Run To Me (Lazarus Rising #4)(58)

This was definitely a conversation they were taking inside. Jay made sure Willow went in first, then he shut the door behind him.

West led the way to the den, and, once there, Reva paced behind the couch. “I thought he was kidding at first. I mean, he had to be kidding, right? And I think I even laughed.”

Willow stood near Jay, her body alert, her gaze on Reva.

“Tell me who he is,” Jay ordered grimly.

“I don’t know who he is! He looked like money, walked like power, and had an air that said he was dangerous. Like, scary dangerous.” She hurried to the bar. Poured herself some vodka and downed it in a blink. “Normally, I like that. Serious turn-on, but this time…” She shivered. Took another vodka shot. “Something was off about him. Way off.”

Jay glanced at West. His brother inclined his head.

“Where did you meet the guy?” West asked.

“At Wander, the bar just a few streets over from Push. I’d gone in because I wasn’t ready for the night to end. Not like anyone was waiting at home for me.” Her hand tightened around the glass. “He walked right up to me. I thought I was going to have a good time. But he wanted something else. Something totally different.” She spun to face Jay. “He wanted to destroy you.”

West coughed into his hand. “Not the first time a business rival has wanted—”

“No.” Reva’s voice was sharp. “This isn’t about business. This was personal. You think I can’t tell the difference? He said he wanted to destroy Jay, and he meant those words. Not some business rivalry.” Her eyes gleamed at Jay. “I think he wanted you dead.”

Willow advanced on the other woman. “Describe the man.”

“Jay’s height. Muscular. Built. And he had money. I can always tell.” Her cheeks puffed out and then she blew out a hard breath. “His eyes were intense. Like they were looking right through me. And I swear, it was like he really could see straight into me.”

“Hair color, Reva.” Impatience bit through West’s words. “Eye color. Ethnicity. Physical characteristics, woman. Come on.”

“Oh, um, dark hair, I think. Dark eyes. He had a…a scar on his chin. He’s going to be back at Wander tonight. Two a.m. He thinks we’re going to meet. That I’m going to bring you to him.” She swallowed. “He offered me fifty grand to serve you up to him. And the guy actually believed I would do it.”

Jay considered the matter for a moment.

“No.” West shook his head. “Jay, absolutely not.”

Absolutely the hell, yes. Because he knew who the stranger had to be. “You’re about to make his fifty, Reva, and I’ll give you fifty more.”

The glass cracked in Reva’s hand.

“Because you’re taking me to the see this bastard. And I’ll be the one to destroy him.”





Chapter Fifteen


“I don’t trust her.” Willow wrapped her arms around her stomach as she stared out into the night. They were in Jay’s room. The broken window had already been repaired, as if she’d never left him.

I was just trying to keep him safe. Only leaving hadn’t worked so well. And now, she felt even closer to him than before. Willow swore that she could still feel Jay inside of her.

And Jay’s ex-lover was right down the hallway.

He strode out of the bathroom, and she turned toward him, instantly aware of him with an intensity that was unnerving. He’d wrapped a towel around his hips. The guy’s muscles flexed and shifted as he moved, and she tried not to let her gaze linger. She failed.

“Was she lying about her story?” Jay asked.

She wasn’t as good at Sawyer and Flynn when it came to reading a person’s lies. A point that was becoming glaringly obvious to her. “Her heart was racing the whole time. She was sweating. And nervous.”

His head cocked. His hair was wet. Gleaming. She should have joined him in the shower. Should have picked up right where they’d left off in the car. Instead…

She’d hesitated. She’d become too nervous.

It’s because I didn’t expect to find his ex waiting for him. All cozy in his house.

“She didn’t have to tell us about him.” Jay rubbed his jaw. He was freshly shaven. He looked handsome. Powerful. Sexy. “Like I said before, Reva isn’t who you expect her to be.”

“She still wants you.”

He laughed at that even as he strode closer. “Right. She wants me alive because I am no good dead to her.”

But the man out there—he wanted Jay dead. “You think he’s my ex.”

Jay’s hand came up and curled under her chin. “I think he’s a problem that needs to be eliminated.”

“I’m coming with you.”

His jaw locked.

“I’m coming with you,” Willow said again. Her words hadn’t been a question. “This is my life. And in case you’ve forgotten, I’m the one with the super strength.”

“And I’m the one with his own damn army of security guards. I can handle this. You don’t need to be put at risk.”

“I’m not exactly the standing-on-the-sidelines type, in case you missed that about me.”

He leaned toward her. His lips skimmed over hers. “I haven’t missed a single thing about you.” The kiss was too short. Too fleeting.