Chapter 4

We sat outside of The Laughing Matter, enjoying lunch and the nice weather. We wolfed down burgers and a platter of wings in no time. Though my friends all lived in nearby cities, our schedules didn't always align for us to meet up. Timber and Roarke were away on business trips today.

"You heard about the dead body they found in Boston?" Godfrey asked, his expression serious. "The woman's hands were tied together with a rope while holding a stem of the bleeding heart flower. You think it's a copycat?"

"Probably." I stared at my friends' biceps hidden underneath their sweaters. Like me, they each had a black rose tattoo with thorny stems. "A friend from the New York City Police Department confirmed that a body was discovered a couple of weeks ago. She was also holding the same flower. So far he's only women."

"Boston is close to home," Hudson said. "We need to monitor this and inform the other guys just so they're aware."

A psychopath named Victor Hawthorne—also known as the Black Rose Killer—had kidnapped kids and forced them to assist in his crimes while being held hostage at an underground bunker. My friends and I were among his victims.

After being trapped for three years, I escaped when I was sixteen and rescued my friends, who were only eight at the time. We counted the money he'd gotten from selling human organs. Some of us had to help him clean the organs and place them in secure containers. It took me a long time to recover from that experience. Some days I still wondered if I had recovered at all. Since I was the oldest captive, they had me pack up weapons that were being sold in the black market. Some of which were bombs. When no one was looking, I hid a few and blew up his cabin.

Victor should be dead. The police even confirmed that there had been three burnt bodies in the ruckus. Who was the sick prick trying to mimic his evil crimes?

"Let's wait and see how things play out," I said.

Godfrey nodded. "It's all we can do right now."

Hudson's phone buzzed, and he sighed. "I gotta run. Sophia needs a ride to the airport. Her ride got a flat." He reached for his wallet.

"I got this. Go."

"Thanks, man." Sophia was all Hudson had left after his parents died in a car accident.

Something drew my attention out to the sidewalk. My heart hammered when I noticed Eva walking toward me with an older man. The dark thoughts switched off as desire burst in me.

Two other women passed by me, but she was all I could see. Our eyes connected, and my cock hardened. I hadn't been able to stop thinking about her. She was like the unique passionflower that stood out from the rest.

I should have moved on after she declined my dinner date, but every time that face popped into my mind, the feelings surfaced and intensified. My body hadn't yearned for anything like this before.

You just need to get laid.

In my mind, she was already mine—my passionflower.

As I stared at her, questions bombarded my mind. Why had she said no? Had she been seeing someone? No women had ever declined my advances. I had what most men wanted: wealth, a healthy and fit body, a charismatic personality, and power that stemmed from all the previous reasons. If those traits didn't qualify for one date with her, then what would? For her to say no without hesitation intrigued me even more. But I was careful now. I didn't want to frighten her.

How could I convince her to go on a date with me? I should focus on the expansion of my gym. Instead, I couldn't steer my mind away from Eva.

"What are you looking at?" Godfrey asked.

His voice popped my bubble, tossing me back to reality. I didn't like this fluctuation in my concentration. It reminded me of a dark past I'd rather not get into right now. When a man lost his mind, he lost control of himself. I didn't like losing control.

Then stop thinking about her, idiot.

Godfrey wouldn't know I was looking at the brunette in tights and a lilac tunic. "Just enjoying the view of the day." There was no lie there. In my book, the view was spectacular.

"My ass." He reached for his iced tea. "Who's caught your eye? I can see it on your face, man."

"The brunette with the older man."

"Oh, she's hot."

"Hands off." I flicked him a warning gaze.

Godfrey laughed. "I'd like to know who she is just because she's got you all worked up."

"I'm not worked up."

"Okay. You're just losing it. I was sitting there talking for a while when I realized you weren't listening."

Fuck.How had I not heard Godfrey speak?

The waiter came, asked if we needed anything else, and blocked my view of her. The next thing I heard was, "Stop him!"

Eva ran past me, chasing after some guy in a baseball cap with a purse that obviously didn't belong to him. The older man stopped on the sidewalk, just feet from me, while catching her breath. He met my gaze, and I knew what he needed. Instincts kicked in.

"Check on the old timer," I told Godfrey and rushed after Eva.

With my long legs and hours spent working out at my gym, I caught up to Eva quickly. She stopped on the sidewalk, huffing and puffing. I passed her and reached the crook. He turned and threw a fist at me. I ducked, punched him in the face twice, and something cracked. He fell back against a trash can on the sidewalk, dropping the purse. The contents scattered on the sidewalk.

"You want more?" I hissed and prepared for battle. I boxed as a hobby, and right now my muscles flexed to beat the shit out of him.

The criminal held a hand to his face as blood dripped from his nose. There was a glaze over his eyes that told me he was on drugs.

"You broke my nose," he spat.

A police cruiser pulled up to the curb, and I recognized my friend, Detective Sean McNally, from the Brookline Police Department. Sean knew about my past, and he also had a membership at my gym. He exited his car, offered me a nod, and went over to the thief, who now leaned against a tree.

"He fucking broke my nose!" the criminal repeated.

"Next time I'll fucking break your damn fingers," I retorted. "Don't take what doesn't belong to you. Got that?" I grabbed the scattered belongings from the ground and placed them back into the purse.

"I don't want to hear another word from you." Sean cuffed him. "I've got a bunch of calls from witnesses describing what you did. Ballsy of you to steal in the middle of the day with all these people around." He shoved the asshole into the police cruiser.

"You okay." Godfrey walked over with the older man.

"I'm fine."

"I've got a meeting to attend. You good?"

"Go. I'll catch up with you later."

Looking terrified, the older man rushed up to Eva. "Did he hurt you?'

