Page 37 of A Twisted Arrangement

And I’ve done a great job honing my small body into something dangerous. Something that can kill without a thought. If it wasn’t for my small stature, I’d have nothing left to fear, but no matter how strong I become, how fast I am, there’s always someone bigger and faster out there.

My heart rate’s a steady beat as I make my way out of the residential area and onto the main road. It’s lined with stores, the lights still off in the early hours. I’m concentrating on the darkened glass so much I almost miss the large silhouette that steps out in front of me.

My feet slide to a stop as I halt my forward momentum, my hand immediately pulling out my pepper spray from my pouch and holding it at the ready.

My pulse is pounding in my ears, and any control of my breathing is shot with the sheer adrenaline coursing through my veins. The person blocking my path is big, at least a few inches taller than me. I’m still debating whether I can take him or if I should take my chances running when he steps into the light, showing his familiar face.

I take a step back, still hesitant. “What are you doing here?”

“I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m just waiting for the cafe to open.”

Jeremy’s the guy I went on a single date with prior to Liam. I honestly thought we’d hit it off, but he’d ghosted me from that point on. It should’ve been a blow to my self-esteem, but if the guy’s willing to ghost me, I have no time for them anyway.

The sign on the cafe door says it opens in five minutes. It’s not completely out of the question that us meeting here is just a coincidence and he’s not a complete stalker. After all, he’s the one that stopped calling me.

It’s the hairs still standing tall at the back of my neck and the pit in my stomach that has me still on edge.

“Do you live around here?” I ask, feeling out the situation. If he does, then I’m probably just overreacting.

“Not far.” He takes a step closer, and alarms go off in my head.

Something’s not right.

I plaster on my most disarming smile. I just need to get out of this situation, and then I’m good. “It was good seeing you, but I’m going to be off now. Got to keep up my run.”

I take a step to the left, fully intending to cross the road, when he says, “I had fun with you that night. It still doesn’t sit right that someone could stop us from getting to know each other before we really gave it a shot.”

My brows pull together as I try to make sense of his words. “What do you mean someone stopped us?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. I was so bruised I could barely walk for a week.” His tone has dropped low; any of the friendliness from before has vanished, replaced with aggression.

I study him as he stands there waiting for my reply. The lights cast a halo around him, face half in shadow, half exposed. There’s a hardness to his jaw, a muscle ticking in his cheek that gives his intentions away. He has no intention of letting me go.

My grip tightens around my pepper spray, ready to spray this fucker in the face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you need to go.”

“Don’t be like that. I thought we’d be a good fit together.”

“Thanks, but I’ll pass.”

Any pretense of friendliness drops from his face, and his eyes grow cold. “Listen, I never wanted to date you in the first place. He said I just needed to get you alone.”

A chill crawls up my neck. “Who said?”

“This job is way more trouble than it’s worth.” Jeremy’s voice is drowned out by the sound of squealing tires coming around the corner.

A familiar blacked-out sedan hops the curb and stops feet away from us, causing my potential assailant to jump back. I don’t have time to question Jeremy further before Oliver stands between us, his entire demeanor on edge. He’d actually look scary if his hair wasn’t rumpled like he’d been dragged out of bed.

“I didn’t do anything.” Jeremy sounds frantic as he stares at my significantly larger bodyguard. There haven’t been many situations where he’s had to step in, but he definitely comes in handy when he does. Jeremy looks at me, pleading. “Tell him, Scarlet. We were just talking.”

I ignore him completely because even though we were just talking, he’d made it clear his intentions weren’t innocent. “Oliver, I had it handled.”

I need to find out who he was talking about, and I need to do it fast. I’m not surprised there’s someone looking for me—after all, I’d be a great catch—but hiring someone to collect me is going a bit far.

My guard’s mouth drops open. “You shouldn’t have been out here.”

“Relax, I brought pepper spray. He was so close to getting a face full of it.” I shrug. Honestly, I expected Oliver earlier. I guess it makes sense—it was still stupid early when I texted him.

“You bitch!” Jeremy yells, and I shake my head.

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