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Shep

Cameronjoltedbackandtried to pull her leg from my thigh.

I gripped her calf to keep her in place. “Not so fast. Hear me out.” I held her gaze and spoke slowly. “Already told you, I’m not gonna kill you.”

She stared at me unblinking, those glistening green pools frozen with panic. One hand clenched her stomach while her face paled to an ashen gray.

Perhaps I could have been less direct, but she needed to understand the gravity of her situation. Ofoursituation. I didn’t want to sugarcoat it, and I hadn’t lied, but my brutal honesty might have pushed her bad day one step too far.

A small nod was the only sign she understood me. She drew in a shaky breath. “You’re… you’re a hitman?”

“Yes.”

“For the Mob?”

I shrugged. “I take on some of their contracts, but I’m a free agent.”

“Holy hell.” Filthy hands covered her dirt-streaked face, muffling her words. “I’ve been kidnapped by a murderer.”

I’d already run this conversation through my head, so I expected to hear the horror in her tone.

“What if you change your mind and decide to finish the job?”

“I’m sure my word means nothing to you, but you’ve already tried to shoot me and knock me unconscious. If I were going to kill you, don’t you think I’d have done it by now?”

Cameron scoffed. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“Take it however you want, it’s the truth.” I released her calf to fold my arms and braced myself for the interrogation I’d been dreading since I decided to bring her here.

She pulled her ankle from my thigh and tossed the gel pack on the coffee table. “Why kidnap me and drag me to your home?”

“It was the easiest way to get you here. And you need to lie low. This is a good place to do that.”

Judging by the suspicion in her eyes, that answer didn’t cut it.

“You could’ve taken me to a police station.”

“Nope. Franky has a bunch of cops in his back pocket. Also, detectives, judges, you name it. How do you think he gets away with all the shit he does?”

Cameron clasped her hands in her lap as though she had some harsh news to deliver. I might have found that amusing if I didn’t suspect she was about to bust my balls. This probably wasn’t a good time to pluck the twig from her tangled mess of hair.

She held up a finger. “First of all, there’s no way that breaking into my home, attacking me, drugging me, and tying me up in the back of your car was the easiest way to get me here.”

“Perhaps that could have gone smoother. But you did try to shoot me.”

“You deserved that, and I’m not done yet. Second” —she held up another finger— “if you’re telling me the whole truth, and I’m willing to bet my left tit you’re not, then I don’t need to lie low here with you. There are people I trust who I can stay with. Your concern is noted, but I can handle things from here. I want to leave right now.”

I shook my head. “Not changing my mind.”

Her nostrils flared with each heaving breath. “This is bullshit!” She spat the words with enough venom to take down a horse. “You’re not trying to help me. Why the hell are you keeping me prisoner?”

I stood, then paced the room. “Iamtrying to help you. I’m keeping you here for your own good, which apparently you have no regard for at all. When I saylie low, I don’t mean hide out at a friend’s house. I mean you need to stay off the grid. Franky has people with access to bank transactions, security cameras with facial recognition, cell tracking. It would be so easy for them to find you.” I ceased my pacing. “And you’re not a prisoner, dammit. I’m going to let you go once I get some shit sorted out.”

She sat upright. “You will? When?”

“Two weeks, give or take. But I’ll do my best to make your stay as short as possible. Trust me, I’m not enjoying this little get together either.”