Page 87 of Look at Her and Die

I have to succeed because I like expensive shit.

—Searcy’s secret thoughts

SEARCY

It was the first night that I’d slept alone in weeks.

It was awful.

I’d gotten so used to sleeping next to that hard, male body that I tossed and turned for hours before finally giving up and picking up my laptop to get some work done.

I hadn’t stopped working.

What I had done was become pickier with who I chose as a client.

I’d started looking through social media profiles, too, to make sure that I wasn’t signing up for some crazy author that liked to trademark universal words like ‘alpha.’

That author that had tried to copyright the word had so much backlash that people stopped buying her books. Which in turn caused her to want to pull out of her contract with me.

In the end, there wasn’t much I could do but send her the invoice and hoped she paid.

Newsflash, she hadn’t.

And she still used my cover.

But since I was poor, I couldn’t afford to fight her on it, so I’d had to let it go.

Well, as much as I could let it go.

I was a salty bitch, and though I’d forgiven, I’d never forget.

After pulling up my next client’s information, I got to work on her dream book cover.

It was two hours into my work when I heard it.

A solid banging on the front door.

I frowned and got off the bed, reaching for my pants.

After getting fully dressed, I headed for the door, my trusty baseball bat in my hand.

“Who is it?” I asked through the closed door.

“You know who the fuck it is,” Taryn growled. “Open this door, right now!”

My heart leaped into my throat.

Why would he be at my place?

“I’m not opening this door,” I disagreed. “It’s time for you to leave.”

“I’m not leaving!” he bellowed. “You stole millions from me!”

My belly somersaulted.

“I called the cops,” Kent announced from behind me. “You need to leave or they’ll make you leave.”

I pulled out my phone and went to text Posy, but the door was kicked open in the next second and I was dropping my phone to swing my bat.