Page 71 of Killer Confections

I scoff. “My dad was arealkiller. He died a few years back. My mom is still around, but she’s retired and not on speaking terms with me or my siblings right now. She probably won’t be until we give her grandkids.”

Blair’s nose scrunches. “Just promise me that when you knock my boss up, you won’t take her away from here. I really like her…”

I nod. “I wouldn’t dream of it. She likes you too, you know? She talks about you sometimes.”

The teen perks up. “Really?”

I nod before straightening my back and stretching out as exhaustion weighs my shoulders down. “Oh, yeah. She’s really proud of you. She said you can run the store on your own and you’re driven. Miranda may have the better people skills, butyou have something that a lot of people lack nowadays. You have heart.”

She rolls her eyes. “Don’t go getting all soft on me now, pervert—”

“Don’t like that nickname.”

“—you have all of these hardcore tattoos and this punk, bad boy look going on. You have a reputation to uphold.”

I dust the invisible lint off my shirt before giving her a smug smile. “You’re right. Do me a favor?”

She cocks her head, waiting.

“If you see any suspicious characters around here, you let me know, okay?” She stares at me for a long time before I deadpan. “Otherthan me.”

She nods in understanding, shooting me a finger gun. “Right! That’s what you meant.”

I shake my head before placing an order and creeping off to my usual corner where Loxley never seems to look if she passes into the front lobby. I spend my afternoon waiting and once the bakery is ready to close, I walk out to my bike and enjoy the high burning through me at starting a new game tonight.

Hope my girl likes to be chased.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Loxley

The closer closing time gets, the more anticipation rushes through my veins. My body is expecting Atlas now and I feel like Pavlova’s dog. Did he condition me to enjoy closing time because he finds some new and stimulating way to bring me to tears from overstimulation and pleasure? Yes. Absolutely.

And I’m ready for my fix tonight as I slam the dishwasher closed and wipe down the tables. Janette and Scarlet share a look as they stack the clean trays atop the baker’s racks.

“Hot date?” Janette asks.

I shake my head. “I’ll worry about closing. You guys get going.”

Both women turn to each other before they fan themselves and wiggle their eyebrows at me.

Scarlet smirks as she winks. “Just clean up after you’re finished, boss.”

I roll my eyes as I shoo them out the door. I finish my cleaning duties and wait for the last batch of dishes to finish. Once everything is done, I cut the lights and lock up.

The door’s bell chimes behind me as I walk out onto the street lamp lit sidewalk. As usual, the nighttime is always quiet and the streets are empty. The darkness isn’t unsettling, but my whole body is a live wire.

He’s here somewhere.

My phone pings and I fish it out of my back pocket beforethumbing the screen.

My Stalker

My brows draw at the message before the loud rumbling of a motorcycle engine startles me and impossibly bright headlights start barreling towards me. I nearly drop my phone (again) before I take off in a dead sprint in the opposite direction. I pump my arms, forgetting about my purse smacking against my side as I head straight for my apartment.

The engine revs behind me, sounding like a gunshot in the dark as my lungs burn. I should be terrified. I should scream for help.

Instead, a face-splitting smile stretches to my ears as I force myself to move faster. My arms and legs pump in tandem as I let out a delirious, breathy laugh. I can hear Atlas gaining on me, but he hangs back, not ending the game as soon as it’s begun.