Page 33 of Hart of Vengeance
Then again, if she was dating that dude she’d been talking to, I had no chance. I’d wanted to tell him to take a hike, but I wasn’t the type to steal another man’s girl, although I wasn’t sure how long I could stay away from Jade. I’d always been good at walking away and not looking back. But after seeing her, my self-control was teetering on the edge.
Horns honked, people talked on their cell phones, and a delivery truck beeped as the driver backed up into an alley across the street.
I gave the entrance to Jade’s office building one last glance. When I didn’t see her in the group who’d exited, I sighed heavily.
She doesn’t want anything to do with you. Maybe it was for the best.
I spotted an Irish pub a block up. It wasn’t Italian, but they probably had good beer. I was about to kick my legs into gear when a man leaning against an electronics store caught my attention. The short guy was watching me. My radar went up, as did the hairs on the back of my neck. Costa’s words blared in my head. “Tito Alvarez wants you dead.”
Or maybe the Feds were following me. But the dude staring at me didn’t scream federal agent. He was casually dressed in jeans, a leather jacket, and a red ball cap. I couldn’t quite make out his features. The bill of the cap shadowed his face, and with dusk setting in, the lighting wasn’t great.
My mind raced to figure out how anyone other than Dillon knew where I was. Maybe we’d had a tail when we left the prison.
Gulping in air, I stiffened.What if Tito is watching Jade?He knew I had a hard-on for her. He probably knew I was out too and that she would be my first stop.
Well, there was only one way to find out if the ball cap guy was on my tail. I started walking, keeping my head down as I dodged people. On the next block, I stopped at a men’s store and checked out the mannequins, hoping I could see behind me from the reflection in the window.
Before I could orient my vision, someone grabbed my arm. I fisted my hand, ready to attack when warm breath tickled my ear. “Shopping for men’s suits? You would look good in one,” Jade said excitedly.
Her touch was electric, sending charges of heat straight to my groin, but that quickly fizzled out. If I was being followed, I needed to get her off the streets, or at least away from me. I was an idiot for showing up at her place of employment. I wanted to scratch out my eyes. I’d always kept my distance from her because of my enemies. Yet I’d just fucked up.
“Why are you tense?” she asked innocently.
Fuck.I didn’t want to frighten her. I spun on my heel and plastered on a fake smile. “I’m not. I’m surprised.” I feverishly searched for the man with the red ball cap.
She tapped my face. “What’s wrong?”
Coming up empty, I rounded my attention back to her. “Nothing.” My tone was flat and didn’t sound like the Denim who had been sweet and kind to her several minutes ago.
She jerked her head in all directions, her black hair flying around her pretty face. “Who are you looking for?”
Smart girl.
I strapped on my charm. “No one. Want to get a drink?” We were too exposed.
She pursed her plump lips. “You’re not fooling me, Denim Hart. Something is wrong.”
I’d never lied to her, and I wasn’t about to start. “I think someone is following me.”
“It’s probably the FBI agents,” she said flippantly. “Kelton told you they would be in touch. Or maybe they’re watching you to see if you pay a visit to Duke.”
“FBI or not, I would feel better if we weren’t standing here like sitting ducks.”
“There’s a nice coffee shop a block that way.” She pointed toward the Irish pub I’d spotted earlier.
I grasped her arm. “Come on.” With mechanical precision, I scoured the stores, alcoves of buildings, and people up and down both sides of the street, but I didn’t find the perp. I turned back to Jade and blinked. Then a loud boom rang out before the window of the men’s store shattered.
Flying behind a parked car, I pulled Jade down with me. Screams peppered the air. Tires screeched. Jade’s eyes were nearly popping out of her skull. Maybe now she would believe me.
A gray-haired lady froze against the window of a shop next to the men’s store. She was fixated on something across the street.
“Stay down,” I said to Jade.
“Where are you going?” she asked horrified.
If I didn’t get that lady to cover, she might get shot. I briefly closed my eyes and counted to three. On three, I rushed over to the woman, staying low to the ground. When I did, another shot blasted. I grabbed the lady just as more glass shattered somewhere nearby.
The woman screamed in my ear.
