Page 75 of Murder & Mayhem

“You have to come with me to find out.”

“But it’s the middle of the night.”

“Don’t tell me you're afraid of the dark,” he teases.

I snort. “Please. The dead of night is when the Reaper comes out to play.”

He grins, and it’s this devilishly handsome yet wicked thing that heats the blood in my veins and makes my pussy clench. “Then you better hurry up and get dressed.” His gaze drops to my legs as I get to my feet, and I feel his eyes on me as I bend over to grab my jeans from the floor, stuffing my legs into them. Lacing up my boots next, I then grab my leather jacket and shove my arms into the sleeves. When I turn back around, he’s still watching me intently. The heat in his eyes makes my breath catch, and my voice is breathy when I say, “I’m ready.”

Clearing his throat, he gets to his feet and leads the way as I follow him through the house and out to the car. We drive in silence into the city until he pulls into a car park beside a rundown bar. The neon sign above the door that would have once flashed with the bar's name has been turned off, and it’s missing several letters, making the name unreadable.

“What are we doing here?” I ask, turning to look at Enzo.

“I got a call that one of the names you gave me is here.”

Now that piques my interest, and I return my gaze out the front windshield toward the front of the bar. I’ve been giving Enzo names of targets as I get them. So far, he’s managed to strike several of them off the list, and the rest are still in the recon phase. “Which one?”

He pulls his phone out and looks at the screen. “A Mickey Farrs.”

I ponder over his name for a second. “The guy who abused his stepdaughter?”

“Yup, that’s the one.” He tilts the phone toward me so I can see his photo. Bloodshot eyes, greasy hair, and a gaunt face look back at me. The guy is clearly an addict. Not that that is any excuse for what he’s done.

I see red as I glower at the door of the bar, itching to storm in there and make him pay for the horror he put that girl through. With Herculean effort, I pull myself back from the edge. We have to be smart about this. “What’s your plan?”

“Hey, you’re the pro when it comes to this. I’m just here as backup.”

His words render me mute as I stare at him, stunned. “Why didn’t you get one of your guys to deal with him, like the others?”

There’s a softness to his features as he gives me an easy smile. “I could tell you needed this.” I return his smile with a genuine one of my own before returning my focus to the bar.

“Okay, you go in first. Don’t draw any attention to yourself. Just grab a drink and sit somewhere where you have a clear line of sight of the guy. When I come in, act like you don’t know me. No matter what he does, don’t intervene. After I lure him outside, make a quiet exit.”

Letting me know he’s got it, he exits the car, and I watch as he heads inside. I wait another five minutes before climbing out of the vehicle. Stripping off my leather jacket, I throw it onto the passenger seat before pulling up the hem of my tank top and knotting it at one side, so it shows off my toned abdomen. I pull down the top, giving anyone who looks my way an eyeful of my tits and bending down to look in the door mirror, I run my fingers through my hair and pinch my cheeks, bringing a bit of color to them.

Satisfied, I strut into the bar with my head held high. The place isn’t packed, but it’s busy enough that only a few guys by the door notice me. I blatantly ignore them as I scan the room. Spotting Enzo, I meet his gaze, noting how his eyes drop to my chest and then lift again before I continue my search for my target.

I find him a couple of tables down, tucked in the corner of the bar, sitting alone. Fantastic. That makes this so much easier. He doesn’t even notice as I approach. It’s only when I’m standing right in front of his table that he bothers to look up. Not that his gaze ever reaches my eyes. Nope, he manages to get sidetracked by my boobs, which look like they’re about ready to pop out of my top. “Hey,” I purr, pushing a sexy husk into my voice. “Wanna buy me a drink?”

“Or we could skip the foreplay and just get out of here.”

Even though I want to sneer at him, I adopt a seductive smile instead. “You read my mind.”

I can feel his heat at my back and the brush of his hands along my bare skin as we leave the bar. The door has barely closed behind us before he grabs a fistful of my hair, pulling my body flush with his. I don’t waste any time, throwing my elbow back and relishing the loud snap of cartilage as it connects with his nose.

His hold on my hair instantly loosens as his hands fly to his nose. “You fucking bitch!” he spits through a mouthful of blood. Spinning to face him, I give him a feral grin.

“You should know, I take that as a compliment.” Reaching out, I shove him in the chest so his back smacks against the wall. A second later, the front door of the bar opens, and Enzo steps out. His brow quirks at the bloody state of the man in front of me.

“Help,” the shithead pleads. “The bitch is psycho, man. She just attacked me out of nowhere.”

I almost laugh at the empathetic look Enzo gives him. “Why are the hot ones always crazy?”

“Please,” I scoff. “You like my crazy.”

In an instant, Enzo’s face morphs into something savage and hungry as he dismisses the man and turns his heated gaze on me. “I fucking love your brand of crazy.”

Heat floods my skin, and I forget all about the asshole in front of us and why we are standing outside a seedy bar in the early morning hours. All I can focus on is Enzo and the static chemistry charging the air between us. The same electric energy has been building for the last week, while both of us ignored it in favor of the other chaos going on around us.

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