Page 61 of A Shade of Evil

“What was in the box?” She sounds afraid to ask and I tell her straight.

“A heart.”

“As in…”

“A human heart. At least we think it was.”

Her eyes fill with tears, and I hate that I’ve destroyed her perfect evening, and her eyes are bright as she whispers, “Do you think it was Taylor’s?”

“Possibly, or they may want you to think it was.”

She shakes her head, obviously struggling to deal with this.

“Was there anything else? A note perhaps?”

“Yes.” I grip her hand tightly again and say carefully, “It appeared to be written in blood and asked for twenty-thousand dollars to be left at a location in a black holdall tomorrow evening. If you don’t deliver, the next heart you receive will be your brothers.”

“No!” Her face crumbles and the tears follow quickly. She is devastated, and fear is written over her entire face.

“Please, Shade, please stop this.” She sobs and I say gently.

“I’m doing the best I can, baby. As I said, there is something you should know.”

She wipes the tears away with the back of her hand and her voice shakes as she whispers, “What?”

“Heather is an undercover cop. She’s not really a dancer at my club. I’m not saying she doesn’t pretend to be, but she works for the cops and passes them information I want her to.”

“I don’t understand.” She stares at me in confusion, and I shrug. “It’s all about knowledge, princess, and knowing a person’s limits. Heather’s is money, not honor, and I pay her far more than she earns at the precinct. She has a sick mother in New Jersey, and we pay her nursing home fees. The cops don’t know about her mom and that’s why she works for me. Family is everything and always will be, and she does what she can to help hers.”

“So, what will happen now?” Her lower lip trembles and I hate dragging her into this filthy world I inhabit and say with a sigh. “I protect you.”

“How?”

My heart is hammering because there is no doubt in my mind that I will kill for her—again and she may not like what I am or what I represent but I’m not letting her go, so I say darkly, “You are moving in with me. Permanently.”

CHAPTER33

ALLEGRA

It’s as if he is firing a machine gun loaded with shocks, not shot and the bullets are flying all around me.

“Move in?” Strange that’s all I can think of when he has told me so many other more shocking things.

He shrugs, staring at me with an intensity that causes my breath to desert me.

“Our deal has changed. I’m not letting you leave — ever.”

“I’m your prisoner.” My eyes are wide, and he nods, those damned eyes drawing me into his dark and twisted world.

“Yes. You see, princess, your only chance of surviving this is with me fighting your corner. You need me to shield you and there is no one more qualified for the job.”

“But you said forever.” I stare at him in shock, and he nods. “I did.”

“Forever is a long time.”

“Forever is as long as I’m good at what I do, and don’t let an assassin finish what many start.”

For some reason, his words sadden me. I never considered his world, really. Never thought about what it must be like to live with constant threats. It kind of makes me understand him a little more and why he surrounds himself with protection. Why he is so reckless and living life to the extreme. He is fitting a lifetime of living into what time he is allowed, and that cuts me deeper than anything else I’ve heard. I kind of get it too. I am living under the same cloud. I am being threatened and realize how hard it is to deal with.

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