Page 1 of The Stolen Dagger

S neaking around outside some abandoned warehouses in the dark was not at the top of my list of ways I wanted to spend my evening.

Maybe in the top fifty, but certainly not the top ten.

I tucked the end-sleeves of my hoodie into my hands and wrapped my arms tighter around myself. My sneakers, which were no longer white, squelched and slipped in the mud as I approached the red-brick building directly ahead.

Pulled back into a ponytail, my long, dark brown hair flicked around my round face in the cool night breeze. My only guiding lights in the darkness were my phone’s flashlight and the full moon above.

No, this was not how I had imagined spending my evening.

But after my lying, soon-to-be ex -boyfriend canceled on our one-year anniversary at the last minute for a “business-related issue,” the only logical thing to do was follow him and catch him in the act.

Catch him in the act of what? I didn’t have a clue, but I sure as hell was going to find out .

Why else would he drive to a remote location thirty minutes outside of Las Vegas if he wasn’t doing some sketchy shit?

“Motherfucking, lying bastard,” I grumbled under my breath, cursing Adrian, who had walked down the dark alleyway between the two warehouses moments ago.

Before following him, I glanced down at my phone to check the time, 9:42PM, when a new text came through on the screen.

Adrian:

Be ready in the morning. I have a special surprise for you.

Sweet dreams, mi princesa.

I rolled my eyes and resisted the urge to gag at the term of endearment, if you could call it that.

I was done being the polite, compliant girlfriend he was used to. I was done watching my words and actions around him in fear he wouldn’t approve or that it would trigger his temper.

I had considered myself lucky he hadn’t been physical with me, but I could tell from the last few arguments we’d had that he’d come close. And that was something I did not stand for.

My mother didn’t raise me to be someone else’s punching bag, and my dead-beat, good-for-nothing father hadn’t stayed in my life long enough to warrant a say in anything about me.

But my mom … She was the strongest person I knew and raised me to be the same, which was a fact I had forgotten in the last few years since she died.

I bet she looked down on me now, screaming for me to stand up for myself. I tilted my head up toward the night sky and focused on the full moon.

My mother had a strange affinity for the moon and used to talk about how much peace it brought her, even during the darkest points of her life just before she passed.

Now, anytime a full moon came around, I thought of her. I liked to think it was her way of letting me know she was always there. No matter how dark things got or how lost I felt, there would always be just enough light to show me the way.

In the last four years she’d been gone, I’d lost sight of her light. I’d become a shadow, floating through life and not really living. It took dealing with Adrian’s change in behavior and rising temper over the last few months to make me realize how lost I had really been without her.

But I guessed that was the thing about grief: You never really climbed out of that hole until you were ready to face the reality of living without someone.

Well, consider this me climbing out of that hole because I refused to be Adrian’s passive, good-mannered princesa any longer.

So, instead of spending the night reading a smutty romance novel and stuffing my face with cream cheese rangoons, I was here, following Adrian down a dark alleyway between two abandoned warehouses to get the truth.

I stayed as close as possible to the warehouse wall on my right to remain hidden, trailing my hand against the rough brick.

As I got closer to the end of the alley, I heard two distinct voices arguing in the distance.

I recognized Adrian’s harsh voice immediately, but the other was not a familiar one.

Hidden in the shadows of the alleyway, I peeked around the corner of the wall with a perfect view of the back property.

Rusted shipping barrels surrounded Adrian and another man, who stood next to a dark blue convertible about twenty feet away from where I was.

Adrian was dressed in the same black suit as this morning. The pale moonlight shone off his black cropped hair and tan skin. There was a beat of silence as he ground his squared jaw and glared at the man across from him.

The man, a few inches shorter than Adrian, was bald and wore a gray suit, carrying a brown briefcase in his right hand. Something thin and shiny glinted in his other hand, but from this distance, I couldn’t tell what it was.

“That wasn’t what we discussed, Henry,” Adrian snarled, pointing one finger at Henry as he tucked his other hand in the pocket of his black slacks. “Don’t make me take what I want. You and I both know it won’t be pretty.”

The anger in Adrian’s voice surprised me. This was not the man I knew when we first met. Something had changed over the last few months. He had become more secretive and was on edge—paranoid, almost.

I didn’t want to believe he was involved in something sinister, but now, watching him with this man, I wasn’t so sure. I needed the truth.

Henry raised the item in his hand. “This was a lot more difficult to steal than you let on. You’ve heard my offer. I’m not backing down. You either agree, or I’ll take my business elsewhere. You aren’t the only one willing to deal.”

Adrian chuckled, and a shiver worked its way up my spine at the lack of humor in it. “Look at you making demands. Do I need to remind you of what will happen if you back out on me?”

Henry raised his goatee-covered chin. “I’m not backing out. I’m renegotiating. Turns out the others are just as interested as you are. They’re willing to offer me more money, and I want what’s due to me. I deserve it!”

“You deserve nothing, you rat!” Adrian spat. He reached for something behind him.

When he pulled out a handgun and aimed it at Henry, I gasped.

Oh, my God!

I slapped a hand over my mouth, my heart pounding. A chill ran through me, but it had nothing to do with the cool breeze.

Then Adrian cocked the gun.

“No, no, wait, think about this for a second,” Henry pleaded, raising his hands out in front of him. “Don’t do anything rash. You know what would happen if you killed me? They’ll come for it. They’ll come for her.”

“I’d like to see them try.” Adrian chuckled. “I’ve already secured my future.”

“Please,” Henry begged. “Do you really think an engagement will stop the Reaper from getting her back?”

Adrian tilted his head as if in thought, then shrugged. “I’ll take my chances.”

Three shots rang out.

Henry’s body crumpled face first into the dirt at Adrian’s feet.

This time, I couldn’t contain the gasp that stole all the breath from my lungs. My vision blurred, and silent tears cascaded down my cheeks.

H—he’s dead. Adrian killed him.

My body shook with fear, and my hand tightened around my phone. I should have called 911 right then, but I couldn’t tear my eyes from Henry’s still, lifeless body.

My gaze flickered to Adrian, who lowered his weapon and approached Henry, picking up the item that Henry still had clutched in his hand .

With Adrian’s back to me, I released the breath I’d been holding and slowly backed away.

I have to get out of here. He can’t know I followed him.

With each backward step I took, my mind spun. I couldn’t help but think I was next. I shuffled back more quickly with each panicked thought.

What if he saw me? What would he do? Would he shoot me, too? Would he?—

A loud clang reverberated through the alleyway, and I quickly glanced down at the tin paint can as it rolled across the ground.

No. No, no, no. Shit!

I looked back over my shoulder to find Adrian’s dark eyes narrowed on me.

“Emilia?” Adrian’s deep voice shook with confusion and anger.

His tone alone caused goosebumps to rise all over my body. I wanted to run, but I completely froze as more tears trailed down my cheeks.

A sinister grin spread across his handsome face as he took his first step toward me, the gun still firmly in his grasp.

“You weren’t supposed to see that, mi princesa .”