Page 77 of Himbo Hitman
“You need to keep some distance from him,” Lars warns. “At least until this is over.”
“Why?”
He throws me an unimpressed look. “You know why.”
Because we’re planning to trade him off for my brother, and there’s still a slight chance that he might want to kill me when I’m already missing half of my ear, thanks to him? “Small details.”
“You’re worried about him. That’s not a small detail.”
“That’s only because we need to know who’s after me.”
“There’s only one person who’slikelyto be after you. If hecomes back with any name other than Yanni’s, I’m going to be shocked.”
“You never know.”
“True.Icurrently have the urge to kill you right now.”
I set down my phone. “What did I do?”
Lars almost looks like he wants to laugh. “Like, position? Because I wasn’t in the room, so I can’t say, but whatever it was, it sounded like Perry was enjoying it.”
“Shit.”
Nowhe laughs. “Yeah, shit.”
“You heard that.”
“You were very loud.” Lars drops his laptop onto the cushion beside himself and leans forward. His elbows meet his knees, and he picks up a coaster that he starts absently tapping against the coffee table. “What were you thinking?”
“He’s really hot.”
“Otherthan that.”
“Is there anything else?”
The tapping pauses. “Well, if you’re going to be alone with some guy who tried to kill you, it would be a relief to know it wasn’t just about getting off.”
I can’t answer that. Was that all last night was? Absolutely. I have no regrets over what happened. Perry is fucking gorgeous, and there’s something about him that I like. Something that’s beyond surface attraction. Like all that unrestrained sweetness and enthusiasm is mine to harness, and I can’t deny that it was a big part of the turn-on.
Lars’s amusement drains away. “I can’t protect you, I can’t do my job, if you’re making stupid choices like that.”
“You really think Perry’s a killer?”
“It’s not about what I think. It’s not about him as a person at all. It’s about the facts. And the facts are that he tried once. He can say he’d never do it again all he likes, but if he did it once, he can do it again.”
I can see his point, but I dunno. I think now that I’ve had my tongue down Perry’s throat, I’ve gotten to know him a whole lotbetter. “Listen, I can completely understand your concerns but I stupidly trust him. Yes. I can hear myself. Yes, I know it’s misguided. You don’t need to point any of that out. But I can’tstopfrom trusting him anyway.”
The tapping starts up again. “Okay. You’re a big boy, and I really hope your trust doesn’t get you killed.”
“You know what? Me too.”
He laughs. “How did we get into this mess again?”
“I’m still asking myself the same question. It’s pretty fucking extreme just because Yanni didn’t want a bit of competition.”
“Cute that you think you’re competition for them.”
“Idon’t. They clearly do.”
