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He cups my cheek, thumb running over the thin scar, and for a second, I think he’ll recognize me. I hold my breath, but his hand falls away, and he doesn’t say anything.

I’m not her anymore. The scared, beaten, scrawny girl with dirty hair and my face all swollen and bleeding. But I can’t help wondering if he ever thinks of me. Does he wonder where I went after I ran from the hospital? I’d been too scared to stay, but running that night is my greatest regret.

I want to tell him everything, just blurt it out, but I know him better than he knows himself. He’ll shut down and freeze me out completely like an overloaded computer system.

“The charges won’t stick. I’ll make sure of it.” He steps back. “I better get going. I’ve got a meeting early in the morning.”

No, he doesn’t, but that’s okay…for now.

“I understand. I’m going to clean this up and head to bed. It’s been a really long day.”

Alden stays where he is, while his emotions battle in his eyes. So, I step around him and push open the door with a small, reassuring smile.

“I better lock up.”

His jaw twitches at the obvious dismissal. He really hates it when that card is played against him. He slowly steps past me into the cool night.

“Goodnight, Alden,” I say, closing and locking the door without giving him another look.

I feel him staring at me from where he stands on the sidewalk.

He wants to play the pull-away game…okay. Let’s see how long he lasts.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

ALDEN

The moment I walk into my condo, I head straight for my laptop and pull up my chosen target’s profile.

What I really need is to get back to my routine and put Emily out of my head. But even as I study my next kill, all I can see is Emily shutting the door in my face. It shouldn’t upset me. I want distance. But the second she dismissed me so easily, I wanted to tear the door off its hinges and force the heat back into her eyes.

Crack.

I look down and realize that I’ve picked up a pen and snapped it in half. Now my desk and hand are covered in blue ink.

Fuck.

Tossing it into the garbage, I grab the package of cleaning wipes from my bottom drawer and square away my desk before attempting to remove the stain from my hand. It’s faint but still there.

Fucking great.

Focus, Alden. I read everything that I need to know about this piece of shit. He is top-tier prey. He dragged his ex-wife through a horrible divorce, won custody of their children through fabricated accusations of drug use and neglect, and the son of a bitch beat her.

I have her medical records detailing the broken bones, concussions, and stitches from the last three years.

“Simon Huntington, you’ve been marked for death.”

By midnight, I’m in the asshole’s mansion, slinking around in the shadows. Everything in here reminds me of my father, right down to the lingering scent of expensive cologne and cigars.

The cameras have been turned off remotely, and the cell jammer makes it impossible for him to make a call, not that I fear Simon escaping. With no additional security or even a guard dog, this will be one of my easier abductions.

During my research, I found the video from court when the ruling came down. His children cried to stay with their mother. Usually, with children involved, I’m more cautious when I remove my prey. That’s not the case tonight. He may have custody, but it’s the nanny who cares for them. So, there is no worry about him disappearing in the night.

I even have a plan for dealing with his meddling parents and to prove his ex-wife’s innocence. By the time I’m done with this family, they will personally drop the children off at their mother’s house.

Up the stairs and down the hallway, I make my way to Simon’s bedroom. He is peacefully asleep when I push open the door. I’m not surprised, but I am disgusted to see a woman who looks barely legal curled up beside him. My leather glove creaks as I clench my fist.

Quickly calculating her weight, I pull a single patch of my special sedative from my pocket. It took months of trial and error to get the dosage just right. Walking around the bed, I peel the backing off the patch and place it on the side of her neck.