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Talon growls, storms to the door, and opens it. “We canceled that,” he lies, filling the frame.

The woman peeks around him, her eyes darting from mine and then behind me, where the room lies in shambles.

Fuck.

“Yes, sir. I’m so sorry for the mistake.” She remains professional because she’s afraid. I can tell. The moment she gets back downstairs, she’s going to alert the management, who might alert the police.

Talon knows it too, because he slams the door in her face. “Grab what you can. We need to go. I’ll see if I can find an ID.”

“Are you sure we should go? It’ll make me look guilty.” I bounce on my feet.

Talon dips his chin in agreement and nudges me forward. “You damn well might be guilty, wild child. Now pack your fucking bag.”

5

The Bodyguard

“Youneedtoshower.Make sure there isn’t a chance in hell that the fucker’s DNA is on you.” Talon hands me a stack of towels, far more than I need. “Inspect yourself for bruising. I’m calling in a friend to draw some of your blood. I want to check for drugs.”

Drugs. That’s right. Leandro mentioned the possibility.

I wish my head would catch up. I hate knowing that I’m missing chunks of time.

Clutching the sink, I remain still, facing the mirror. Talon treating me like a criminal makes me feel like one too. I don’t want to delve into anything more until we have concrete answers. The phrase ‘Don’t answer any questions without a lawyer’ comes to mind, even if Talon isn’t a cop. Does he truly think I’m capable of murder? I’ve heard the stories about how people get initiated on the King’s Court and the price they pay, but I had never been faced with testing my morality for loyalty.

“When we’re done, I want you to go about your day as if nothing happened.” Talon reaches out and grasps my shoulder. “It’s going to be okay. I got you, wild child.” Without another word, Talon closes the bathroom door.

I hover in front of the fogging mirror. Steam fills the air, dampening my skin. I know I should hurry, but I’m desperate for a moment to just catch my bearings and breathe. Closing my eyes, I rest my palms on the cool counter, trying to imagine the events of last night. Only bits and pieces surface—Leandro’s handsome face and beautiful dark brown eyes, how amazing it felt fucking him in the storage closet, but then I remember the blurry glow of the lampposts at LACMA...and Christos. Fuck. He was there. He had followed me with another guy.

Oh, God. Was the other guy the dead man in my bed?

The only way to be certain is to look at the evidence that Talon collected, but he won’t let me see it until I’ve cleaned up.

So I gather myself together and hop in the shower, washing away the grossness of the last few hours. Tears burn my eyes. The hot water washes them away along with my remaining makeup. I scrub my hair and wash it three times with shampoo before I slather conditioner in it. I take extra care to scrub my hands and fingernails before moving to the rest of me before finishing with my feet and toes. I don’t exit the shower until my skin turns pink from scrubbing, and even then, I linger a few minutes more until my skin prunes.

After getting out of the shower, I swipe my hand across the foggy mirror and stare at my reflection. I look like shit. Even worse than before. My puffy eyes ring with mascara residue, and I take a moment to scrub it off the best I can. Talon doesn’t have everything I need, but it is what it is. I brush my teeth with the travel kit he gave me, and finally, I dress in his too big T-shirt and boxers. They smell fresh like lavender, and I use the fragrance to push myself forward.

Voices murmur through the bathroom door, and I crack it open just enough to see the back of a man speaking with Talon. The man rubs the back of his neck, messing with his dark hair. Veins flex in his arms, cording along his well-defined, bulging muscles. Dressed in a tight shirt and jeans, the man wears casual well. What am I thinking? I shouldn’t be checking out a stranger.

Talon catches my gaze from over the man’s shoulder, slowly giving me a once-over. I’ve been caught. He lifts a brow and narrows his eyes, his jealousy flaring despite the situation. My distracting Talon doesn’t go unnoticed because the man shifts and turns to peek over his shoulder at what has stolen Talon’s attention.

The man’s jaw slackens as his mouth falls open. I blink a few times at the realization. I’ve been thinking about those dark brown eyes all morning, and I can’t believe they stare at me now—in shock instead of desire. Maybe even a blip of fear. I guess a one-night stand might’ve been too much to ask the universe for. I didn’t expect to ever see him again.

“Leandro? Holy shit. You’re friends with Talon?” I hug my arms over my chest, wishing I had known because I would’ve tried harder not to look like complete shit. Talon has seen me without makeup and trashed a dozen times, but everyone else? The only other people beside him to have seen me in this hot mess state are my parents and Bianca. And Christos.

“Wait. You know each other?” Talon steps past Leandro and moves between us. I can’t tell if he’s trying to block me or if he’s trying to get in Leandro’s way.

“Not really.” Leandro tightens his jaw.

“We met last night at the Looking Glass,” I say at the same time Leandro speaks.

Talon smacks Leandro on the shoulder. “You weren’t supposed to introduce yourself to her until after our meeting, you asshole. You didn’t even know if you had the job.”

“She never gave me her name. I didn’t know she was the client. That’s why I canceled our meeting. She’s the one I escorted back to the hotel. We were slipped Juggernauts into our shots.” Leandro pulls at his shirt collar and rolls his shoulders. “I told you that. It was a shitshow.”

The surprise melts off Talon’s face, morphing into anger. The series of fine lines deepen around his eyes and furrow his forehead. I don’t even have a chance to react before Talon swings his fist and punches Leandro in the jaw hard enough to knock him back.

Talon snatches Leandro again, stopping him from falling. He smashes him to the wall and locks his fingers around his throat. “She’s the woman you were with? What the fuck? You better not have touched her. I will cut off your fucking—”

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