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The woman turns around and my eyes flick to her and back to Joel, not taking her in.

“Let me introduce you to Kitty. She just moved here.” He grins and looks down at her.

The sound of her name has me looking down again and the breath leaves my body with an audible whoosh.

What the hell is she doing here? And what the hell is she doing standing next to Joel?

I open my mouth, about to ask just what the hell is going on when my eyes connect with hers. Her light brown eyes swirl with emotion and the slight shake of her head tells me to keep my mouth shut.

I swallow against the dryness of my throat and turn my attention back to Joel, trying not to give anything away.

“Like I just said, I need a word.”

“Catch you later, Kitty Kat,” he murmurs, touching her shoulder.

My hands clench into fists and my muscles lock, ready to attack. He fucking touched her, not only that, but he called her Kitty Kat, I’m the only one who gets to do that, motherfucker.

“The name’s Kitty, Joel. I’ve already told you.” She looks at me out of the corner of her eye. “I don’t like being called Kitty Kat.”

My hands release and I smirk. I sure as hell know that she doesn’t like to be called Kitty Kat, but it’s my nickname for her and this fucker just used it.

I stare at Charlie and Joel as they make their way away from the growing crowd. As soon as I came back from the grocery store the place was surrounded with cops. I knew then that it was a possibility that Charlie would turn up, but I was also sure that Boss would have briefed him. From the look on his face when he saw me, though, and the anger swirling in his eyes, I’d say he hadn’t got a clue why I was here.

He could have blown my whole cover with just a few simple words, but he didn’t because he’s smarter than that.

I had to mentally scold myself and tear my eyes away from him after shaking my head because I can get lost in his eyes for hours. The way he looks at me and the light swirls that shine in his eyes captivate me like nothing else ever has. I can remember the first time I saw those eyes, the first time we met.

Moving to America was always a dream I never thought would come true, I used to sit and dream about it as a child, reading books and imagining where I would visit.

So when I finally got up the courage to get away from my controlling father and to leave Canada, America was my first choice. I’d been stateside for nearly a year then.

Back home I always had to wear the clothes that my father approved of and act a certain way and follow strict rules. One of which was to not have any involvement with anyone who could be deemed as “bad for his image.” Which was almost everyone that I knew.

The life of a politician’s daughter was privileged, but when you’re secluded from everyone and everything, not being able to have any friends apart from my bodyguard, and only used for appearances to make my father look better, it was a nightmare.

The only person who supported me, who gave me the courage to do what I wanted with my life was my bodyguard, Dean. He was a lifesaver back then, looking after me just like a big brother would.

It all happened so quickly. One minute I had plans, big plans to follow my dreams and do what makes me happy, to get out of that house. Until the day that my father said those four little words, “you’re done, you’re fired,” and then he was no longer there.

As soon as I was eighteen I pulled up my big girl panties and packed a bag and left for America. It wasn’t a fun time. In fact, it was hard, really fucking hard.

After six months of wandering around aimlessly, I made a friend. A bad friend. One that got me into the kind of trouble that I was always kept away from.

Living in a one bedroom apartment with three other people, all of which were hooked on drugs, wasn’t easy. It was a bad time in my life and although I dabbled in it, it never went past that.

Several times I dialed Dean’s number into a burner phone that I’d bought, wanting him to come and rescue me just like he had when I was younger, just like he told me he would. His last words constantly ringing in my head.

“You need me, you call, for anything, Kitty. I’ll always be there for you.”

But each and every time I would dial his number, I’d flip the phone closed and tell myself that I can go it alone, that I’m more than capable to look after myself, no matter how bad the situation.

That time in my life taught me valuable lessons, among which was how to protect myself.

I met Evan at a self-defense class and from there things progressed. He told me that I was good at picking up the skills and soon I was taking classes in karate, kickboxing, and mixed martial arts. He told me after a couple of months that he could get me a job where he worked. I was skeptical at first, I mean, who offers a job to someone they barely even know?

But the final straw was when I came back to that one bedroom apartment and watched all three of them take hits, one of them having to go between her toes because she couldn’t find a vein anywhere else. And then my boyfriend tried to hold me down to stick the needle in my arm. That was the day.

The day that everything changed.