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But with Eleanor, I didn’t want her to go.

“Are you ever going to tell me exactly how you got that information?” I asked, figuring now was as good a time as any. The curiosity had been gnawing at me.

Eleanor’s lips curled into a smirk as she leaned in slightly, lowering her voice to a whisper. “If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you. And that would be a damn shame…because I think I’m actually starting to tolerate you.”

I let out a deep, unexpected laugh, her answer catching me off guard.

“Come on,” I pressed, shaking my head. “Was it an ex? A friend from college?”

She tilted her head, amusement flickering in her eyes. “You think I’m kidding, and it’s cute.”

That had me sitting up straighter, her head slipping from my shoulder. I turned to face her fully, tucking one leg beneath me.

“Eleanor…” I warned, my voice low, expectant.

She sighed, like she knew I wasn’t going to let it go.

“I’ve helped out some very powerful people in my day,” she admitted. “And…they owe me favors. Like I said, I cashed one in.”

A flicker of unease curled in my gut. “What kind of powerful people?”

Because from where I was sitting, that sounded a hell of a lot like something she shouldn’t have been mixed up in. She’d gone back for more—on my account.

Her shoulders slumped slightly, and she must have sensed the shift in my mood. My concern was clear as I arched a brow, waiting.

She exhaled, brushing a hand through her hair. “I helped out a mob boss in New York, and while doing so, I happened to make friends with his sixteen-year-old son. Long story. But that kid? He’s an insane hacker, and he owed me a favor after I saved his ass.”

I stared at her, my mind blanking for a solid five seconds.

A mob boss’s son?

What the actual fuck?

My expression must have been conveying exactly how I felt, which was confused and in pure shock, because Eleanor laughed, shaking her head.

“And you just—what? Gave him the details, and he dug up all that information? No strings attached?”

“Pretty much,” she said with a casual shrug, as if this was normal. As if she hadn’t just confessed to having mob ties like it was nothing.

No hesitation. No second thoughts. No questions asked.

This woman was something else.

“You never cease to amaze me,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. Not only now, but my first interaction with Eleanor, she’d blown my mind.

All it took was one dance, one glimpse of her that night, and I was hooked. I didn’t stand a damn chance in hell.

Eleanor’s smile was subtle yet still guarded as she glanced at the clock next to my bed. With a sigh, she said, “I should probably get going. It’s pretty late.”

My mind wanted to protest, hold her here longer, maybe convince her to spend the night, but my body couldn’t follow through. Instead, I nodded and stood from my bed. She collected her belongings, slipped on her slippers, and made her way to the door with me on her heels.

I opened the door for her, and she walked over the threshold, turning to face me.

“Good night, Colton.”

I leaned against the door frame, arms crossed over my chest, taking her in one last time before she departed for the night.

“Good night, Eleanor.”