compared to the people I track and kill, and until they start trading in more than just powder, they’ve never been on my radar. Until now, that is. There’s no stopping Addie from opening her mouth and telling the cops she has a stalker. Doesn’t matter that I’ve destroyed all evidence of her police reports. And if the Talaverra’s get wind of that, they’ll kill Addie for something way out of her control. It doesn’t matter that the family has enemies. Any possibility will be eliminated when they find that the heir of the Talaverra empire has been murdered. So tonight, Ill rid Seattle of the little pests that have been congregating so I can focus back on the bigger things. Making Adeline mine and dismantling the pedophile rings. I crack my neck, storm over to the front door, and bang my fist into the wood as hard as I can. I pour all my anger into it, not giving a fuck if I crack the wood beneath my fist. Just like the night that small dick asshole was here. Running out of the house naked with only one sock on, cursing Addie’s name. I was relieved to see Addie kicked him out herself. It was the only reason I didn’t kill him that night. But it doesn’t mean I didn’t cut out his tongue for the names he called her. She still isn’t aware of that since I ran him out of town and forbade him from contacting her again. I duck back in the shadows beyond the porch. I know Archie’s type. He’ll come storming out, ever the savior for the damsel in distress. Ready to take on the big bad wolf like he’s not the old granny about to get eaten. Really, he’s just a rabid fox posing as a wolf. His bite hurts, but nothing compared to that of a real predator. Right on cue, Archie whips the door open, his hands wrapped around a gun. “Come on out, fucker. I know you’re out there.” Come get me, Archie. He hesitates on the doorstep, sensing the danger residing in the shadows. But after a few moments, he develops a vagina and charges out the door and down the porch steps. His head turns, his eyes widening as he catches a glimpse of my face with a single red rose in my mouth, the stem caught between my teeth. I bare my teeth, a feral grin that would chill even the devil. Before he can react, I dart out, grab his arm and twist him around. My hand slaps over his mouth as I pull his back to my front. Twirling my knife, I stab him twice in the stomach. Both precise areas that won’t cut through vital organs. He grunts beneath my hand, the shock rendering him mostly silent.