Page 12 of Thrown to the Wolves

It’s not just the sex, though that sure was memorable. No. It’s something else, some weird sense of…

I’m not superstitious, but I’d almost call it a sense of foreboding.

Of fate.

I shake my head, annoyed at my inability to put the girl out of my mind. I have to focus on my mission: Taking down this assassin targeting my fellow Styxies before anyone else gets hurt.

An assassin who’s making me look like a fucking amateur in front of Hadria.

I clench my fists, ignoring the answering throb in my arm. No more distractions. No more wild goose chases.

It’s time for this Wolf to go hunting.

CHAPTER 6

Scarlett

The tracker on my phone indicates Lyssa’s position at another dive bar called The Drunken Hog on the outskirts of the city. Perfect. Close enough to the bar last night for a new “chance” encounter, but far enough away from both the Syndicate’s and just outside the Sokolov’s usual territory that my presence won’t seem too suspicious.

And if she starts asking questions, I’ll just flutter my eyelashes and make that scared face that got her so hot last night.

I slip into a slinky wrap top that hugs my curves and accentuates my assets, and add the same jeans from last night that I know had her checking out my ass. If I’m going to manipulate her back to my apartment for a second time, I’ll need every advantage. And so, as I apply a bright red lipstick, I steel myself for the act to come.

This has to be flawless.

The Drunken Hog lives up to its name—a dimly lit hole occupied by stained pool tables and the stench of stale beer. Lyssa sits alone at the bar, fingers curled around a tumbler of amber liquid. She’s slumped on one elbow, face propped up on her hand, and she looks bored.

Until she sees me, that is.

I sashay up beside her and she sits up taller on the barstool. “Buy a girl a drink?” I ask with a grin.

For a moment, her eyes travel over me, head to toe and back again, hovering around my cleavage, which is on ample display. Then she scoffs. “You really haven’t learned your lesson, have you?”

I settle onto the barstool next to her and shake back my hair. Up close, her presence is suffocating, power and danger rolling off her in waves. “What are you talking about? This is my local.”

One arched brow quirks upward. “I know where you live. Remember? Uptown.”

I bite my lip, feigning embarrassment. “Okay, look, I know it’s stupid. I was on my way somewhere else, actually, in an Uber, and we were at the lights out there.” I point, but she doesn’t follow my finger, keeping her eyes on me. “I just happened to glance over and see you through the window and...” I pause, try to gauge how she’s taking such a preposterous story. But she’s just waiting for me to finish, her brown eyes cool and steady on mine. “Well, I guess it felt like fate.”

“Fate,” she repeats blankly.

“And I thought maybe you’d let me buy you a drink as a thanks for…well, taking out all those crazy guys last night? I can promise you one thing, I’m never going back to that place again.”

For a long moment, she regards me silently. Then she gives a shrug. “If you insist. Glenfiddich, neat.”

I give a nod at the bartender and order myself one too.

“If you’re expecting this to lead to the same thing as last night—” Lyssa starts warningly, after the bartender brings them over.

“Just a drink between friends,” I say, raising my glass to her. “You helped me out. It’s the least I can do.”

Lyssa finally raises her glass as well, before taking a sip. Those cool eyes are assessing me over the rim of the glass. “So, mysterious woman who hangs around seedy bars at night...what’s your story?”

Here goes nothing. I launch into the well-rehearsed tale I’ve crafted, sprinkling in just enough truth to keep it believable. “Well, like I said, I’m a medical student. Just finished my clinical rotations at the hospital.”

“That’s why you patched me up so good, huh?” The sardonic lilt of her voice raises goosebumps along my arms.

Undeterred, I forge ahead. “I had a...family tragedy a few years back. My older brother was killed in a random mugging gone wrong.” I let my eyes well with genuine tears at this part. “I wanted to go into medicine to see if I could save a few lives.”

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