Page 14 of Targeted By Vengeance

I quickly slipped into the dress and put on the accessories Lexie laid out for me. After slipping into my heels, I stuffed my new ID and cash into the small silver purse. My hand hovered over the burner phone sitting on my nightstand. It hasn’t rang since he gave it to me. I doubted tonight would be any different.

I waved off the ache in my chest before it could form, and left the phone behind.

Lexie linked her arm around mine when we reunited in the living room, and together we took the elevator down to the lobby.

Outside, a man with tawny brown skin and low cut dark hair leaned against the passenger door of a black SUV. His gray eyes rose from his phone to us as we approached him. “Took you two long enough,” he muttered.

“Beauty like this takes time,” Lexie replied. “She looks gorgeous, doesn’t she?”

The man’s eyes raked over my attire, but the stony expression on his face didn’t change. “Your boyfriend ain’t crazy, is he?” He asked.

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” I replied. I didn’t feel comfortable classifying my complicated relationship with Mateo as something with romantic labels like that. Especially not after he left me behind without thinking twice about it. As far as I was concerned, I’m single - and tonight, I intended to act as such.

“Well, in that case: you are stunning.”

I almost blushed at his kind words. “Thank you.”

“I’m Roman, by the way,” he said, extending his gloved hand.

I shook it. “Simone. It’s nice to meet you.”

Lexie glanced between us as our hands lingered in the hold. “Uh-uh,” she said with a shake of her head. She opened the back door and started shoving me inside. “Don’t even think about it - either of you.”

“Why?” I asked as she slipped in beside me. “Your bodyguard is cute.”

Lexie laughed. “Bodyguard? Roman is not my bodyguard.”

“Her good conscience is more like it,” he chimed in, sliding into the driver’s seat.

“Roman is my best friend,” Lexie explained. “And I am not letting him get killed because you want to piss Mateo off.”

“I’m not trying to-”

The sharp arch of her raised brow cut me off. She didn’t even need to say anything. Her look was all the clocking I needed.

I rolled my eyes. “Girl, fuck him. He can go to hell for all I care.”

She giggled. “As you should. But, you’ve gotta leave my best friend out of your revenge plan. If you really wanna make him mad, find some random to dance up on. Somebody you wouldn’t mind having on your conscience.”

“Or you can stay your ass in our section and dance with Lexie,” Roman said, glancing at us through the rearview mirror.

“Or I can choose violence,” I said with a shrug. “And that sounds pretty good right now.”

Lexie grinned. “Oh, I like you.”

We stopped for some food on the ride to the club. Lexie insisted I needed something in my stomach before we started drinking.

We chomped on French fries in the backseat while Roman continued driving us across town.

The line to enter the club was damn near stretched around the corner by the time we arrived. Lexie strutted past the line and went straight up to the bouncer. He smirked at the sight of her. “What’s up, little mama?” He asked, opening his arms for a hug. “I haven’t seen you since that pretty boy put a ring on your finger.”

“I know,” she said, leaning into his arms. “It’s been too long.”

“Don’t tell me he’s put your ass on a leash.”

She scoffed. “Please. I will drag his ass by his hair, and he knows it.”

Chuckling, he unhooked the stanchion rope. “Well, come on inside. Your section started collecting dust since you’ve been gone so long.”