"No. I'm okay." She placed a hand on his back, rubbing slowly. "Are you okay, Grandpa? Do you need to sit down?"

"Don't worry about me," said her grandfather, who turned to me. "Thank you for helping my granddaughter. You saved the day."

I gave Eva her purse back. "You should check to see if everything's there."

She looked at me. "Thanks for your help. Are you all right" She glanced at my clenched fist that still wanted to pound the asshole.

Relaxing my hands, I said, "I'm okay. Are you?" I gave her a onceover, and she appeared fine.

"Yes, I'm fine." She stared at me. Did she recognize me as the guy she had rejected?

"Thank you for getting Eva's purse back." Her grandfather extended a hand to me. "I'm Mark Collins, but you can call me Grandpa Collins. This is my granddaughter, Eva."

I matched his firm grip and shook his hand. "You're welcome."

Sean waved Eva over for some questions while the thief sat inside the cruiser. She probably had to give her statement.

"What's your name?" Grandpa Collins asked, looking up at me with curious eyes that stared at the tattoos covering both of my arms.

The question surprised me, and I looked down at the man, who was about five inches shorter than me. "Kain Kessler. It's nice to meet you."

"Why so many tattoos?" he asked, staring at the abstract design woven within a landscape.

"Why not? You have any?"

"I do, in fact." He smiled. "It's on my ass. A heart with my sweetheart's name on it. But now it looks like a wrinkled fruit. Tats on wrinkled skin changes the art, you know?"

I laughed, not wanting to imagine his description. My eyes swung back to Eva, who appeared calm and collected while chatting with Sean.

"I appreciate what you did. My Eva would've gotten hurt if you hadn't helped. She was furious when he grabbed her purse. I almost fell to the ground. I couldn't believe she ran after him. Is that what people in the city do when they're robbed?" He shivered. "I'd just let the thief have it. But my baby girl probably has important stuff in there."

"I saw Eva running, and I knew she needed help."

"There's fire in my girl. Anyway, thank you very much for intervening. I want to thank you for your gesture. Are you free for lunch tomorrow?"

Wow.

I smiled at the interesting irony. His granddaughter had rejected me before, and now Grandpa Collins was asking me out. Well, sort of. Regardless, this man just made my day. If only he knew my intentions with Eva, would he still invite me? I liked his friendliness and openness. An idea sparked in my head. This was my opportunity to get to know Eva and maybe ask her out again. I didn't give up on what I wanted. The relentless pursuit to survive had saved my life and made me a successful businessman.

"I'd never say no to lunch with a smart man who has an interesting tattoo."

Grandpa Collins let out a laugh, placing a hand on my arm as though we were buddies. "If I want another tattoo, can you recommend a place?"

"My place." I gestured to The Etched Building. "Body Canvas."

"You're a tattoo artist?" His eyes brightened.

"When there's time. I have a team who helps me manage all my studios."

"I'll make a note of it." He looked toward the building and back at me. "Lunch will be at Eva's place because I'm cooking." He rubbed his hands together. "To celebrate the apprehension of a bad guy."

I didn't know what to say. I was going to be inside Eva's home. Today almost seemed like fate. I've never believed in that stuff, but I couldn't explain it any other way. It was as if there was some dude up there looking down at me, understanding my desires. Thanks, Man.

Eva approached her grandfather, and Sean came up to me. "You okay?"

"Fine. You know him?" I jerked my chin to his cruiser.

"There's been a few car break-ins recently along Beacon Street. He could be our guy. I'll find out after I get his fingerprints. Catch you later."

I nodded and watched him drive off with his flashing lights.

"Please thank your friend who stayed with me," said her grandfather. "The good-looking guy wearing the sweater."

"I'll let Godfrey know."

Eva turned up to me. "Thanks again for chasing after the thief. You could've gotten hurt."

"I couldn't let you run after him like that. You could've gotten hurt. I'm a lot bigger than you."

Something flashed in her eyes. "I remember you. You've been in the flower shop . . ."

She remembers me. Yes!

She didn't need to remind me about the rejection. Too many questions bubbled in my head. What else did she remember? What did she think of me now? Did she think I ran after the idiot because I wanted brownie points with her? That would be absurd. The thought didn't even occur to me. I ran after him because I feared for her safety. Would she believe me if I told her that?

"Your shop has wonderful plants. I like plants," I lied.

Well, I was learning to like them. They added color and character to my boring office.

She arched an eyebrow, waiting for me to elaborate. I didn't. This wasn't the time or place for me to admit that I'd stop by earlier today to see her but was disappointed she wasn't there.

Grandpa Collins cleared his throat, reminding us he stood nearby. "Eva, I just invited this young man to have lunch with us tomorrow. It's the least we can do. I'm making my special meatloaf. I hope you're okay with that?"

Disbelief splashed onto her face and she opened her mouth opened to say something, but then she closed it. Then her expression warmed. "Whatever you want, Grandpa. This is your vacation. If you want to cook and invite people over, that's fine with me."

A couple strode up and gave Eva a small tube of lotion that probably got scattered when her purse fell.

"I'm trying to find you the perfect criminal." Grandpa Collins muttered to himself as Eva thanked the couple.

Suspicion rose in me. I didn't get any bad vibes from Grandpa Collins, but what exactly did he mean by finding the "perfect criminal?" Those two words didn't go well together.

Despite that, I wanted a chance with Eva. And if I had to deal with an insane and unpredictable man, I'd do it. I was that desperate to know Eva.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow." Eva smiled at me. "Let's exchange contact information so you know where to come for lunch."

We exchanged numbers, and I discovered she lived two blocks from me. How did I not bump into her all this time? She lived so close to me and yet she appeared out of reach.

Until now.