Page 18 of Behind the Scenes
Maybe it was because I was on a deadline, and this had to be done at a certain time. Or maybe I was just nervous about Laura seeing this side of me.
Nervous. No matter how excited the monster was, there was a saner part of me that worried this wouldn’t force Laura to my side but instead push her far away. Make it so that she would never want to be in my presence ever again.
But something told me Laura wasn’t like that.Call it a hunch, but I had the overwhelming feeling that Laura had a bit of darkness in her too.
Just as I heard the sound of her heels against the concrete, I reached down and grabbed hold of the knife, pulling it as I stood up and turned to her.
Right on time.Like always, Laura was punctual.
There was no way she wouldn’t see me. Just as there was no way she could deny it was me. She would have to face this part ofme instead of hiding behind the mountains of paperwork and a silly restraining order.
She looked… calm. The only thing that gave her away was her shocked gaze and the fact that her breathing had all but stopped. I could almost hear the screeching halt that magnificent brain of hers came to.
She was a magnificent view.
Tight sweater dress that hugged her hips and breasts. A large black coat that I knew cost more than some people’s rent. And a perfectly placed teal alligator skin Birkin that matched the color of her pumps.
She had someone to impress tonight.Too bad she wasn’t ever going to make that dinner.
“Took you long enough,darling.”
laura
. . .
Catching a murderer red-handed was not on my bucket list.
Nor was uncovering a juicy secret about an A-list Hollywood star.
And none of it should have led to the electrifying feeling shooting up my spine.
And yet, here we are.
Harley was near the middle of the alleyway. The body she had just pulled a bloodied knife out of was strategically leaning against the side of the garbage can of the Italian restaurant I frequented.
What had been a normal day that was going to end with a meeting with a client had been completely turned on its head.
I prided myself on being able to handle every single situation that was thrown at me, but coming face-to-face with the most annoying actor I’d ever met, more than a couple thousand miles away from where she was supposed to be, not to mention as she was activelykillingsomeone, was not in my arsenal.
Blood was splattered all over that handsome face of hers. Her expression looked too much like the one on the cover of that magazine. Enticing, pulling me in before I could even catchon to what was happening. Her dark, curly hair was pulled back into a high bun, save for a few stray strands that fell into her face.
She wore a simple hoodie and jeans, looking like any other New Yorker at night. But the stain on the front of the gray fabric was hard to miss.
The dim lights hung above the restaurant’s back door created a small glow around her, but instead of looking angelic, she looked downright terrifying. Her eyes glowed in the darkness, making her look more like a demon than the human I assumed her to be.
Run. I should be running.
But I was too shocked to do anything but take a shaky step backward. The entire time, those brown eyes were pulling me further and further into their depths.
Fear clawed at my throat and stopped any words from exiting my mouth.
I’m afraid. How long has it been since I’ve been afraid? How long has it been since someone rendered me speechless?
But fear wasn’t the only thing swirling in my belly. There was something else, something more shameful.
Lust.
A rush of heat ran through me.
