Page 4 of Built for Mercy

In a split-second decision, I turned a corner and ducked into the alcove of a closed store’s entry, waiting for him to catch up with me. After nearly a minute of me holding my breath, he passed by my hiding spot and glanced around. I stepped out of the shadows behind him, stepping lightly on the balls of my feet to stay quiet.

“Let me talk to your boss,” I snarled.

He whirled on me with his hands raised, probably expecting me to be pointing my gun at him. I thought about it but decided to try this civilly first. It was rather kind of me, considering I’d had a few drinks, and dark fury was building in my bones.

“Sorry, ma’am, I’m under strict orders,” Scar’s gravelly voice sounded like a rake over coals.

I narrowed my eyes on him. “Don’t care. You and those other guys have been following me for weeks. I want to know why your pervy boss is having me followed.”

He chuckled. “He’s not exactly the kind of man you ask those questions.”

“Like I said, I. Don’t. Care. Let me talk to him. He told me if I returned to Queens that it could only be to see him, so I’d like to arrange a time to meet him,” I bluffed, knowing damn well I didnotwant to see him.

Those must have been the magic words, though, because Scar’s eyebrows rose as he slowly reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his phone. A few taps later and he was dialing someone.

“Boss. Detective Reyes would like to speak with you,” was all he said before he thrust his phone out to me. I scowled when the name readBoss’s Bossinstead of an actual name I could use to ream this guy’s ass.

I snatched the phone from him before I could talk myself out of it and barked, “Stop having me followed, you creep.” Scar’s eyes widened as he lunged to take the phone back, but I stumbled away from him as a dark chuckle filtered through the receiver.

“You’ve got some nerve, Sophie. To what do I the pleasure of this phone call?” The menace in his tone had my stomach bottoming out from nerves that I was going to piss this man off.

“I’m calling to tell you to leave me alone. I’m not a fan of having my privacy invaded.”

“Do you see the irony, Detective? You came into my territory first. I’m simply repaying the favor.”

If he were here, I would be glaring daggers at his stupidly good-looking face. I said through gritted teeth, “It was a misunderstanding. You laid your ground rules and I’ve respected them. Nowback off.”

“Ah, see, that’s where you’re wrong,” he said, his words clipped. “You approached one of my men and told him the one thing that would make him call me. Are you wanting to meet on neutral ground, Detective?”

I stilled, my eyes flicking to Scar as he glowered at me. “How was I supposed to know that?”

“You weren’t, but you were just being a brat to get your way. Tell me, does it usually work for you?”

My cheeks heated, and my words lodged themselves in my throat.

“I’m waiting.”

“Yes,” I muttered, the words like sandpaper on my tongue as I forced myself to tell him what he wanted to hear.

He hummed. “Next time you want my attention, all you have to do is ask.”

My face warmed further, lighting me on fire from the suggestive promise.Stop thinking about that.

“I have to go,” I murmured before thrusting the phone back at Scar and half running down the street, not caring that he was most likely following me. My heartbeat was in my ears, and it was all I could hear.

What if it hadn’t been Scar, or one of his other guys, following me? What if I’d just jumped out at some random creep who was tailing me? Would I have shot them? Probably… it wouldn’t be the first time.

The cool night air helped calm the raging storm inside me. How badly had I just fucked up?

4

Maverick

She hung up on me.

It should’ve infuriated me, but I was amused more than anything. Her life had been threatened once already, and the fact that that didn’t scare her off was intriguing.

I opened the sliding glass door and returned to my friends, jaw tight as I nursed my drink, my shoulders rolling back to fight the tension in my muscles.