Page 6 of Relentless (Dark Confessions 3.50)

Three

NATALIE

I didn’t wantto think about how easily I’d slipped back into The Sultry Prowler, but the truth was, I had. Wearing the black dress made me feel classy, but the mission was still the same.Infiltrate the mark for the object. And it just so happened my mark was right in front of me.

“So, you, like, fight people?” I cooed, stroking his arm. “I bet you’re really good at it with all these muscles.” The big ogre in front of me preened at the words, puffing up his chest as he looked down at me, lust clear on his face. It didn’t bother me, though, because that was how I wanted him to look at me. It would make my job easier if I had a way in.

“I do okay,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

“I’d like to watch you. Are you fighting anytime soon?” I leaned forward, pressing my boobs against him. His eyes dropped, falling to my cleavage. He nodded, swallowing as I kept rubbing his arm.

“Mmhmm, yeah. I can get you tickets.”

“Oh, that would be the best! The absolute best!” Internally, I wanted to slap myself at my performance, but at least it was doing what it was meant to externally.

He bent down, his hand falling to my hip. “Maybe I could show you something before that. There’s an amateur fight coming up at my buddy’s house. Want to be my plus one?

“Me?” I giggled. “I’d love that.” Batting my eyelashes, I was glad he fell for the bait and didn’t make me put out for the information.

“Give me your number.”

I slid my hand into my bag, pulling the burner free and handing it to him. It was the only phone I could use currently, per Atticus’ orders. I understood, but it made it hard to keep in touch with Lily when I had to be away from the safe house.

“Here you go,” he said, handing me the phone back. Grinning, I bit my tongue as I leaned up and kissed his greasy cheek. Winking, I walked away, the urge to wipe my mouth off strong, but I held it in. Barely.

Ducking into a bathroom, I dove for the sink, turning the water on to rinse my mouth out. “Fuck, I hope I don’t have to actually kiss the guy,” I muttered, spitting out water as I sucked it down. Drying my face, I took a deep breath. There were some parts of the job I liked more than others, and conning people wasn’t one that helped me sleep at night. He might be a scoundrel, but it didn’t make it any easier.

Objects, they could be stolen without a thought. I knew it wasn’t right, but the thrill and knowledge that no one was hurt were what had allowed me to steal for as long as I had. It was easy to take from others when you didn't have anything, justifying they had a lot.

Even having more now than I did back then, I knew it didn’t matter how much or less a person had, really. Items had value; we just didn’t always understand them. But if I was going to have to be The Sultry Prowler, I preferred to steal something. I’d much prefer it to conning innocent people. At least in this instance, they weren’t innocent.

When I stepped out of the bathroom, it was like Déjà Vu finding Beau there. I’d known he would be, but it still took me by surprise when I found him in almost the exact same position as I’d met him eight years ago when I bumped into him.

“Let me guess, your boss wants to see me?” I rasped, rolling my eyes. I ignored the thundering of my heart that happened every time he was near.

“Nope.”

I looked at him, cocking my head to the side to take him in. Something was different. “What’s going on with you?” I asked, assessing him.

He shrugged his shoulders, a small smile playing on his perfectly plump lips. Fuck. Narrowing my eyes, I pointed at him. “No.”

“No? I didn’t say anything.”

“Your mouth might not have, but your body is clearly communicating what you want to do, and I’m not having it.”

He smirked, stepping forward. I took a step backward but was stopped when my back hit the wall. He towered over me, his hand going next to my head against the wall. “Maybe let me ask before you go and reject it.” He purred into my ear, his hot breath tickling my skin. Sucking in my words, I bit my tongue to hold back all the things I really wanted to say.

“I want you, Nat. I want you, and I’m no longer going to let you walk away from me. I’ve been a patient man, trying to give you space to figure out what you want, but I’m done. You’re not going to dismiss me anymore and choose men like Berserker over me.”

His words stopped me, and I blinked. A laugh bubbled out of me, and I covered my mouth to keep them contained. Beau’s blue eyes narrowed, not liking I hadn’t fallen into his arms.

“This isn’t funny, Nat!”

“I’m only laughing at the fact you think I’d ever go for someone like Chad.” I rolled my eyes, not even able to use his fighting name. “Maybe you should meet with your boss before you come and accost me, Beaufort Adams Thompson.”

“Very funny, Natalie Marie Hart. I can full name you as well. In fact, I can name all of your aliases.”

“This back and forth is such a favorite pastime of mine, but if you’re done peeing on me, can you move so I can go about doing my job?” I lifted my eyebrow, waiting.

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