“Um… We don’t…”
“Cathy and I have a special arrangement, being neighbors and all. I watch out for her place at night, and she delivers to me.”
“Oh, okay. I’ll be over in a few minutes.”
He smiled. “Thank you.”
He’d been gorgeous before, but with that smile on his face… Jesus, he was stunning.
It wasn’t until he’d left that I started to wonder what kind of emergency would come up at a tattoo shop, especially one that didn’t seem to have opened for the day yet.
Maybe something was wrong with the building. Hopefully it was nothing serious.
I took his sandwich into the kitchen, wrapped it up, and filled a paper cup with coffee for him. When Cathy came through the swinging door from the front, I lifted the bag. “Leo needs this delivered.”
She nodded like that was normal. “Go on. Things will start picking up for lunch soon.”
I used the back door and cut through the alley. When I looked across the street, I saw Leo standing in the lobby of his shop talking to a man with long dark hair who looked even more menacing than Leo, despite being slightly smaller. They both looked angry. I wasn’t sure if they were mad at each other or at someone else. I almost stepped out into the street in front of a car because I couldn’t take my eyes off Leo. The man Leo was talking to slammed his hand down on the counter in the tattoo shop, and it made me jump even though I couldn’t hear the sound. Cathy was going to have to tell me more about what was going on over there.
I was wondering if I should knock or wait until their argument was over, but as soon as I crossed the street, Leo and the other man turned my way. Leo unlocked the door and pulled it open.
“Thank you.” he said, taking the bag and the cup I offered him. “I really appreciate you bringing it to me.”
His voice was low and rough again. Was he flirting with me? “You’re welcome. I… um… I’ll see you later.”
He gave me another one of his killer smiles. “You will.”
I turned and tripped over the threshold. Fuck. Was I ever going to be able to be around him without making an idiot of myself?
Maybe I could do it if I stopped thinking there could ever actually be something between us. I didn’t need any more trouble in my life. It had only been a few months since I’d dropped out of college after realizing I would be miserable if I continued with my pre-law major.
I’d spent years doing what my parents wanted and trying to be the type of son they longed for. When I’d decided I was done with that, I promised myself I’d figure out who I actually wanted to be. That was what I needed to concentrate on, not a sinfully gorgeous man who would probably—no, definitely if Cathy was right—break my heart.
Leo was a café patron. That’s all he could be to me.
2
Leo
Six Months Later
I sensed someone approaching the shop, and I looked up from adding an appointment to my calendar to see Niall, one of my Vigilance teammates. I’d been expecting him to bring me some information he’d gathered after our last mission, information I hoped would help us find the son of a bitch who’d escaped us.
The organization we worked for went after the worst of the worst, criminals the police couldn’t touch, like the child trafficking ring we’d recently brought down. Our work wasn’t finished there, though. Congressman Bernard Swain was part of the operation, but he’d managed to erase the evidence of his involvement, and the fucker I’d recently hired as my receptionist had been his spy.
How the fuck had I not seen through him? Anger rushed through me, and I squeezed my hands into fists. My former employee had already paid for what he’d done, but I wasn’t going to stop until I put Swain in the ground.
“Are you working up front for now?” Niall asked as he entered the shop.
“We’re all taking turns.” The rest of my employees were all artists, so anyone without a client at the time was answering the phone and greeting anyone who came in.
“Got any leads on a new hire?”
I blew out a long breath. “No, but I’m going to be way more careful this time.” I was determined to never be that stupid again. I’d gotten too lax with security since I’d left the CIA. I knew better, but I wanted to think most people weren’t fucking bastards.
“I know how thoroughly you vet everyone.”
I snorted. “Apparently not thoroughly enough.”
Niall pointed across the street toward my favorite café, Bacon and Bakin’. “How about that adorable waiter? He worships you, so I can’t imagine he’d ever turn on you, and considering how poorly he does his job, I’m not sure he’ll be employed there much longer.”
I bristled, not liking anyone to criticize Ezra. “You know as well as I do that he’s only that big of a mess when we’re in there. We make him nervous.”
“You make him nervous.”
No matter how obvious Ezra was, I was determined not to see how interested he was in me. He was too young and too innocent. He didn’t need someone like me in his life, and I didn’t need Niall trying to set me up. “Don’t discount how intimidating you and Giorgio are.”
Niall rolled his eyes “He hardly notices us.”
“I’ll think about it, but if you’re trying to start something between me and Ezra, forget it. I already told you I’m not falling for that relationship bullshit.” Two of the four senior members of Vigilance—Niall and Giorgio—had fallen in love over the last few months. I was happy for them, but that didn’t mean I was itching to be tied down.
“Just because Marco and I—”
“Don’t even try. I’ve seen the way you look at Marco. It’s like Giorgio and Lane all over again.” A few months ago, Giorgio had been assigned to guard X’s son, Lane, and they’d been inseparable ever since.
I couldn’t help but laugh at Niall’s offended expression. “No! We’re never that bad.”
I thought Niall would keep pushing, but he didn’t. He pulled a USB from his pocket and handed it to me. “Here’s the information I told you about.”
I needed to get him out of there so I could focus on revenge, not adorable waiters who were much too tempting. “Great. Now go see your man.”
He raised his brows. “Why do you assume I’m going to see Marco?”
I looked him up and down. “You’re all fancied up, and your hair is perfect.”
He kept protesting, but I finally got him out the door. After he left, I stared across the street as I turned the thumb drive over and over in my hand.
I couldn’t see Ezra through the window. I was fairly sure he wasn’t working today, not that I’d memorized his schedule or anything. If I happened to go in and sit down for breakfast on the days when he worked the morning shift rather than calling for delivery, that was just a coincidence.
Was I truly going to consider what Niall had suggested? Could I trust Ezra? Surely even in the most twisted game, no one would have been able to predict that I’d get to know him and want to hire him. He’d only been in Boston since the start of summer when he’d moved in with his aunt after deciding not to return to college for his senior year. He was Cathy’s nephew, and I trusted her. She even knew some of my secrets.