Chapter 1
I killed people for a living.
One night, in the middle of a hit, I crossed
paths with another top-tier killer while he was catching his wife cheating
“My little wife is young. It’s only natural
she’d get distracted by pretty things now and then.”
“Isn’t she adorable?”
A low chuckle rolled through the dark.
“Say yes, and you’re dead.”
I went still because that voice sounded exactly like my pathetic, clingy husband.
I cleaned up the kill site, snapping the hidden clasps at my waist and thigh into place before dropping from the window.
Ana spun the wheel as she spoke. “Shade. We just got a last-minute mission. The higher-ups want us to take out a target.”
I leaned back in my seat, eyes shut, and said nothing.
It wasn’t until the car stopped in front of the hotel that I cracked my eyes open and
felt my brow furrow slowly at the sight of that all-too-familiar hotel.
A year ago, I slept with Nicholas here. I walked into the wrong room. That was all.
Anna handed me the keycard. “Simon specifically requested you handle this one. What? The lunatic woos people with bonuses and bounties?”
I took the keycard from her, letting a slow smile curve my lips. “My heart’s already spoken for,” I replied.
Anna snickered. “You mean that
half-blood from last year? Didn’t you already take him to bed?”
“Yeah, and I wouldn’t mind a repeat.”
“If Simon finds out, you really think he’ll leave enough of you to bury?”
‘Simon? Oh, please.’
I was already humming under my breath
as I swiped the card. Right in the center of the room, a man was tied to a chair. Wrists wrenched behind his back, a rough sack pulled over his head.
Maybe it was the memory of this place. Whatever the reason, a clean kill felt too fast.
I eased the door shut behind me and crossed the room, reaching for the sack. “Let’s see which poor soul managed to piss off Simon this time.”
The man lifted his eyes, his expression utterly calm, and soon the smile died on my face.
I reeled as I saw him. ‘Damn it. Nicholas! Thank goodness, all I had was the keycard, not a gun. Or I’d have ruined something I’d spent years keeping.’
“You crossed Simon?”
He recognized me, but barely reacted. “Who’s Simon?”
I drew a slow breath and dialed Simon’s number. The line clicked open almost immediately, but silence stretched
between us.
“Explain,” I said.
“A gift.”
“I’m not following.”
“He hooked up with you on purpose that night, so I brought him to you. You can end
it yourself. And don’t disappoint me, Shade.”
The line went dead.
“Understood,” I said.
I walked back into the room. Nicholas settled into the chair. “Your boyfriend’s generous, delivering me straight to your door. Am I supposed to be your gift or what?”
Nicholas was nothing but a mark, but my patience was running thin. “Like I’d ever
fall for a sadistic monster like him.”
Nicholas let out a breath and smirked as if he’d just remembered something.
“Didn’t I give you enough that night a year ago?”
The sexual tension was insane, and I couldn’t deny he turned me on.
I held his gaze, poured a glass of water, tipped the drug in, grabbed his chin, and made him drink it. Within minutes, the flush crawled up Nicholas’s cheeks.
“What did you give me? Why does it feel like I’m burning?”
I checked the bottle, and it was definitely a sedative.
I got him onto the bed, pulled the covers over him, and swept the room for
cameras.
I dialed Simon after I made sure the room
was clean.
“Where are you?”
“All taken care of?”
“Yeah.”
“Good girl.”
Nicholas woke to the sound of running
water in one of my safe houses and found a chain locked around his ankle.
As I walked in, he looked up through the fall of his hair, his expression carefully shielded. “You are still into captivity
romance?”
I wasn’t. Until now. Simon would slit his throat open the second Nicholas walked out that door. “The chain gives you room to move. Just not toward the exit.”
“What do you want from me now? Wasn’t once enough? Did you enjoy it, watching
me fall apart for you?” His eyes went red-rimmed.
‘The untouchable Nicholas was a virgin.’ I petted his head.
“Not even close. I couldn’t let you go. So I brought you back.”
And if I let myself imagine him with someone else, something feral woke up
within me.
“You belong to me, and only me.”
Nicholas’s ears turned red. He was quite
furious at me.
And just like that, I started living the dream, keeping a prize hidden from the
world.
Every day I put down my targets clean and quiet, and came home to a light in the
window and a table set for me.
Nicholas was tall, gifted with a power that set him apart from everyone else. When I had him beneath me, he was undone and breathless. Every time, he gave me what I
needed from a lover.
We got married soon.
Anna quipped, “Who falls in love with the one who caged them? Shade, he’s not in his right mind.”
“Maybe, but I don’t think so.”
And then, as if on cue, Nicholas called me.
“I miss you.”
Warmth bloomed in my chest. “I just finished up. I’ll be there soon.”
“I’ll run the bath. Just hurry up.”
Anna stared at me in disbelief. “What have
you done to him? Good for you, Shade.”
Nicholas met me at the door and pulled me in. “You’re home.”
I caught his jaw in my hand, searching his face. ‘There it is. His eyes are full of me.
Tell me that’s not love. Go ahead.”
“I missed you too.”
I knew Simon would find out Nicholas was still alive. It was only a matter of when.
I stared at the flowers on the dining table with a headache.
[You are nothing but her boy toy, and I am her true mate.] Simon wrote something
mean on the card.
Nicholas looked crushed, and I moved to comfort him. “There’s nothing between us.”
“Someone’s after you.”
“Okay, “likes” sounds better than cheating.’ I thought.
“Let them. I’m not going to him. I want you. Only you. You know that.”
Nicholas had always coasted through life without a hitch. I was the one thing that had ever cost him anything.
I was going to make it worth it.
The meds pulled Nicholas under, and the apartment went quiet. I slipped out to dial Simon.
He was in high spirits and gave me the address. I collected my weapon before making my way there.
Simon waited for a long time, and he
called back as the first fireworks bloomed over the river. “Shade, where are you?”
At the very moment, I pulled the trigger.
Anna picked up my call as she still
sounded breathless. “This had better be
life or death.”
‘Close enough.’
“I’ve got a small situation.”
“Talk.”
“Simon’s dead.”
After a moment, I could hear the rustling sounds of her getting out of bed.
“You call that small?”
Anna handled the scene, thorough and efficient, but she couldn’t help herself. “What made you move on him?”
“He sent flowers to my husband, trying to start something.”
“That’s it?”
I nodded. Anna bit back a smile. “You actually like him? I thought it was just a
game.”
I said, dead serious, “It was never a game. I’ve liked him since back in school.”
Anna was at a loss for words.
“Shade, a killer and a civilian. You know
how that story ends.”
“I chained him to my apartment. I think we’re past the part where I consider the consequences.”
I came home to find Nicholas exactly as I’d left him.
‘He’s fragile. The tolerance isn’t built up yet.’ I held that thought as I slid in, tucked myself against his chest, and closed my eyes.