Page 31 of The Hitman and the Psychic

“So, is that why you took the job?”

She sent me a furtive glance. “Mostly. Plus, working for Vanetti is a real boost to my business. I should be able to get more clients with his recommendation, you know?”

“True.” I shook my head. “The accident must have been bad, but I don’t understand why your husband would turn on you. You’re a beautiful woman. You’re smart, and funny, and you’re… sexy as hell. It doesn’t make sense.”

Her lips twisted. “You’re forgetting something.” She held up her hands and wiggled her fingers. “I’m psychic. I have psychometry, remember?”

“Well, sure, but didn’t he already know that?”

“It’s a recent development.”

“Oh.” My eyes widened, things clicking into place. “How recent?”

“It’s a result of the accident I was in. Brandon couldn’t handle it, and he… left me.”

I nodded. “Okay.” Well, damn. But it still didn’t make a lot of sense to me. Besides being beautiful, even in the short amount of time I’d known her, I could tell that Serenity was an all-around good person. “So what was it? He didn’t want you to touch him?”

“You nailed it. At first, it didn’t bother him… probably because I didn’t tell him everything I saw.” She shrugged. “I mean… when it’s no big deal, what’s the point, you know? But when I had a vision that didn’t make sense, I asked him about it, and he freaked out. After that, he never wanted me to touch him again.”

“Why? Was it something bad he’d done?”

“No! That’s the thing… it wasn’t.” Her brows drew together. “I just saw him in a cemetery, and he had a bouquet of flowers in his hands. I wasn’t sure if someone had died while I’d been in the hospital for the last two months, so I asked him about it.”

She blew out a breath. “He turned white and told me to stay the hell away from him. Later, he told me he remembered visiting his great-aunt’s grave, so that was probably who it was.” She shrugged. “I never saw the name on the headstone, so I figured that had to be it; but Brandon changed after that.”

She shook her head and let out a big sigh. “He said he couldn’t live with the way I was now, and he left me the next day.”

“That must have been hard.”

Her lips thinned, and she nodded. “Yeah… well, someday he’ll be out of my life for good. And that day can’t come soon enough.”

“No kidding.” I slowed down and pulled into a parking lot beside a stand of trees. “We’re here.”

Chapter 9

Serenity

One lone light shone down over a basketball court, leaving the rest of the area in darkness. The remaining light fixtures on the poles surrounding us were broken, and the parking lot was empty.

A chill ran down my spine. “Are you sure we should park here? It looks a little sketchy.”

Stone smirked. “Itissketchy.” But he drove to the other side of the lot anyway, keeping away from the basketball court and the light. He backed the car into the spot for an easy getaway and cut the engine and lights.

“Besides,” he said. “They’ve already seen us.”

“The… snake gang?”

“Yeah.” He rolled his eyes and didn’t correct me. “Over there.” He motioned to a small playground on the other side of the basketball court. Because of the darkness, I couldn’t see more than a few shadows. “But, uh, don’t call them that to their faces.”

“As if I would.” He started to open his door, but I grabbed his arm. “Wait! For this to work, I need to touch them.” This was the part I hated most. “I was planning on a handshake, but is there a cool gang thing I need to do?”

His brows rose, and he stared at me for just a moment. “How about I introduce you, and you just shake their hands?” His lips twitched.

“So… no hissing?”

He closed his eyes and huffed, but his lips tilted up. “That would be no.”

I smiled back, grateful to relieve some of the tension. “If you say so.” Taking a breath, I opened my door and got out. Stone waited for me to join him, and we started toward the playground. I wanted to hold his hand in the worst way, but settled for walking as close as I could get. By the time we reached it, the shadows had blended into the darkness.

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