of crisp, semi-sweet Moscato later, Jenna’s anxiety had dulled, and her racing mind was starting to slow down. She went back to bed, and since she had that night off, she purposely didn’t set her alarm.
Settling her head against her pillow, Jenna was falling into a peaceful, unconscious abyss when a sound woke her. She lay there, listening closely, but heard nothing. Chalking it up to the wine, she blew it off and closed her eyes once more.
It happened again. And this time, there was no mistaking the sound. Someone had just knocked on her door.
Seriously?
Thinking it might be the police with information—or if she was lucky, her purse—Jenna fought her desire to ignore whoever it was and went to her door. Looking through the peephole, she saw the back of a man’s head as he began walking away.
It didn’t matter that she hadn’t seen his face. She knew exactly who it was.
A sudden onslaught of nerves left her fingers tingling and her heart beating hard against her chest. Releasing her locks, she opened the door and called for the man who’d apparently decided to leave.
“Adrian?” Her voice was rough with sleep.
The man who’d haunted her dreams for the past two months turned to face her. She looked up into his gray-blue eyes, and her heart stopped. Or skipped. Or something.
Truth be told, she wasn’t sure what it did. She was too busy trying to convince herself he was real.
“What are you doing here?” she finally asked. Glancing over his shoulder, Jenna checked to see if Gabe or any of the other Bravo Team guys were with him. Her lower belly tensed when she saw that he was alone. “Is everything okay?”
The pair of tight fists at his sides told her something was definitely bothering him. She was about to repeat the question when he opened his mouth and asked, “Can I come in?”
Without a word, Jenna moved to give him room and motioned for him to come inside.
“We found it. Or more accurately, we found her.”
The heart inside Matais Ortiz’s chest beat with the force of a drum. Could it be? After all this time, had he finally found Adrian Walker’s weakness?
Unable to contain his excitement, Matais asked the other man, “Who?”
“I.D. in her wallet says her name’s Jenna Shaw. She’s a nurse at a military hospital in San Diego.”
“How did you manage to get your hands on her identification?”
“Grabbed her purse in the hospital parking garage a few minutes ago.”
“You mugged her?” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Christ, Sebastian. Someone could’ve seen you. She could identify you.”
“Relax.” His top lieutenant blew out a breath. “It was still dark, and I wore a hood. Garcia pulled up beside her. I jumped out and grabbed the purse, and we took off. No one saw us, and other than a few parked cars, the place was empty.”
Ignoring the man’s overabundance of confidence, Matias asked, “You’re certain this the same woman Walker’s been watching the last few weeks?”
“It’s her,” Sebastian confirmed. “At first we thought she might be his latest mark, but I’m thinking the rumors we’ve heard are true. That he really did quit.”
Retired was the term most hired guns used when they got out of the business, but he understood the point his man was trying to make. Word had it, the infamous Adrian Walker had decided to hang up his guns and walk away. Apparently, Sebastian believed what he’d heard.
You won’t get away, my friend. Not this time.
“What makes you certain she isn’t his target?”
“Because we’re sitting across the street from her apartment. Bitch invited him inside.”
Idiot. Sebastian’s large build and brute force mentality made him the perfect bodyguard and enforcer. But the man didn’t always see the finer details that made up the bigger picture.
“Walker didn’t build his reputation by being sloppy. He could’ve used a guise to make her feel comfortable around him. Earned her trust before he did the hit.”
It was the oldest trick in the book. The closer a person got to someone, the easier it was to take them out. A lesson Matias’ father had taught him early on.
“He was there for four hours, Boss. Trust me. Walker didn’t come here to kill her.”
“Again, how can you be so sure?”
“For one, I can see her moving around through the window. Two, the look on the bastard’s face when he left…” Sebastian chuckled. “Trust me. Those two did more than just talk.”
“Sex doesn’t necessarily mean—”
“She’s the one, Matias,” his man spoke with