Chapter 1

A vicious-looking hit man, six foot three, was hunting me down.

I hid in a storage room at the mall.

With just a door between us, I suddenly heard what he was thinking.

[Damn it! Where did that rich girl in the white dress and the flat-brimmed hat go?]

[I need to finish this job. I've got a date with my girl!]

[Three whole years before she'd agree to meet me. I have to make this count. I have to make a good impression!]

[Nora. My Nora Blake. My baby. Hehehe.]

I froze.

Nora Blake... That was me.

————————

A wire slipped into the storage-room lock with a tiny click.

Before I could react, the handle turned.

My heart lurched. My palms were slick.

If he opened that door, he'd find me. There was nowhere to run in here. This was going to be the last room I ever saw.

The door cracked open.

Through the gap, I caught the edge of a black coat.

I barely dared breathe.

Then a mall employee spoke.

“Sir, that storage room is for employees only. If you need help, please ask at the information desk. You can't go in there.”

“I don't need anything.”

Evan Reed's voice was clear and mild.

The wire slid out with a faint scrape. His footsteps receded.

But I knew he hadn't left.

I could still hear his thoughts.

[I saw that rich girl run this way. She's not anywhere else. She has to be in that room!]

[She knows what I look like now. Killing her won't be as easy, but I have to finish today. I need the rest of the money for a big house for my girl.]

[I'll wait right here. The second she comes out, she's dead.]

[She's not getting away.]

My life was over.

The man trying to kill me was my online boyfriend.

Wasn't Evan supposed to be my shy, sweet little pushover? Since when was there this much of him?

I reached for my phone. I needed my bodyguard to get me out of here, now.

Then I had an idea.

I opened my chat with Evan and typed as fast as I could.

[I'm at the café at Westbridge Mall. When will you get here?]

[I'm waiting for you.]

Almost at once, he started screaming inside his head.

[She's already there! She said she's waiting for me! She's doing all this for me!]

[I want to see her so badly, but I haven't finished work. Damn it!]

[I'm a top-tier hit man. An unfinished job will ruin my reputation. How am I supposed to make money to spoil her then? This is hopeless!]

Typing appeared on my screen.

Three seconds later, a cautious message arrived.

[Baby, it's only one. We said three, didn't we?]

I needed him gone. I couldn't have him camping outside this door.

I kept typing.

[But I'm here already.]

[Evan.]

[Are you telling me to sit here and wait for you? 😠]

Typing...

Typing...

I watched those little dots appear and disappear, hardly breathing.

At last, his reply came through.

[No! No, that's not what I meant!]

[Please don't be mad. I'll be right there!]

I finally let myself breathe.

I sagged against the door. Only then did I realize my back was soaked in cold sweat.

After a while, his thoughts went silent. I straightened my clothes and opened the door.

The instant I stepped out, I looked up into a pair of dark, merciless eyes.

I went rigid.

For a second, I couldn't breathe at all.