Page 55 of My Silver Fox Savior

Lex calls me when he’s outside, as I requested. He’s waiting for me outside his black jeep. Three men stand in a perimeter around the vehicle, all young with military-style haircuts. Lex is around my age with a Marine cut and the bearing of a soldier.

He approaches me and offers his hand. “Sir.”

“Please, call me Landon. Let’s go inside, Lex.”

He motions to his men, whirling his hand around in a circle. His men immediately disperse and begin looking for places to watch, to wait. Lex follows me into the apartment. Grace has disappeared back into the bedroom.

“Coffee?” I offer.

“Sure, thank you.”

“So,” I go on, “how does this work?” I pour him a cup.

He narrows his eyes in confusion. I can see the businessman in him resisting the urge to say,We spoke about this on the phone, which is true. We did.

“What if I want to put the son of a bitch in the dirt myself?”

“Premeditated murder, Landon?” Lex says.

“You know the person we’re talking about. You know what he was planning.”

“Still,” Lex says, shaking his head slowly, “it’s more than I can officially discuss.”

“Officially …” I step forward, looking at him in the eye, man to man. “You’ve most likely been places and done things I can’t imagine doing, Lex. I’m the one who should be calling you,sir. The cold, ugly fact is that I’ve spent years shamelessly making as much money as possible. I’ll give you another fifty percent if you agree to one simple thing.”

He swallows and glances at the door like he thinks we’ll be overheard, but I can see the second he decides. His eyes harden. I read his history online. I know he’s served five tours. I know he’s been in combat countless times and worked with politicians, some on the shady side.

“What would that be?” he asks.

“If a body needs disappearing, make it disappear. Make it so it can never be linked back to me. That’s it. All it takes is a nod. I’ll add the money as a performance bonus at the end of the week.”

He internally debates it again but then nods at me in a small, decisive motion.

“Awesome.” I grin. “Shall we discuss the protection area, then?”

He snaps back to professional mode. “Certainly, si—Landon.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

LILY

“Is it a bug?” Carter asks down the phone.

Guilt and shame twist through me as I make my voice raspy. I’ve always prided myself on never calling in sick to work, even when working at the pizza joint as a teenager.

“I think so,” I say. “Hopefully, it’s just a twenty-four-hour thing. I should be good for Monday.”

“Yeah, well, just rest up,” he says. “We don’t want you infecting the whole office.”

“Sorry for leaving you in the lurch.”

“You can’t help it if you’re ill.”

I hang up, then roll over and lie on my side. The sun is beginning to rise, glowing through the curtains. I’ve slept fitfully, with my thoughts shackled to Landon. I had to set an alarm to call in sick, but now, I should get more sleep.

Instead, I go to mine and Landon’s text conversation. My stomach is tight after what that English lady said—implying she and Landon were a thing. Maybe she was trying to hurt Ethan,tell a lie to wound him during an argument? There are bigger things to worry about now, mainly Landon’s safety.

Breaking the no-talking rule, I write,Are you okay? I know you want to focus, but I can’t stop thinking about something terrible happening.

---