Page 71 of The Torturer's Target

“Somebody’s been asking around about you,” he continued. “He might be a private contractor, but no one knows who he is or who he works for.”

Blake didn’t break his stride. He walked on confidently, his hands clasped behind his back and a smirk on his face. “A lot of people have asked questions about me over the years, Ian,” he said. “They are free to come find me. He’ll die just like all the others who came before him.”

His men chuckled, nodding their heads in agreement. Blake feared no one and nothing. He had done a lot of horrific things over the years, gone against a lot of powerful men from the underworld, and gained a lot of enemies. But only a few had been able to get close enough to harm him.

But they never succeeded. His men were the best at what they did.

“Whoever is looking for me is free to come and get himself killed,” he said again as they emerged from the hallway into the dimly lit tunnel. “We’ll be ready for him.”

“Is everything ready?” Big Cat asked.

Tesiera lounged languidly on the plush couch, her body sunk into the soft cushions. “Yes. I have everything I need, but I’ve been waiting for Blake to make a move for weeks. So far, I’ve gotten nothing.” Her posture was relaxed and graceful, her eyes surveyed her nails as she added, “I decided to attack him in his residence. The one he’s currently at.”

“Absolutely not,” Big Cat protested and stood up in one swift motion. “That would be a suicide mission.”

“I have done a lot of suicide missions in my life, and I’m still here, aren’t I?” she replied. “I’ll be fine.”

“That man has a reputation of being slipperier than a fish. You saw how complicated his security details were. You shouldn’t attack him in his home—”

Tesiera waved him off. “If I made it into Maximilian Kingston’s home without getting caught, I can manage it here.”

Big Cat relaxed back on his seat. “How is it going with him?”

She fixed him a stare. “How is what going with him?”

The mafia godfather studied her carefully, before saying, “I’ve known you for almost nineteen years, and you’ve changed since you went to work for him.”

“Changed?” Tesiera’s brow shot to her hairline.

“It’s subtle—those who don’t know you well wouldn’t even notice—but it’s there. You talk more now. You used to talk to me in short, monosyllabic sentences, or nothing at all and now we’re having real conversations. There are other changes to you, I just…” He shook his head incredulously. “I just don’t know how to explain it.”

Tesiera gave him a look that suggested that he might be suffering from a concussion, but Big Cat only smiled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Must be the regular sex messing with your head,” Tesiera said tersely.

Big Cat’s smile got bigger. “You saw her, huh?”

“Milane? She was grinning at me when I walked in. How the hell could I have missed that?” Her disgusted tone made Big Cat snort in laughter.

The godfather’s on-again/off-again mistress for nearly a decade and was one of the very few people who got emotionally close to him. Milane was a decent person—Tesiera begrudgingly acknowledged that—but the woman’s overly friendly nature made Tesiera extremely uncomfortable. It’s a fact that may have encouraged Big Cat to have Milane visit more frequently over the years.

“Be kind to her, Siera,” Big Cat chided softly, amused.

Tesiera rolled her eyes and stood. “Gotta go. I’ll get Jacob Blake tomorrow night.”

“Tesiera,” Big Cat’s face turned serious. “Be careful.” A pause. “Please.”

Tesiera’s brows furrowed, and it was her turn to study him. “From what I can see, you’re the one that has changed. What’s with the concern?” She shook her head and headed toward the door. “I’ll be fine.”

Tesiera headed straight to her bathroom when she got home, dropping her weapons on the couch as she walked through the living room.

She turned the shower on and let it heat up while she undressed. She stepped under the water and took a deep breath, allowing the steam to fill her lungs. She stood under the stream of water for what felt like an eternity, letting the warmth seep into her flesh, soothing her muscles.

Tesiera let her thoughts drift as she lathered her hair and body with her favorite lavender-scented shampoo and soap. It had been three weeks since she last saw Max, and she couldn’t stop thinking about him. Her feelings about their indiscretion evolved over the weeks.

Throughout her adult life, she had encountered men who caught her eye and piqued her interest, yet she had never pursued them for one reason or another. Despite finding them attractive, none had ever managed to occupy her thoughts for long. Max had not only penetrated her thoughts, but he also dominated them for a significant amount of time, leaving her bewildered. Even the men she did fuck had never made it past her bed and into her thoughts.

After the confusion, she started making diversions for herself. She buried herself deep into planning her next mission but it didn’t erase the thoughts of him. The memory of their kiss. She finally accepted that Maximilian Kingston now lived rent-free in her head.

She thought about him constantly; it was appalling and embarrassing. Despite having had no contact with him in the past three weeks, she couldn’t get him out of her mind. She knew that the likelihood of him going through the same torture was slim to none, and she the thought of that pissed her off, no matter how irrational it was to expect him to feel the same way.

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