Page 42 of PortCity Killers

He sat on the floor in front of us as Bryce and he exchanged some sort of coded bullshit back and forth. Since they were talking shop, I took the opportunity to check my phone for the first time since last night.

I cleared out all the notifications as I dealt with them, immediately dismissing the few things from Bryce. I texted Jaymes, hoping he would respond sooner rather than later, so I wouldn’t have to track him down.

Don had said he would be okay for now, but I really didn’t put it past Valentina to kill him anyway, no matter how hot she found me. Maybe even more so because of it.

There were a million and one texts between Laylah, a server, and one of the bartenders, Azure, who I usually worked with and had seen me take-off.

Their questions were the usual ones that you might expect to get from your coworkers when you left them hanging on a Friday night and didn’t show up for your double the following day.

They must have given out my number, something I would normally have ripped into them for, because the amount of unknown numbers asking random ass bullshit about schedules, procedures and a mess of things I did not have the spoons for flooded my normally empty string of texts.

At this point I hadn’t even expected to have a job anymore and somehow everyone was looking to me as the next in line to have answers I hadn’t been able to give them. I would be surprised if the place hadn’t burned to the ground in my absence.

I hadn’t looked much past: don’t get killed for your brother's stupidity. Since I’d seemed to ace that test, it looked like I would live to see another day of bills and double shifts on my feet.

I internally groaned at having to deal with the barrage of questions I had received and would apparently be having to deal with soon. How did one go back to work after missing their shifts to kill their boss? Was there a doctor's note for that?

Bryce handed me another spring roll before he started putting the rest of the food away.

I nibbled on it, not truly wanting to eat now that I was sitting down with the feelings that were threatening to spill over. The bone-tired weariness that settled on me felt like a physical thing that I couldn’t get off my chest.

“Well, I really should be on my way.” Aedyn sat up from the floor, unfolding himself fluidly from his spot, he held his hand out to me, “It was a pleasure to meet you, Alex.”

I didn’t particularly want to touch anyone right now, except maybe Bryce, but I put my hand in his, feeling the warmth envelope mine.

The tingles that jumped from him had me shaking for a polite moment with a tight-lipped smile before I tried to pull back, but he was goddamn enthralled.

His eyes burned into mine as he leant down, pressing a kiss against my wrist that had my stomach clenching. His lips were soft, warmer than I had expected, pulling heat low in my belly.

I jerked my hand back, but he smirked like he could feel the wetness that gathered between my thighs.

“Bryce will discuss your payment since he was your champion, but we will be seeing one another soon.”

I nodded at him, waiting for him to move past me before I took my seat back on the couch. He spoke softly to Bryce, both of their gazes leading back to me.

I ignored it, hating the rush of having their attention so focused on me. The heat that rose to my cheeks had me burning inside out, and I was left with the effects well after the door closed behind Aedyn.

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