Page 74 of Veil of Death and Shadow

“Clearly.” He smirked. “Not friends then. Colleagues. I’ll give you a lesson on how to punch assholes without hurting yourself. You give me a tour around the area. Win, win.”

“They have tour guides for that.”

Levi didn’t wear designer labels or anything that screamed money, but I could tell from the look of his clothes that they were made of good, probably expensive material. And he was here for work, which probably meant tech, and he carried himself with the sort of confidence that comfort conveyed. Something told me he wasn’t hurting for money—paying for a guide was probably in his budget.

“Tour guides are too,” he slid his hands in his pockets, considering, “perky.”

Fair enough, I couldn’t argue with him there. “And you’d prefer prickly?”

“Every day of the week.”

“Fine.” I sighed, almost regretting the decision already. “But if you want to see anything that requires admission, that’s on your dime, not mine.” I held out my good hand. “Give me your phone.”

He didn’t bother reigning in his victorious grin as he did.

I plugged my number in, setting my name as Prickly Rick Steves.

It took me longer than usual to punch in, my right hand was now both sore and numb.

“Thanks,” he glanced down before pocketing it, “Rick.”

“No problem.” We came to an intersection, and I turned to him. “This is where we part.”

He glanced at the gas station on one side of us, and the fast-food restaurant on the other. “I don’t see an apartment building.”

I shot him a look. “After the night I had, you didn’t really expect me to show a stranger where I live, did you?”

He bit back a grin. “Reasonable point.”

I lifted the now-soggy bag. “Thanks for the peas.”

“Any time.”

When I got home, I had a new text:

Levi: “Home safe?”

Me: “Yes.”

Levi: “Good. See you soon, Rick.’

Levi: “P.S. Feel free to save this number under “Hot, Mysterious Savior.”

I smiled to myself, then logged his number under Discount Rocky Balboa instead.

12

MAREENA

Present Day

For a full minute, my only reaction was to laugh. “You honestly expect me to believe that you’re my guardian angel?”

Kieran continued to watch me, a bemused look on his face. “Yeah, actually, I do.”

I waited, expecting him to break into a raucous laugh, too, and then, hopefully, to offer a real explanation as to why he was stalking me.

But he didn’t.

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