THE HITMAN WHO LOVED ME
by
Shady Grace
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Pub
Date: 6/20/17
Is that a gun in his pocket or…?
Jamie Fields can hardly refuse a free
vacation. Jobless and broke, the struggling single gal is in need of
serious stress relief. Sure, the set up is suspicious—no one gives
away a trip to exotic Cuba—complete with 50,000 dollars cash—just
for delivering a package. But once Jamie’s enjoying sunny beach
days and exhilarating tropical nights, she’s too happy to care.
Especially when she finds herself hotly pursued by a sexy stranger…
The McCoy empire is under siege, and
Sam Hayes has been tapped to take care of the culprit. Sam knows
better than to get involved with his target, but there’s something
about Jamie that keeps him from simply finishing the job and moving
on. Maybe the hard-bodied hitman just can’t wrap his mind around
the fact that the first woman to set his soul on fire is a common
criminal. The only thing Sam can do is keep her close. An easy enough
task—if Sam doesn’t do something stupid. Like fall in love with
the bombshell he was sent to kill….
As he caught his caving
breath, he scanned the street and spotted a bargain clothing store a few shops
down. He rushed in, grabbed a pair of jeans off a shelf, a hoodie from a rack,
and went straight to a dressing room. Once he transferred his wallet and
cigarettes into his pockets, and removed the reading glasses, he stepped out of
the dressing room like a new man. “Ah, just what I need.” With calm only a man
used to a life of chaos could have, he strolled over to a row of baseball caps
and fitted the nearest one onto his head.
The cashier stared at him with wide,
unbelieving eyes, before her nervous gaze shifted to the
street. Two hospital guards and a few cops
stood outside hitting up pedestrians for information.
Sam smiled at the girl. She looked barely of
age, probably only in the work force for a few
months. He’d bet a grand she was about to pee
behind that counter.
He lifted his hands to reassure he didn’t have a
weapon. “You have nothing to fear from me.” With one hand still raised, he
reached into his pocket with the other, pulled out a few bills and gently
placed them onto the counter. “This is more
than enough for the clothes, and a little extra for
you.”
She nodded despite the shimmer of tears
in her eyes. “I won’t say anything. Just promise you won’t hurt me.”
Sam smiled again, positive she wouldn’t alert
the cops. “I promise, and I appreciate your
cooperation. It’s not what you think.”
He knew she didn’t believe him. “Whatever you say,
mister.” Sam headed toward the front door.
“You—you’re gonna go out there? There’s cops
everywhere,” the girl said, her eyes wide with
surprise, her mouth curved up in a do it, I dare you grin.
Sam couldn’t help a low chuckle. She may be
scared, but like a typical kid, she was thrilled by the
chase. He headed for the door again, but
paused to say over his shoulder, “If I were you, I’d treat
myself to a night out with that money. It’s
Saturday, the best day of the week.”
The cashier blushed and pocketed all of the money.
“We don’t have cameras in here. Stuff goes
missing all the time.” She shrugged, obviously
more comfortable now that he was leaving, and maybe
because she had made a few bucks for keeping
her mouth shut. She grinned. “Have a good day, sir,
and good luck.”
Sam winked and walked out of the store, right
in front of the men in uniform. He knew he wouldn’t be recognized with a
new outfit and a baseball cap. He plastered an expression of concern on his
face. “What’s going on?” He stood next to one of the officers, withdrew a
cigarette and his lighter
from the case. As he lit the end and took a
long drag, one of the cops turned to face him.
The officer gave Sam a good once-over and nodded.
“We’re looking for a man who just escaped from the hospital.”
“You mean a mental
patient?”
The cop shook his head. “No. All we know at
this time is that he was wearing grey slacks with a
white button-up shirt, glasses, and he looked
to be of mixed descent. Average height and build.”
The cop glanced at him again from shoes to
baseball cap.
Sam hid his amusement as he sucked in another
deep drag of his cigarette. Mixed descent could mean anyone this day and age.
He was often confused as being Asian or Native American, or a mixture of the
two, and he enjoyed keeping people guessing his true African-Irish origin. “I
see.”
Another officer joined them. Sam recognized
him as one of the guys connected to the McCoys. They often called upon him for
Intel: when patrol would be going by, or to make tickets and profiles
disappear, or to dig up background on a
person. He was also among the badges at Colton’s funeral.
As they made eye contact, Sam kept his
expression passive. “Well, I hope you find him. We don’t
need criminals running around these streets.”
Shady Grace makes Northern Ontario her
home, where the bush is so thick you can't see two feet past the tree
line. Perhaps the mystery of the woods was what initially sparked her
need to write. She adores strong alpha males who fall for fiery,
independent women, in settings with humorous dialogue and
action-filled plots. Shady believes love and sex should be exciting
and unforgettable. Being able to write about it is better than
cheesecake. Shady Grace is the new pen name of multi-published erotic
author BL Bonita, who earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly
for Dark Sun Rising. Visit her website at shadygrace.weebly.com, and
find her on Facebook at facebook.com/shadygraceerotica.
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