Page 79 of Lethal Attraction

Brooks.

My expression loses all warmth as the corner of my mouth twitches, threatening to lengthen into a sneer.

Burton motions to the man. “Now, I know you and Brooks got off on the wrong foot before, but tonight is about rekindling and building something bigger than all of us, right?”

Brooks tucks his hands behind his back before quirking a thick brow at me. “Dr. Bellamy.”

Southern prick.

“Brooks,” I force out.

Burton claps. “Now that’s the spirit!”

Taryn catches my attention as she side-eyes my sworn enemy. “He’s Thalia’s ex, right?”

“Yup.”

She pats a hand on my bicep. “If you get the chance, rock his shit.”

“Already working on it.”

Emma grabs her wife’s hand, motioning with her head to the food table across the room. “Come on, baby. Let’s leave them to talk.”

Taryn moans about wanting to stay to hear, but her spouse isn’t having it. Once they’re out of earshot, Brooks extends a calloused hand out to me.

“A truce?” He asks, those cold eyes narrowing on me.

I glance at Burton to see that he’s distracted while talking to a group of people and slap my hand over Brooks’ before yanking him close in a threat.

“There is no truce between us,” I whisper. “The first chance I get, I’m laying you out on this fucking floor.”

His jaw grinds before he rips his hand out of mine. “Very well. You’ve made yourself an enemy.”

We’re caught in a staring match with neither of us wanting to back down. It’s sheer will and determination between us, but I refuse to back down.

“Sending your men after us back at the bar was cute,” I goad. “Couldn’t make it yourself?”

His tongue runs under his upper lip as he sucks. “I figured it wouldn’t take much to kill a killer, but I’ve been wrong before. You see, I was far too busy to go myself. If you know what I mean…”

I scowl at him. “Busy doing what?”

He smirks as he makes a secretive gesture with his finger. “Now, if I told you that, it would ruin the surprise.”

I let out a small laugh, shaking my head. “You must feel threatened by me then. That’s the only logical reason you would keep such a big secret.”

His demeanor morphs quickly—he loses all traces of confidence in a second as anger leeches into his gaze. I think I’ve finally broken him until his eyes flicker to something behind me.

Without thinking, I turn my head to see what he was looking at. Ascending the stairs are three people. In the center, a curvy blonde woman dressed in Seafoam green is flanked by two large men in suits. She talks quietly to the blonde on her right arm, who’s smirking like he’s in heaven. Her date with dark hair is quiet as he scans the floor like he’s looking for someone in particular.

I blink before turning back, but Brooks is gone. I lift my head over the crowd, searching to see where the little fucker slipped off to, but I have no luck. It’s like he vanished into thin air.

I sigh before making a plan to try to find him. I begin my search on the first floor, weaving in and out of couples as I ask a few people if they’ve seen someone by Brooks’ description. I’m met with more nos than anything, so I continue as I aimlessly stalk through the event center. I’m almost back to the front when I run right into someone’s back and it’s like hitting a fucking brick wall.

“Shit,” I curse. “Sorry about that.”

The man, who towers over me by at least four inches, turns around, and I’m completely caught off guard. He’s covered in tattoos—they dust along his knuckles and trail up his neck. His eyes are blue, but so intense they make me take a step back.

“Watch where the fuck you’re going,” he bites.