Page 16 of Reckless

“You nearly yanked my arm out of its socket to get out of there. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this worked up over a guy ever.”

“Yeah. It’s probably a sign I should ignore his texts and change my number.” We walked arm in arm down the sidewalk.

“Don’t be stupid. Just block him. No need to get dramatic and change your number.”

We laughed together, because she was absolutely right. As soon as I felt like I could breathe again, she went for my jugular. “You’re going to go out with him though, right? I saw how happy he made you. And he was cute as fuck.”

“I don’t know.”

She sighed and shook her head as we entered Janus’s Studio. A place I paid an exorbitant amount of money to have private lessons with the one and only Janus. They were a world-renowned martial artist expert, with a focus on self-defense and attack strategies.

I owed everything I knew to Janus’s teaching. Even my knife throwing. Before we met, I couldn’t have hit a wall let alone an actual target.

“Well, I’ll be damned. Stella fucking Vesper. It’s been long enough,” Janus said, looking over at me from behind the person they’d pinned on the floor. Whoever it was hit the mat three times, signaling they needed to be let up. Janus let go, and jumped up to standing, placing their hands on their hips. “What brings you back here today?”

I shrugged my shoulder. “Needed the practice.”

“What about your friend?” They motioned to Helena.

“She needs some tips from the best. Her soon to be ex-boyfriend was getting a little too rough.”

Janus’s eyebrows shot up as they looked over at my friend in understanding.

Sure, I was exhausted from being up all night working, but if I didn’t keep up on my training, I was worried that my skills would lapse and I’d be taken unawares. With the flash drive in my possession and the Underwood’s still out there hunting for the culprit, I couldn’t be too careful.

“Alright. If you got the cash, I’ll be with you in ten minutes. You know where everything is, so go get ready.”

Part of the reason I was so scant on cash right now was because arming myself with a shit ton of weapons, hiring a private detective, and taking elite training classes wasn’t cheap. I might have made a pretty penny dancing, but what wasn’t taken by the Underwoods went here. Every spare cent I owned was spent in pursuit of finding my sister. Money well spent if you asked me. Especially once I finally had her back safe and sound. Then we’d get out of this city and go somewhere no one could find us. Maybe Italy. Or Greece. Or Scotland. I could be happy in the highlands with the hairy coos and men who wore kilts. Actually, that sounded like the perfect plan.

I showed Helena where to go, while I grabbed an array of knives and took out my frustrations one throw at a time. I might have been sexually frustrated and mad at myself for this sudden inconvenient attraction to Callahan, but I still knew how to kick some ass. And that’s exactly the type of release I fucking needed right now.

Chapter Eight

CALLAHAN

Gemini

Everyone has responsibilities, Gemini. But are yours holding you back? Take a hard look at your priorities and reassess what needs to go.

Sweat slid down my back, pooling at the ridge where my skin met the lip of my pants. The casino was always a touch too hot. All those fucking lights and people milling about rose the temperature. But that’s not the only reason I was sweating. Getting called into the boss’s office always made me nervous. I pulled at the tie that was fastened too tightly around my neck.

“Would you knock it off,” Simon scolded me, hitting my arm with his elbow.

“It’s too fucking hot in here.”

He rolled his eyes and kicked out his legs, crossing them at the ankles. How he could be so relaxed right now was beyond me. My insides felt like they were trying to eat themselves. A part of me knew this was just another one of the Underwood’s tactics—making us wait well past the time we were supposed to meet. It gave us enough time to twist our worries into something they could use for their benefit.

And I’d stupidly forgotten my vow to not get involved with anyone. The moment I saw Stella at that diner, it felt like fate was handing me another chance, begging for me not to fuck it up this time. All the doubts I’d obsessed over before were shoved to the back of my mind like they didn’t exist at all, and before I knew what I was doing I heard myself ask her out. Repeatedly.

Was it too early to text her? I shouldn’t. She was probably asleep after working all night.

A small smile tugged at my lips as I remembered the way that blush coated her body as I’d leaned in so close I could smell her intoxicating scent. I liked that reaction. A whole fucking lot. Would she blush for me like that when I had her pinned to the bed, her legs spread wide and my name caught in her throat like it belonged there.

Wait. Was that why they’d called me in?

They knew I didn’t do my job the other night and were looking to find out why?

It wouldn’t surprise me. They had fucking spies everywhere. You couldn’t step one foot in this town without running into someone that was affiliated with the Underwoods in one form or another. Nearly every business paid out to them, so even if they didn’t make a shit ton at their casino (which they absolutely did), they also made a killing offering ‘protection’ to the local community, which brought in a hefty sum.