Hard to Get (Killer of Kings Book 4)(29)

She pointed at the man on the floor. “He was going to kill me.”

“Yes. I don’t think he anticipated the knife, do you?” He laughed. “The name’s Boss, by the way.” He held his hand out for her, and she merely stared at it.

“Are you high?” Her hand was covered in blood, and she’d killed a man. All of the evidence was in her bakery, and she had nothing to tell the cops, and her life had just gone to shit. Everything was collapsing on her.

Suddenly Boss caught her arms, holding her up. “Don’t freak out on me.”

“I’m really kind of losing it right now. I don’t need to be dealing with this.”

“Take a deep breath.”

“Get your hands off her,” Shadow said, appearing behind Boss. “How the hell did you get here before me?”

Two other big men entered the bakery soon after Shadow. She still held the knife in her hand and she stared at Shadow, needing him more than anything, but Boss didn’t let her go.

“Apparently, she had it all under control.” Boss finally released her, and she began to shake. Boss leaned down, and checked the tattoo. He whistled. “Another body double. Shit, there’ll be a lot of these fuckers out of work now.”

“What the fuck is the meaning of this?” A guy with an accent spoke up, and she frowned. “That was supposed to be my mark.”

“You didn’t get the hit, El Diablo, Shadow did. I never doubted him.” Boss grabbed the knife from her hand, closing it up, and pocketing it. That was the knife that had gotten her through many scrapes and there was no way in hell that anyone was going to take that away from her.

“Give me back my knife.” Whatever shock or trance she’d been in faded at him stealing her knife.

Boss ignored her and faced the other men. He began to talk, but she wasn’t listening to him. Her mind buzzed, and she felt faint, but she was still determined to get what belonged to her.

“Give me back my damn knife.” Her temper began to increase, and she really, really needed her knife back. Her sanity slowly slipped away. When he didn’t give it to her, she took matters into her own hands, and shoved her hand in his pocket.

Boss caught her hand, holding her wrist, and applying a great deal of pressure. Before she realized what was happening, guns were pointed at all of them.

“I just want my knife back,” she whispered, her fire dwindling.

“It’s covered with blood,” Boss said. “You were clearly having a hard time dealing with it.”

“It’s not the first time it’s been covered with blood.” She stared at Boss. “Give it back. Please.”

He sighed, pulling the blade out of his pocket, placing it in her hands. She wrapped her fingers around it, ignoring the men as she went to her sink. All of the food she had was going to have to be tossed out. Everything. She couldn’t afford this kind of loss, not right now.

“Are you okay?” Shadow asked, coming toward her.

She glanced up at him, seeing the concern on his face.

“I’m fine.” Right now, she didn’t want to talk.

“We’ll take care of everything. A cleaning crew will be here and you won’t have to see any of it.”

Riley snorted. “I’ll be seeing this stuff in my nightmares tonight.” She cleaned the blade and winced as she cut herself. Her hands were shaking, and no matter what she did, she couldn’t get them to stop. Gritting her teeth, she dropped the blade into the sink, and Shadow took over. He grabbed her wrists, and tutted. He pulled her into the small bathroom, closing the door, hiding them away.

He cupped her face, tilting her head back. “I had no idea that asshole was coming here.”

“You were going to hit him, right?”

“I was going to do more than hit him, I was going to fucking kill him.”

“I saved you a job.”

“Yeah, and Boss is thinking of paying you.”

She tilted her head to the side. “What kind of money are we talking about here?”

“The kind of money that will stop you worrying for a while. You’d be able to invest in a new kitchen with all the latest gadgets.”

Riley smiled. “That would be nice. To not have to worry about money. Does Boss have a job opening?”

Shadow shook his head. “No, this life is not for you, and I won’t let you try this shit either. It’s dangerous, scary, and you don’t need to deal. You’re a baker. Not a killer.”

“I’m starting to think I should pick another profession.” She stared down at her hands, which were soaked with blood. Hers and that of the man that was going to kill her. Biting her lip, she felt tears spring to her eyes, and she moaned. “I killed someone today.”

“I know, baby.”

“He had a gun pressed against my head, and I realized I didn’t want to die.”

“You did the right thing. That man didn’t deserve to live, and he sure as hell didn’t deserve to take you from me.” He pressed a kiss against her lip. “You didn’t do a bad thing.”

“I killed a man. In no way is that normal. That is crazy and insane, and that makes me a monster.”

She began to hyperventilate.

This was all just too much. Between discovering that Shadow was a hitman, and that a murderer had tried to kill her, she couldn’t think.