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Chapter One

I stop, startled, when I walk into the coffee shop. Honestly, the man seated at the table next to the doorway is the last person I expected to see. He’s busy reading a book and doesn’t appear to notice me as I step up to the counter where I order an iced coffee.

I’ve been craving the wondrous taste of coffee that will hopefully rejuvenate me since I crawled out of bed this morning feeling half dead and eager for more sleep.

“Aiden?” the young man behind the counter calls, and I hurry over to snatch it up before taking the first sip of paradise. With summer upon us, it’s far too hot for anything warm, but of course he’s over there sipping something steaming.

I head for his table and knock his book down. “What a nerd,” I say as I slip into the seat across from him.

His dark brown eyes slowly lift up from the book—that is now closed on the table—to me. His dark eyebrows arch as he gives me a “What the fuck was that?” look. It’s irritatingly handsome on his frustratingly attractive face. His curly black hair is cut short, shorter than the last time I’d seen him.

“I said… what a nerd .”

“Because one of us knows how to read?” he taunts.

I sip my drink and give him a smirk. “I can read.”

“What? Only if there are pictures?”

“I won’t deny that if there are pictures of naked men on the pages, my reading skills tend to rise,” I joke as he leans back and folds his arms over his chest.

He’s wearing a t-shirt which is at least one size too tight, but it nicely displays his muscular frame that I wouldn’t mind checking out without a shirt on.

I reach out and tip his cup toward me, my eyes running over the name sloppily written across it.

Isaiah, huh? Interesting… I wonder if it’s really his name. The few times we’ve met, I haven’t had the luxury of finding out. He seems to enjoy playing hard to get and dodges the question anytime I ask him.

“Hey, Isaiah, did you have to hire someone to paint that shirt on you this morning?” I ask.

“Are you volunteering?”

“I feel like if you flex too hard, your pecs will just shred it.”

Isaiah flexes and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t stare right at it while sipping my drink. Definitely can’t complain about this entertainment.

“I’ve seen better,” I decide, wanting to see what he does when I tease him a bit. “ Much better.”

“Were they on TV?”

“Magazine, actually. I’d cut them out and tape them to my wall and tell my dad that I just loved the way they held those footballs.” This is a ridiculous lie, but he seems to enjoy it anyway.

He snorts and reaches for his book like he’s bored of me. “Aren’t you working?”

“Fuck, you’re right. My boss sent me out to get him something, but the second I saw your face, I forgot all about his. I actually forgot about his existence. See ya, Isaiah ,” I say before giving his cheek a light pat and going back up to order my boss something. Once I have his drink in hand, I notice that Isaiah’s table has been taken over by two teenage girls and feel oddly disappointed I don’t get to smack down his book on the way out too.

Ah well. There’s always later.

I step out into the sweltering sun and hurry across the road toward the black vehicle parked on the other side. Just as I’m reaching for the door, my iced coffee explodes, coating the car and splashing down my leg.

My motherfucking iced coffee?

What kind of monster would shoot my motherfucking iced coffee?

Slowly, I turn to look in the direction the bullet came from a moment before hairs stand up on the back of my neck… there’s a second shooter.

Quickly, I slide around the side of the car as I hear a bullet ping off the bulletproof exterior of the vehicle. As I draw the gun out of the holster at my side, my boss’s car starts moving, telling me that it’s suddenly now my duty to stay behind and deal with both of the shooters without help. Losing my cover, I roll behind a blue mail collection box that the bullet hits with a rather loud ping.

The weapons of both shooters are suppressed, and the area isn’t too populated, but it’s definitely not the ideal location to be passing bullets back and forth.

I have to focus, knowing I need to keep either of them from getting in a vehicle and pursuing my boss’s car. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a car coming that’s going to be forced to stop at the red light that I’m crouched near.

Using it as cover could put the driver at risk, but these aren’t amateurs. They’re not going to mistakenly shoot a pedestrian, which would leave them open to me. If my calculations are right, the one in the alley is using a handgun, unlike the first shot that came from a high-powered rifle.

The car stops and I slip out from behind the box and around the back end of the car before bolting down the rest of the stretch. The gunman sees me, and instead of risking death, he pulls back.

He’s not rash… which could be concerning. He could be baiting me into the alley, forcing me to follow him, and have a trap waiting for me at the end.

My phone vibrates, likely a text from my boss with something stupid like “Don’t die” as I keep myself tucked close to the wall, waiting for him to peek his head out. I can’t let my attention drift away from watching the two points where he could appear from, so I ignore the phone and keep moving. I reach the first alley opening and do a quick check a moment before I see a hint of movement at the next. He was waiting for me to look away, but I’m faster.

I pull the trigger of my gun and hear a “Fuck” before he draws back. When I reach the corner of the building wall, I see a splatter of blood, telling me I hit him. He’s likely pulling back in the hope of getting some better ground, but he could be right around the corner waiting for me to stick my head out first.

I could go around the block to flush him out, but by that point, I would likely have lost him.

Stepping forward, I hear movement behind me right before an arm wraps around my neck, snapping me back. The arm tightens as his lips press close to my ear.

“Are you actually this sloppy?” he asks, but I recognize the deep husky voice in my ear.

“You act like I don’t always know where you’re at, Isaiah ,” I say as I jerk him forward, flinging him over my shoulder and easing him to the ground so he doesn’t hit too hard. I aim my gun at him as I lightly step down on his throat with my foot. “You owe me an iced coffee.”

“I could have killed you; you should feel thankful.”

“You act like I didn’t see you over by the bank the second I stepped out. How cute was it that you sent me a warning shot… like I might not notice the asshole tailing me. Such a sweetie.”

Isaiah scowls at me as I reach down and pull his rifle off his back. Then I drag him to his feet and point up at the fire escape ladder. “Give me a lift.”

“Why would I give you a lift when I’ve been hired to deal with you?” he asks.

“So you can watch my ass as I climb before you take the final shot.”

He scoffs but gets up and interlocks his hands before holding them out to me. “Your Majesty, mount on up.”

“Oh, thank you, kind sir,” I say as I step onto his hand, and he hoists me up so I can catch the bottom rung of the ladder. I pull myself up and glance down at him.

“You know he doesn’t care what happens to you. Why risk your life for him?” he asks.

“What time do you get off work?”

Isaiah sighs, apparently resigning to the fact that I’m not going to listen to him. “Eleven.”

“How funny. Me too,” I say. “Now watch my ass before you go back to trying to shoot it.” I wink down at him before scurrying up the ladder and across the fire escape’s balcony. With my new vantage point, I find the gunman waiting for me, oblivious to my new location. He has five buddies with him, in a trap laid out for me.

How cute.

I check that the rifle is loaded before steadying it on the rusty metal railing and pulling the trigger.

Another one down.