Page 16 of While He Breathes

“You’re putting a lot of stock in how much he cares about my feelings.”

“Oh, honey.” Max shakes his head. “That man would burn the whole fucking world down if you asked him to. Not killing me is insignificant to the lengths he would go to in order to get you back.”

I roll my eyes, but there’s a part of me that knows he’s right.

Just like he was right about me not being ready to face him. I just didn’t want to admit it at the time.

After tonight, I’ll disappear back to Vegas and spend some more time on my revenge plan, and when I’m certain I’m strong enough, I’ll end the Hunter once and for all.

CHAPTER NINE

ORION

Tension bleeds into every inch of my body as I watch him steer her away from me.

Max Kelly.

I know of him.

A property developer, I think. But he has ties to organized crime in Las Vegas.

I’ll have to get in touch with Gabriel Wolff to see if I can kill him without any repercussions for his business.

I sigh. Not that I will.

I’ve never taken anyone else’s opinions into consideration when it comes to this kind of thing. I kill who I want to kill, when I want to kill them, for whatever misstep they’ve taken. The closest I’ve ever come to being talked off the ledge, so to speak, is Killian, and that’s only because he’s just as deep in our business as I am.

But one flash of those sapphire eyes, and I’m ready to do anything she tells me to.

Fuck.

“That looked like it went well,” Killian says from beside me as he does nothing to hide the amusement in his voice. Theevidence of the champagne Ember threw in his face is almost dry, just a small section of his collar still damp.

“It could have gone worse,” I grumble.

“It could have gone better too.”

“Shut up.”

“I told you not to engage.”

“You also told me not to get involved with her in the first place.”

“I did.” He nods. “And I was wrong about that. She’s good for you. Evens you out. Puts you in your place when your ego gets out of control.”

I shoot him a glare. “My ego never gets out of control.”

He tilts his head with a raised brow. “Sure, it doesn’t.”

I run a hand over my mask and press my eyes closed. It’s rare that I feel out of place as the Hunter. The persona has been with me for so many years. It’s the only way I was able to build myself up from the broken street kid I was when I took that first job. But right now, I ache to tug the mask off.

Living a double life was never a problem before. But with Ember in the picture, it is. It’s a huge fucking problem.

“I want all the information you can get on that asshole,” I growl.

“Hurting him will hurt her, Orion.”

“I know that,” I snap.