shit? He wasn’t. Joel drove his knee into the fellow’s dick, as hard as he could. Morgan gasped and eased his grip. Joel used that opportunity to yank down Morgan’s hand, to head butt the bastard, and to drive a fist straight into Morgan’s stomach.
Morgan groaned as he doubled over. “Je…sus…” he panted. “Just…messing with you.”
Joel kept his hands loose at his sides. “I’m not in the mood to be messed with.”
Morgan put his hands on his knees. Sucked in a couple of deep breaths. “Dirty move. My dick may never be the same.”
“I don’t think the world will mind.”
Morgan tilted up his head. “But will Chloe?” A taunting smile curled his lips. “I think she—”
“I don’t think Chloe gives a damn what happens to you or your dick. She’s with me now.” Even as he said those words, even as he heard the possessive growl in his own voice, Joel realized…
I mean it. Chloe is mine. I’m hers. Because they were partners. Good. Bad. All the stuff in between—they were partners.
“Is she?” Morgan taunted. His hands were still braced on his knees. “Then how come I don’t see her with you? How come I found you all alone, drinking ever so sadly in a rundown bar?”
He shrugged. “Because I like drinking in rundown bars?”
Morgan continued to hunch over and that bothered Joel. He tensed because he expected—
Morgan surged up, and when his arms rose, he clutched a gun in his right hand. Damn. He’d dragged that out of thin air. Or maybe…he’d probably had it hidden under his shirt. Morgan brought the gun up and at Joel, but—too late. Joel had sensed the attack. He kicked at Morgan’s wrist and hand. Some bones snapped, and the gun went flying.
Morgan didn’t cry out in pain. Just hissed out a breath. “I can see why you appealed to her. Chloe likes a bit of danger. Turns her on.”
“And I can see why she told me that she’d once had sex with a psycho.”
Morgan threw back his head and laughed.
“I wasn’t making a joke.” The gun waited a few feet away. “You faked your own death, didn’t you? Why the hell would you do that?”
“Chloe hasn’t told you?” Morgan flexed the gloved fingers of his right hand. Winced. “Oh, that’s right. Chloe doesn’t tell anyone her secrets.” As if imparting a very special piece of knowledge, he lowered his voice and revealed, “That’s how you can tell that she doesn’t love you. Not truly. Because if she did, she’d tell you everything.”
“She didn’t tell you jack shit about herself,” Joel threw back at the bastard. “Is that how you knew she didn’t love you?”
Morgan wasn’t laughing now. The faint light from a nearby window trickled into the alley. “She told me plenty.”
“I don’t think so. Turns out, I can play poker pretty well. I know a bluff when I see one.”
“Not when Chloe is the one bluffing. No one can tell when Chloe bluffs. Lies or truth, you never know with her.”
Fuck me. Hadn’t Joel told her…I can’t tell when you are lying or when you’re telling me the truth? He’d just told her that, and this prick seemed to know those exact words. “Have you been watching us?”
Another flex of his fingers. “You don’t overly concern me.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Chloe is quite something, isn’t she? Know how I’d describe her?”
“I don’t particularly give a shit how you would—”
“Death and moonlight.” Whispered. Said almost tenderly. “That’s what she is. Chloe will always be drawn to death. To the darkness that waits in the world. She can’t help herself. It’s almost an addiction. And she’s moonlight. You think you can catch her. You want to catch her because she’s so beautiful, but like moonlight, she just slips through your fingers.” He peered at his fingers. “I think you broke two of them. Maybe fractured my wrist. That wasn’t very nice.”
“Coming at me with a gun wasn’t nice, either.”
“I wasn’t going to shoot you. Just testing your skills.”
“Bullshit.” Like he’d believe anything this asshole said.
“Do you know who killed Chloe’s parents?”
The one-eighty question made Joel tense even more.
“I do. Chloe does, too. If she honestly cared for you, wouldn’t she tell you the truth? She told me.”
Joel braced his feet apart. Got ready for the attack he knew was coming. And he decided to use some of the tools Chloe had given him. His plan was to attempt to handle this…shit, like she would have done. “You wanted her on the yacht