Page 53 of Trigger Happy Ending

“Maybe.” Cherry laughs through her nose before her face morphs into a seriousness she normally reserves for patrons who don’t tip her enough. “I wish you’d tell me the real reason you won’t leave.”

I bend over and remove two bottles of vodka. Cocking my hip to the side, I sigh and reply deadpan. “I have to stay because I’m an assassin leading a double life, on a top-secret mission to find and secure a DNA-rewriting serum.”

Cherry’s jaw drops, and she stares at me in shock. I keep my expression neutral, before she laughs loud enough to draw a glance from a group of guys in the nearest booth. “Okay, Bond Girl, now it all makes sense.”

I shrug and turn back to stocking the bar. The truth sounds so absurd, it’s not my fault she thinks it’s a joke.

“So, tell me this, my little heavenly creature,” she says, swinging her legs. “Is the reason y’all won’t leave because there’s a reason to stay?”

I toss her a look that I normally save for the men who ask if I’m single. Somewhere between wouldn’t you like to know and mind your business.

“Maybe.”

“Maybe? That’s all I get?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Ohhh, I have a PhD in complicated!” Cherry’s eyes light up like a goddamn Christmas tree. “Bad boy? Dangerous? Morally questionable? Tall, brooding, emotionally unavailable?”

The picture she paints is so dead-on, my mind immediately flashes to Soren’s body, pinning mine against the counter, my nail hooked onto his waistband. I try not to smile at the memory, but I can’t help it. Then I remember I was a mad bitch from hell last night, tossed the fact he got his squad killed in his face, and proceeded to outline his body with my blades.

The smile drops from my face. “You’ve been reading too many dark romance books.”

She narrows her eyes. “But I’m right, huh?”

“No. I-I don’t know,” I admit. “It’s … He’s nothing.”

Cherry waves her hand in the air. “Well, if mystery man is indeed nothing, why stay and torture yourself when we can be whoever we want to be!”

Not true. I can never be whoever I want to be.

***

The gods were on my side tonight, with the VIP bar quieter than usual. Cherry and I are wiping down the bar, about to knock off, when the elevator dings. Carson steps out and strides towards us.

“Girls,” he drawls. “How are we tonight?”

“Peachy, boss,” Cherry answers.

“Looks it,” Carson remarks as he nods to the wad of cash sprouting from Cherry’s low-cut pink top. Cherry bats her eyelashes. God, she really can turn it on. She would make for a great Agency asset.

“I’ve got a special request for you both.”

I rest my palms on the bar and tilt my head. “Yes, sir?”

“This Saturday, I’m hosting three guests in UVIP. I want you both with us, not as waitresses but as company. I want these gentlemen to feel very, very relaxed.”

Reading between the lines has me assuming we’re there to “entertain.” In what capacity, I can only imagine. I haven’t had to get naked in front of anyone yet, nor do I want to. Unless it’s for … Never mind.

Carson’s attention flicks to Cherry. “My friend on the hill is coming. He adores you.”

Cherry smiles. “As I do him.”

She’s lying; she hates him.

Carson walks away, his personal security detail following him back into the elevator. God forbid he pick up a rag and help us close. Lazy asshole.

“Oh god,” Cherry groans. “I cannot stand that guy.”