Page 21 of The Hitman and the Psychic

With her head lowered and her back to me, the pain I’d heard in her voice was etched into every rigid muscle of her body. Anger stirred my stomach. Even though I thought we were wasting time, it wasn’t because I thought she was a fake, but because—

She took a deep breath and straightened her spine before turning to face me.

“Is everything okay?” I really wanted to ask who I needed to beat up.

Clearing the gloom from her face, she nodded and tried to smile. “Of course. Just a little bad news, but it’s nothing new. I can handle it.”

I raised a brow, knowing a lie when I heard it. I was dying to pry, but now didn’t seem like the best time, so I let it go. “You want to touch anything while we’re here?”

She swallowed. “I don’t think it’ll help. Let’s go back to your office. I’m interested to see what’s on the surveillance videos. Maybe I’ll see the guy who ran you off the road? That would be good, right?”

“I can’t argue with that.” Especially since it was what I wanted to do, anyway.

She nodded and took off toward the doors behind the bar. She pulled the door open and nearly collided with one of the workers carrying a box of full of bottles. Luckily, I was close enough to catch the box and avert a disaster.

Serenity’s face turned a bright shade of red. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t know anyone was there.”

I couldn’t help razzing her. “Maybe if you took off your gloves, you’d see things like that coming.”

She sent me a glare that could have melted the flesh off my bones, and opened her mouth to retort before closing it with a snap. Turning, she strode through the door and down the hall. Dang, I’d really gotten to her. I was only teasing, but she’d taken it wrong, and I’d totally upset her. Talk about bad timing. Shit. Now I felt bad.

I hurried after her, taking long strides to catch up, but even then I only barely made it in time to keep the outer door from smacking me in the face. “Hey, I wasn’t trying to be a jerk. I was just—messing with you.”

“It’s fine.” Her mouth twisted.

I raised an eyebrow, but she didn’t say anything else, only picked up the helmet and shoved it down over her head, snapping the strap into place with finality.

My breath whooshed out of me, and I shook my head. The sooner we figured out who was after me and she was out of my life, the better. I didn’t date women like her, anyway. They usually wanted things like a family, a long-term commitment, arelationship,and I wasn’t going to give them that. Trying to be with someone like Serenity would only end badly. She was off limits, period.

Still… deep down inside, I couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to give in to this electric charge between us. She’d probably hate me in the end, but it just might be worth it.

Who was I kidding? Even if it was worth it, I wasn’t sure one night would be enough. What was it about her that intrigued me so much? She was gorgeous, sure, but I’d had plenty of women like that in my life. Serenity was different. She was trying to prove herself, and her vulnerability brought out the protective side of me, which was a huge red flag.

Most women took one look at me and liked what they saw, but I wasn’t the type they’d take home to meet their parents. Part of me didn’t mind that, but being with Serenity made me wonder what I was missing.

Chapter 7

Serenity

Ileft Stone in the dust and hurried to his motorcycle, grateful I’d stopped myself from saying something I’d regret. If Ethan hadn’t called me right then, Stone’s teasing wouldn’t have gotten to me.

Stone stepped from the building, his face almost apologetic. “Hey, I wasn’t trying to be a jerk. I was just—messing with you.”

My heart twisted. “It’s fine.” I didn’t need another man messing with me. I had enough problems with Brandon, I didn’t need it from Stone.

He raised an eyebrow, daring me to say more, but I was done. I picked up the helmet and pulled it over my head, snapping the strap into place with satisfaction. At least I was getting better at that. The sooner this case was over, the better.

“Ready to ride?”

At my nod, he slipped on his helmet and mounted the bike. I got on behind him, and the tension melted away. As I wrapped my arms around him, I couldn’t believe how comforting it felt to mold my body against his. It was almost like we were made for each other. Or did it feel so good because I was starved for physical contact?

At least I knew it wouldn’t last, so nothing that happened would disappoint me. Since that was the case, I might as well hold him close, even if my heart screamed that it was a bad idea.

But what the freak? How could Brandon do this to me? The divorce should have been final six months ago. Now he was suing me for mental cruelty? I held onto Stone a little tighter as he accelerated.

None of this was my fault. Sure, I’d changed after the accident, but I’d been damn lucky to survive. That accident had nearly killed me. In fact, the doctors told me I’ddiedduring surgery. The surgeon said they’d tried four times to get my heart started. Another doctor had even called it, but a nurse told them to give it one more try. That last try had saved my life and brought me back from the dead.

I didn’t remember dying, but I remembered floating above my body and watching them work on me. I wasn’t scared or concerned, I just thought it was weird. Right after that, a bright light completely enveloped me in warmth, taking away all my cares and worries.

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