Page 9 of The Stalking King

I laugh grimly. He’s right. When you’re at the top, you have to be stone. Which is why Liora Quinn is so dangerous.

“Is Anton arranging the security for the family?”

“As we speak.”

“That’s one hell of an expense.”

“I gave my word,” I growl, and that’s the end of it.

“What’s the next move, then?”

“The signal has dropped on the phone. They’ve probably got it inside a Faraday bag. Joel said a tall, pale man approached him yesterday, then picked him up after the end of his shift and threatened his family.”

“Tall, pale. That sounds like Conrad’s man… what’s his name?”

“Eli Flemmings,” I mutter.

“Yep.” Nikolai nods. “So, it was Conrad then. First, he shoots you, but does it like a sneaky, pathetic little coward so he can maintain deniability. Now, this. Well, he can’t deny this.”

“I need more protection arranged,” I tell him.

“For who?”

I turn, looking at the photos on the wall. Nikolai and I as boys, covered in mud. Later, as teenagers, standing beside an MMA cage, sweaty and bloody and grinning like madmen. I can’t look at him when I talk about Lia. He’ll know I care far more than I should.

“Liora Quinn, a nurse at the hospital,” I say. Then a thought occurs to me. What is this… guilt? That’s a new feeling. “Actually, hold off. I need to handle something first.”

“You got it, boss,” Nikolai says in a joking tone.

I turn back to him, flipping him the bird. He knows I hate when he calls me that. He’s one of the only people who doesn’t treat me like the king.

“We’ll handle this, brother,” he says, grinning. He’s been hot and cold lately, anxious, erratic, then back to his usual self like he is now. Women troubles… another reminder that I need to keep my head on straight. “We can’t let Conrad goddamn Vale control the flow of information in this city.”

“Amen,” I snarl.

I sit outside the hospital, drumming my fingers against the steering wheel. As usual, my security team remains at a distance. Watching, waiting. Perhaps even hoping for something to go wrong so they have a chance to use their skills. Our game in Washington DC isn’t like other cities. We don’t fight as often as they do. Our weapons are electronic, in the dark, dirty corners of the political elite.

When I see Lia leaving, my stomach knots. I’m forty-five, and I’ve spent my entire life not really living. I’ve been able to thrive because of this distance. I work, I train, visit the shooting range, and I work some more.

That’s why the CCTV has been so appealing. A private passion, watching her from afar. The tics in her expression, the fervor with which she cares for her patients. And yeah, I’m a hot-blooded man, a hot-blooded beast, some might say… her body too. Curvy in all the right places. Making my hands twitch as I imagine sinking them into her perfection.

She’s startled when I come up behind her and call her name. She spins, her keys poking through her fingers. When she sees it’s me, her first instinct is to smile. That does more to me than she can ever know.

“Joel called,” she murmurs. “Apparently, there’s a car sitting outside his house. The men work for some big security agency. I looked it up. You own the agency. Among other things.”

“I gave you my word,” I tell her. “He and his family will be safe until this is over. That’s why I’m here.”

I approach, aware of how quiet the parking lot is. There’s that look again. She clenches her jaw. It’s like she’s fighting some kind of internal battle. I know the feeling.

“I need to arrange the same protection for you,” I say.

“Okay, fine.”

I breathe a sigh of relief.

“But only if you tell me what’s going on,” she adds.

The relief came too soon.