Page 16 of Merciless Sinner

When he didn’t respond right away, Jeremy remained silent. One of the benefits of such a long friendship was knowing in cases like these what the other person needed and right now he needed to think more than talk.

He’d recognized her almost immediately when he spotted her across the room. The fact she’d tied her long, dark hair back into a pony tail at the base of her neck didn’t hide her identity. Nor did the simple catering uniform. Even without the smile across her face as in the picture with her and Ronin she still looked the same. Same intense expressions. Same green eyes. Same sensual mouth.

He scrubbed his hands across his face.

How exactly did he remember all those many details from a picture he saw for thirty seconds more than a year ago? And why didn’t he immediately walk away from her then?

Getting involved with someone from Ronin’s past had to be a mistake. One he’d walked into because of his enormous ego and one he couldn’t walk away from because of her.

“I’ve always hated that word. I certainly never expected you to use it in a sentence about me.”

“Me either. Maybe it’s a sign.”

He turned to Jeremy. “A sign of what?” The smile on Jeremy’s face made him nervous.

“A sign that the ice king may have finally met his queen.”

He inwardly winced, only barely able to contain the movement from Jeremy. “Let’s hope not. Otherwise this situation could get a whole lot worse.”

Jeremy wrinkled his forehead in confusion. “Why? Because you don’t want to get that involved with a woman.”

He shook his head. He was already feeling that involved. The fact he couldn’t get her off his mind even when he had business to deal with proved that. “If only it were that simple. You remember that woman Ronin got into a tear about last year when he couldn’t find her.”

Jeremy looked at him blankly for a moment, but he saw the moment the lightbulb went on for his friend. He dropped his boots from the table and sat forward. “That’s her? Seriously?”

He nodded.

“Dare I ask when you figured that out? Or do I not want to know?”

He tightened his lips. In hindsight, dragging his friend into this bitter rivalry he had going with Ronin was a pretty shitty thing to do. Especially given their line of work. They operated on opposite sides of the law and that always had the potential for causing problems in all their lives. Not that he hated the idea of Jeremy putting an end to Ronin’s bullshit one way or another. His stepbrother deserved whatever he got.

He didn’t care if that made him a hypocrite. The mob had little to no moral code in this city and that was something he always hated. It’s why he fought every day for his independence. He would not let the world his mother married into ruin his.

“From the beginning,” he finally answered. There was no logical or tactical advantage to lying to Jeremy.

His friend shook his head. “You should have told me.”

He wasn’t about to deny it. Giving Jeremy the option to excuse himself from an event that could potentially entangle him with Ronin made sense. Why he had kept that information to himself bothered him greatly.

He’d set aside rational thought to get involved with this woman. This could put others in jeopardy. He made a mental note to talk to his head of security. Precautions would have to be taken. Plans made to ensure Ronin didn’t get near any of them without him knowing well in advance. These were things he wasn’t willing to compromise on.

“I didn’t think one night would matter that much.” That was the God’s honest truth. How could he have known that one taste of her and his whole world would tilt on its axis?

He walked back to his desk, opened the humidor he kept stocked and pulled out two cigars. He clipped the ends and handed one over to Jeremy.

“What’s this for?”

“I don’t know, man. Call it a peace offering. Or a I fucked up and now I need your help figuring it out thing. Whatever suits you.”

He lit both their cigars and returned to his station at the window. The sun had finally gone below the horizon and the darkness he so loved had begun.

“What suits me is the goddamned truth. Is he what all this is about? Are you using her for some sort of revenge against that fucked up brother of yours?”

Chapter Eight

Harper

Tired from a long day of baking and then organizing my next catering job, I began the three-story ascent to my apartment. With no elevator available in this building I considered this part of my daily workout. Only tonight I would have given anything not to climb these stairs. At the top I was embarrassed to admit that I was huffing and puffing, not to mention the sweat already gathering at the small of my back.

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