Page 24 of Ruthless Bonds

He didn’t acknowledge what I’d said as he leaned over the body of the dead man and went through his pockets. There was nothing on him, though, other than the gun. No wallet, no phone. Nothing.

“What’s your name?” He flipped the body over and pulled up the man’s shirt, looking at his chest.

“Ally.” Like I was going to give him my real name. “What are you looking for?” I took a step closer to him.

“This.” He pointed at the tattoo on the man’s rib cage. It looked like some type of spider.

“What’s his tattoo got to do with anything?”

He glanced at me, not saying anything for a moment. There was a look in his eyes, like—awe? That couldn’t be right.

A noise a few feet away caught our attention, and he picked up his phone and held it to his ear. He barked commands at the person on the other end.

“Come on.” He nodded toward the back door. “There’s an apartment upstairs we can wait in.”

Was I really going to do this? Go upstairs with a strange man I’d just seen kill someone? The funny thing was, I wasn’t really scared anymore. Plus, it wasn’t like I had a choice. I had a feeling if I tried to run away now, hewould definitely shoot me.

“What about the dead guy?” Were we just going to leave him here?

“My people will take care of it. Let’s go.”

He held out his hand, and I eyed it warily.OK, we’re doing this.I slipped my hand into his, and little tingles of electricity shot through my fingers. He glanced at me, as if he felt it too.

That was strange.

Upstairs, above the restaurant, was a small apartment. It looked as if nobody was living there, though. There was a small living area and a kitchen off to the side. He pulled out a chair and nodded for me to sit down, which I did. Every bone in my body ached from the fall, but I knew it was better than getting busted by the police.

In the kitchen, he pulled a bottle of vodka from a cupboard, then filled a glass with water. We hadn’t said anything in a few minutes, falling into a comfortable silence, which was weird. Everything seemed so surreal. I had to figure out how to get out of here, and soon. He moved around the kitchen as if he was familiar with the place. In the light, he was even more beautiful. That seemed like an odd choice of words to describe a man, but that was exactly what he was.

Lights flashed along the apartment walls, the sound of car doors slamming and voices carrying up through the window. He moved the curtains to the side and looked out. Was it “his people,” like he’d said? I got up to look, but he held up his hand. “Sit.”

Okay. Guess I’ll just sit here.

“My people are taking care of the situation downstairs.” He walked over to the table and set downthe bottle and glass. I tried not to ogle him as he stripped off his jacket and laid it on the back of his chair. The white button-down shirt he wore molded to his skin, showing every inch of muscle underneath. He definitely worked out.

Maybe I should join a gym.

“That’s good.” The words tumbled out as I attempted to sound nonchalant. Was that good? I hoped so. He slid the glass of water over to me and I quirked my eyebrow. “Really? You’re not going to offer me a proper drink after saving your life?”

He chuckled, the sound sending a shiver down my spine. He stood, and I couldn’t help but admire the view—broad shoulders, a muscular back that led to a narrow waist. I bet he had a six-pack under his shirt. No, an eight-pack.

“I guess I owe you a favor now, Ally.”

It must have been all the adrenaline from tonight—almost getting caught by the police and then killed by this sexy stranger—but whatever it was, an unfamiliar heat spread through my body. For a moment, I wished I’d told him my real name, so I could hear it coming from those lips.

No. Let’s not go there. He just shot a man and almost killed you. You should not be fantasizing about the killer in front of you.

“What’s your name?”

He came back to the table and set down two shot glasses. “Why should I tell you my name,kotic?”

“I told you mine.”

“So?” He poured me a shot of vodka and slid it over to me.

“Well, that’s not fair.”

“Nothing is fair in life.”

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