Page 7 of Bad Guys Need Love Too

Sherry grinned. “Nice. You should dump Neal and go out with the hot city worker.”

“What makes you thinkhe’dwant to go out withme?”

“Because you’re a sweetheart.”

Aw, that was so nice to hear!

“Plus, you’ve got a nice rack and an ass that won’t quit. Any guy would shank his own mother for the opportunity to bang you.”

And splat went their nice moment.

“Thanks, Sherry. I think.”

Sherry slapped her on the shoulder hard enough to nearly topple her. “Flush that turd and go get you arealman, kiddo.”

Lark would’ve replied. She wassureshe would’ve.

But that’s when the front window of the shop exploded in a hail of gunfire, and whatever she’d planned to say was lost forever.

CHAPTER 5

The flower shop layout made surveillance difficult. There were three points of entry: the customer entrance on the main street, the side entrance in the alley where deliveries were made, and a back door which functioned as the employee entrance.

Watching the main door was out of the question. It was far too visible. Especially when Ren was in his decked-out F-350.

He didn’t like the back door, either. The attached parking lot was only big enough for a couple of cars and the dumpster, so his truck would stand out like a sore thumb.

His only option was to turn on his hazards and watch from the alley. If anyone saw him, they’d probably assume he was delivering something to the flower shop or one of the other nearby stores. And his truck was big enough to effectively block anyone else from entering the alley, which was good. The more control of their surroundings he had, the better.

But not taking into account how difficult the location made stalking, he could see why Lark liked working here. Theentire front window was filled with potted plants and colorful arrangements that somehow managed to look fancy and not fussy all at the same time. And the entirety of the ceiling was covered in hanging dried flowers. The overall effect was bright, cheerful, and…warm.

Much like Lark herself.

But regardless, Ren wasn’t pleased to be here. He wasn’t used to in-person stalking, and frankly, the whole thing was making him edgy.

He’d grown accustomed to the people on his list being so easy to keep track of that his bank of monitors at home did the heavy lifting for him. He was practically a feral hermit at this point in his life.

Which explained how hugely he’d botched his interaction with Lark.

All it took was one touch of her hand on his arm and he was a goner. Thoughts? Poof. Gone. Plans? Vanished as if they’d never been there at all. He’d been a distracted mess ever since.

And that was days ago. Days!

He really couldn’t afford to be this…emotional. Emotions weren’t for people like him. Hell, he’d thought life had beaten the emotions out of himagesago. But here he was, stalking Larkin personlike a sicko (well, an even bigger sicko than usual), thinking of nothing more than how perfect her soft skin had felt against his.

And how much he wanted to feel it again.

Which was ridiculous. She was, well,her, and he was…

Ren sighed. He was a stalker in a truck, watching her through the tiny side window of a flower shop with a pair of binoculars. What could someone like him possibly offer someone as good and decent as Lark? Other than his protection, of course.

He glanced down at his phone. Damn it! He’d missed a notification. Had the phone been set on silent? He never made dumbass mistakes like that. More proof he was dangerously off his game.

Then he read the notification and his blood ran cold. Someone had accepted the hit.

A fuckinghourago.

Jesus, Lark was the easiest woman in the world to find. Any assassin worth his price would be able to…

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