Page 10 of Deadly Holiday Kiss

"He deserves to die at the hand of a woman."

"For what reason?"

"He has taken advantage of countless women over the years, abusing and raping them by exploiting their physical disadvantages. It's only fair that he dies at the hands of someone he considers weaker."

Her words hang in the air, the weight of their meaning making sense to me. I can't help but sigh. And here I thought I was just going to take out a man who used his position as a financial advisor to scam the wrong people, but apparently, I was also about to do a good deed and rid the word of another piece of shit who likes to use his power to force people he deems weaker to do what he wants.

"Okay, you can end it," I say. At the vibration in my pants pocket, I pull my phone out, finding the caller ID of Logan on the screen. "Just a minute," I tell her, swiping across the screen and lifting my phone to my ear. Before I can even get a word out, Logan's voice booms from the speaker pressed to my ear.

"Would you mind telling me what the hell is going on?" he asks.

"Merry Christmas to you too," I say, glancing back at Harlee who is leaning against my car with her arms still crossed over her chest.

"There's nothing merry about this Christmas, why did I just get a message that our guy is on his way home? What is taking you so long?" I remain silent as my gaze travels over Harlee, taking in the beautiful sight before I speak again.

"I ran into some trouble but I got it under control now."

"Trouble? What happened?"

"Someone else is after him, too, and we got into a little... quarrel about it."

"A quarrel?" Harlee asks and Logan remains silent on the phone, my hand connecting with her face, covering her mouth to silence her.

"Was that a woman's voice? Who was that?"

"The someone else," I say to Logan before turning back to Harlee.

"Wait, you didn't get rid of them?" I remain silent at the question before letting out a sigh.

"No, I didn't." Harlee stares back at me, furrowing her brows. But even as her lips part and her tongue runs over the palm of my hand, I don't pull away. Instead, I apply more pressure to her mouth.

"Why not?"

"Because I can't," I say and Logan huffs on the other end.

"So what are you going to do? Richmond has to die tonight."

"Send me his address. I'll take care of everything."

"With that mysterious lady?"

"None of your business. All that matters is that he dies tonight and that I take the body to our client."

"OK. I'll send you the address. But, Ethan, please, no more trouble."

"No more trouble, I promise." I say, lowering my phone and ending the call before finally pulling my hand away from Harlee's face.

"What's going on?" she asks, wiping her mouth with her fingertips.

"Richmond's on his way home. Perfect for us. It's less crowded and no more distractions."

Her lips curve slightly at the corners. "Awesome. Then let's go." Her voice carries the same confidence I’ve been met with all night.

Chapter 8

Harlee

The city's streetlights fade behind us as Ethan pulls into an upscale neighborhood. While most of the Christmas decorations displayed outside the houses are lit, the interiors are pitch black.

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