LIVING IN BONDAGE: Welcome To The Crime City

uldn't be matched, and I often shared dinner

taly, vibrant orange chairs created an intimate and cozy atmosphere on the patio. In

irdie in her studies. A rewards-based program like those gold stars parents gave their kids on a chart for doing a good job. Except I was

lled out my iPhone and texted her again. She knew better than to make me wait like th

w of the thoughts racing through my mind like a freight tra

ad come back to haunt us. Even though I'd washed his blood from my hands. Ev

a lot of friends who, for reasons I couldn't fathom, felt some sort o

eady to call the waiter and ask for my check. This wasn't getting

he server nearby. Instead, my eyes collided with the six foot of lean muscle wh

lost?"

t his empty glass on the table. "I thi

't a coincidence that he was in New York with me two days ago, and now, he was sitting across from me in Las Vegas

vipers in my surroundings, and as soon as I

was in the public eye and known for being ruthless in the courtroom. It didn't seem to bother him that the newspapers often labeled h

imes they were accused of. Murdering their wives. It rubbed me the wrong way, but my ire was nothing compared to the public outcry when he won the cases and hi

ppings of an aristocrat-broad shoulders and an angular jaw, eyes the color of hot coffee, and jet-black hair with only a hint of silver streaked through the side. In short, he was ridiculously

you want?

"Why don't y

oved to stand. "I don't have tim

it

ft but deadly. I glared back at hi

l do you thi

I am," he answered. "Just as I

ut Birdie. For as long as I could remember I'd been handing out fake names

I'd shown him even a hint of vulnerability. But I had a feeling that it d

casually as he flagged down the wait

e of panic, but I tried to stay calm. I had lear

e is

" Lucian sai

under my breath. "If you ev

es in a way that made me feel as though he could see into my soul.

g lists and planning our escape. I just needed to shake this guy first and get out of there.

cleared and no new guests had been seated. Even the waiters had di

e men feel like I was gifting a piece of myself to them. "I

ight red dress, Lucian's eyes never strayed fro

around the fat chunks of ice. "The money you've swindled from men all over this country. I

the weight of his implicati

Lucian cocked his head to the side. "You leave her alon

k in my chair, shielding my body with my purse. "

" He scoffed. "Everyone

ed. "Considering you defe

sn't that a little self-righteo

de. I needed to focus on disarming this bomb so I could get out of

rown, and his voice betrayed a hint of humanity w

eld so much weight. It was as if he knew our history, a

case beside his chair, and my heart palpitated whe

t was worse than I imagined. What he said was true, and this was the proof. Birdie had be

was in the hundreds of thousands. But it wasn't even the worst of it. The worst was that there were naked photos of her in this file.

but it pisse

e are from casinos. But what about t

he didn't need to. The

ok at it a second longer. "I can pay

But these are just petty thefts compared to some of the things you've done. I don'

rted toward the nearest exit. "

y inch of my body into high alert. "H

ny years, I forgot how to speak. Terror wrapped its icy claws ar

n back to him as he whispered, "It isn't you