”
“They were afraid of you. Why?” She folded her arms, challenging him.
Never in all of her life had she ever gone this personal before, or this invasive. From the moment she had started, she knew she had to stop. The words were just tumbling out as if they had a mind of their own.
He didn’t say a word.
“What’s your name?” she asked. “That’s a fair question. You grabbed me, manhandled me right to first base. I think I have a right to know your name.”
He smirked. “I’ll tell you my name when you earn it.” He left her shop after a wink, and a rush of frustration took her by surprise. Putting her hands back on her hips, she walked behind the counter. She would find out everything about him.
Even with his threat ringing in her head, she didn’t care. She wanted to know who her neighbor was. Her bullshit sense was tingling, and that guy was filled with a whole lot of it.
****
Shadow watched from a dark corner as Riley closed up her shop. She didn’t even realize that he’d been keeping tabs on her all day. He’d underestimated her, that was for sure. When she had said Boss’s name, he’d nearly given himself away. Of course, he almost died of laughter when she asked if he was gay. He had nothing against being gay, he just most definitely wasn’t. Women were his thing, but he loved it when they didn’t have hearts and flowers in their eyes. He wasn’t a good man.
His life at Killer of Kings had made it so. Being a killer came naturally to him. What he wanted was to fit in. He’d been to Viper’s, Killian’s, and Bain’s special lockup homes. They were like fortresses, and were constantly guarded.
He liked the idea of being an ordinary guy, something that had eluded him his entire life. What he hadn’t expected was having a very nosy neighbor, which was exactly what Riley was.
She was intrusive, but he believed her ability to read lips was a unique gift that he could use to his advantage. He’d have to be careful around her. Boss hadn’t wanted to text him any vital information in case it got hacked, and seeing as Shadow had a photographic memory, all he needed was to be told or to look at something, and he’d remember. That was one of his skills.
One look at a map, and he’d remember it for the rest of his life. The skill had served him well in the military and during his life as a hitman.
With his latest mission from Boss, the man had no name as he was constantly changing faces. The asshole was wanted in several countries for just about every crime imaginable. Boss had contracts from numerous sources, so it would be a big pay day once this guy was in the ground.
It wasn’t always about money for Boss. In his spare time, he liked to help certain causes. Shadow knew firsthand that Boss’s heart wasn’t all black, and one of his pet peeves was the human trafficking of women and children. About five years ago, Shadow had been hunting a man who’d stolen a wealthy man’s kid. He paid top dollar for his safe return. They’d discovered a black market specializing in the smuggling of women and kids. It had sickened Shadow, but Boss, he made sure every man involved lived to regret it. He hunted them down, and declared war on anyone who had anything to do with it. Shadow had witnessed Boss torture a woman who had beaten kids into submission so they could be sold. There was a lot of sick shit in the world.
With Riley’s back to him, Shadow moved in until he was standing directly behind her. He kept to the shadows because he could blend in. No one would ever hear him.
“You’re closing up late,” he said.
She gasped and spun around. Riley reached in her purse, pulling out a blade and holding it in front of her.
When recognition softened her features, she lowered her arm. “I don’t like to be sneaked up on,” she said. “What do you want?”
“You didn’t use that knife last night.” He noticed she didn’t shake. What had happened to her that made her so confident in holding a knife?
“I didn’t think I’d need it. You told me you were the real threat, anyway. I live next door to you. If you don’t give me your name, I’m going to start calling you Ghost.”
Shadow smirked. He had never met a woman like her. She was a fighter through and through. “I need a ride home,” he lied.
She put the blade away, and took a step back. “Okay. Jump in.”
Riley was a mystery that was for damn sure. Climbing into the passenger seat of the car, he watched her drive. She didn’t try to make small talk, and for several minutes silence filled the car—besides her noisy muffler.
“My name’s Shadow,” he said, giving her the truth.
Riley snorted. “Really? That didn’t take long for me to earn that pesky trust. What did I do?”
“You caught me by surprise with the knife.”
“You can’t be too safe.”
“It’s not exactly a bad neighborhood,” he said.
“That’s why I like it—even if I don’t fit in. And I’ve lived beside you for a little while now, and if you’ve been trying to blend in, you’ve failed. You stick out as much as I do. I don’t mind either. It’s good to be a little different. At least I keep trying to convince myself it’s good.” She tucked some hair behind her ear, and it made him want to reach out, to wrap a curl around his finger. He didn’t.
“How do we stick out?”
“We don’t feel the need to join in. We’re not fakes. We don’t need to pretend to be something we’re not. I’m used to being on my own. I cleaned tables in a strip club when I was fourteen.” She laughed as she told him.
“How?” he asked.
“I convinced the guy that I was better and cheaper, proved it, too. Got paid a hundred bucks a week to clean up beer. It was easy money, and I didn’t have to turn tricks to get it.” She parked in her driveway, and turned toward him. “Half of the people in this neighborhood don’t get that. They’re ignorant of what happens in the real world.” She climbed out of the car, and he did the same.
“You’re not going to be following me tonight?” he asked. Not that he had any intention of going anywhere. His only date was with his computer to memorize everything he could about his latest mission. It wasn’t going to be easy, and he had a feeling this one was going to take more time than a simple find and eliminate.
“Nope. Tonight, I’m really tired. I want some food and relaxation. Besides, I got to know your name. Have a nice night, Shadow.” She waved her hand
, and left him alone.
Shadow didn’t linger, even though he found her voice soothing. Instead, he made his way inside his home, and found Boss already waiting for him.
“You took your time getting home,” Boss said. He was sitting in the corner, reading a magazine.
“I got waylaid.”
Boss nodded. “She going to be a problem?” He pointed behind him, clearly at Riley’s home.
“No. She’s not.” Talking with her had been the most fun he’d experienced in a long time. She was cute, different. He didn’t want Boss to kill her. “That file you got on her didn’t have everything that was important. You need to tell Maurice to do better.”
“He got everything that was legal.”
“What do you mean everything that was legal?” Shadow asked. He cared a little too much about this woman. What he needed to do was get his damn head back in the game and fast.
“Everyone has two different lives. There’s only so much you can find out online. Medical records, stuff like that. I give out the information that people ask for, and let them know that they should make their own judgments, and that includes you as well. The file only has half the truth about her. You’ve got to dig deeper to find the real shit.”
Shadow nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She’d gone from being a boring bakery owner with a rough past, to something a hell of a lot more interesting.
The fact she had the nerve to pull a blade on him made getting to know her worth his time. Of course, he’d never been in danger. But it was cute that she’d tried to threaten him. He loved this neighborhood, even all the fake assholes that lived around him. In between his work, he could see himself enjoying the distraction of unraveling Riley.
“Tell me again why you couldn’t give me this file in an email?” Shadow asked, pointing at the folder on Boss’s lap.
“This guy has been in hiding for years. No one has ever gotten a shot at him. The thing is, he likes to take on new identities, new faces, which is what makes it harder for him to be caught. He’s got a few body doubles on top of that. From what I’ve been told, he knows when someone is onto him, and it makes him scarper. I don’t want to risk that. Handle this one with extreme care. No mistakes, no big clean-ups. What I need from you is to be one hundred percent certain you know it’s the right guy. I don’t care how long it takes, but do it as if it was a hobby. Be certain, be thorough.”