Page 8 of Escape You

3

Dead Woman Walking

Mia

I’d had one-night stands before. In my line of work, relationships were complicated, messy, and sometimes deadly. No other stranger had ever touched me the way the guy from last night had. I pulled my hair out of the way and glared at my reflection in the handheld mirror and the mark his lips and the slight graze of his teeth had burned on the curve of my neck.

The low flame that sparked at my core when he’d agreed to stay and ask no questions spread through my body in waves. Every now and then, it would turn into a burst of raw desire. Why couldn’t I stop thinking of him? He was long gone. Just as he’d promised.

I let my head fall on the headrest of my office chair. Work kept piling on my desk, and I’d yet to address one single item.Get over it already and get to work.

“You’re mumbling.”

“What?” My whole body jerked at the sound of Vic’s voice. “Jesus fuck, you scared me. How long have you been standing there?”

“Nice hickey.”

I rolled my eyes and pulled my blouse over it. “I hope you have good news for me?”

He grinned at me. Why was this amusing to him? “It’s one of those good news, bad news situations. Did you get lucky last night at the bar?” He fished his little black notebook from the back pocket of his slacks. “If you did, I need a name, address, and any affiliations if you have them.”

My eyes went wide. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. I screwed up big time. Anonymity wasn’t my friend. I should have gotten every goddamn detail about him. I should’ve let him know who I was. Had that been it? Had I been afraid he’d run if I told him I was the new boss in town.

Part of the reason why I’d decided to stay and have my night was because I realized he wasn’t from around here. He didn’t know who I was, and for a little while, that felt good. Yeah, I had volunteered for this job. More than that, I was willing to die for my family. But that was what made last night so much sweeter. I no longer belonged to myself. Last night was a goodbye, a closure of sorts for me.

I cleared my throat. “I don’t have that.”

“Okay, no problem. It’ll all come out in the wash. Next time, at least give me a heads-up so I can vet any candidates for you.”

“What?”

Vic did a double take, his gaze going from his notebook to my face. “Do I really need to explain this to you? You’re the new boss. You. Run. This. Town. You need to assume that anyone is trying to take you down. I get that you young people have needs. But that doesn’t mean you get to be careless.” He stopped to inhale.

Yeah, I was the boss, but he had known me since I was eight. He was like a grandfather to me. By the way his face blanched a little, I knewthetalk was coming. “I have to ask. You used protection, right?”

I barked out a laugh. “Yeah, Dad, I did. Anything else?” We’d gone through all of Allie’s stash behind the bar.

He scratched his stubble, a bit of color coming back to his cheeks. “I need a name. And don’t be offended. I had the same talk with Dom.”

“I don’t have a name.”

“For fuck’s sake, Mia. Fine. I’m assuming you’ll see him again.” He raised an eyebrow and waited for me to answer.

“No, I will not be seeing him again. My life is already in a state of tumult to add a guy to it.”

“So you had a one-night stand with a complete stranger, possibly an informant, or your would-be killer. I thought you were smart.” He rubbed the creases on his forehead.

“I can see how that was shortsighted. He’s not from Jersey, so it won’t happen again. It’s over.”

“How do you know?”

“He had a bit of an accent. Southern maybe? His clothes were different, like more city-like.”

“What else?” He was jotting superfast.

“He mentioned he was leaving town today. So there. He could be in a different country by now.” The last bit got stuck in my throat. I shouldn’t want to see him again, but the pressure on my chest kept getting tighter and tighter. Every time I pictured his face in my mind, I couldn’t help but want him back.

Vic shut his black notebook and stuffed it in his pocket. “I’ll canvas the area and see if I can figure out who he is. If he stands out like you said, someone would’ve seen him.”

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