We got into New York that evening. I was more comfortable sliding in under the cover of night than waltzing in during the daylight.

Shadows were our friend right now.

I trusted very little people but I had one person I knew wouldn’t rat us out.

Travis Rasher, a buddy from my sniper days and the only person who knew the real me.

He’d saved my life and I repaid that favor by introducing him to the mercenary world.

Yeah, kind of a dick move.

But Travis had been desperate, PTSD had hit him hard and I’d found him on the streets, panhandling for spare change in Times Square.

I cleaned him up — which included drying him out — and then basically, set him on a new course that changed his life.

The jury was out on whether or not the change was a good one or not but hey, at least he wasn’t on the streets anymore.

I guess that’s how I slept at night.

My life was a long timeline of ambiguous reward vs risk.

Travis lived in a loft with a good defensible space. He’d purchased the entire building at some point, but only occupied the top floor.

It was a premier bachelor pad. I’m fairly certain Travis probably drowned in pussy on any given day.

“I was glad to get your call,” Travis said, ushering us into his place. Three locks clicked shut and after he rearmed the high-tech security system, he folded me in a big hug.

Travis had always been a hugger.

I chuckled and slapped him on the back heartily. “You look good, man.”

Travis pulled away, a grin on his scruffy face. Yeah, Travis was a good-looking guy. My gaze slid to Bree to gauge her reaction but she was too busy admiring the large black and white photography on Travis’s walls to notice much else.

My little shutterbug.

“Travis, this is Bree,” I introduced my girl to my only friend in the world as Bree reluctantly dragged her gaze from the photos.

Immediately Travis’s attention perked up and a warning growl threatened to pop from my mouth but Bree’s attention lingered on the photography. “Ramon Estevez is one of my favorite black and white photographers,” she gushed unapologetically, her eyes shining. “Not many people appreciate the subtle mastery of his use of shade and light. It’s absolutely breathtaking.”

Travis grinned. “Happy to meet another Estevez fan,” he said and I wanted to call roll my eyes at how easily bullshit flowed from Travis’s mouth.

Travis had picked up the art piece to cover a large hole in the wall he’d made one drunken night after one too many shots of Jameson.

I knew because I’d been there.

The following day, he’d literally walked into the nearest decor shop in Manhattan and picked the first group of photos that were big enough to cover the spot.

Threw down a shit-ton of cash and walked out with the photos.

Bam. Hole fixed.

I smothered my laugh. Fuck it, I’d let Travis play his little game. Bree only had eyes for me.

And that photography.

Back to business.

“I appreciate you putting us up. The city isn’t safe right now.”

Like a switch thrown, Travis went into serious mode. “Man, there’s buzz about you and your girl. What the hell is going on?”

I didn’t want to put Travis in a bad position by knowing too much but I needed an ally.

“Bree is an heiress. Someone wants her dead.”

“Who?”

“Someone connected to her fortune, I’m guessing.”

“And you don’t know who that could be?”

Bree spoke up, coming to my defense. “To be fair, I only just discovered that I was an heiress today. Everything is pretty new still.”

“I pulled a few favors and got a name. Caroline Burke was her legal name before her mother changed it.”

Travis went to his computer. “Did you run it through the database?”

I nodded. “Only paper trail is short...a birth certificate, a newspaper clip on a car accident, followed by a death certificate For all intents and purposes, young Caroline died at three months old with her mother in upstate New York.”

Bree shuddered and grimaced. “That’s just morbid. Dead babies. Blech.”

“It’s easy enough to make a baby disappear with a plausible explanation if you have a doctor who will corroborate your story. So Caroline died and Breezy was born.”

“Breezy? Cool,” Travis said, grinning. “I like it.”

Bree smiled shyly and I wanted to put my arm around her as if to stake my claim but I held back.

Travis was a good guy.

Probably better than me.

Maybe after the dust settled...Travis could look after Bree for me.

It made a certain amount of sense.

Travis would do anything for me.

She would always be safe with Travis.

You ever have one of those moments when everything, in theory, seemed to slide in place as if meant to happen?

And you know in your gut that it’s the right decision, the only call you can make...yet, just the thought of putting it into play makes you want to puke?

My girl in Travis’s bed?

Travis touching her where only I’d touched before?

No. Fuck no.

My muscles tensed as my fists unwittingly clenched.

One crisis at a time, Dex. Gotta save the woman before you start putting her in someone else’s bed.

Throttling the urge to punch Travis in the face for a crime he hadn’t even committed yet, I asked, “So what’s the word going around?”

Travis shook his head. “Nothing that made any sense until I saw this girl right here,” he admitted with a nod. “She’s a cutie.”

Bree giggled and blushed bright red. “Not used to that,” she murmured, slipping a look my way.

“Settle down,” I growled and Travis just laughed. Hey, Mr. Chuckles, quit eye-fucking my girl. “Be more specific. I need to know who sent the dogs after me when the hit didn’t go down.”

Travis sobered. “Look man, you know me, I take the jobs I can stomach and keep my head down the rest of the time but even I heard chatter. The bounty is tripled the original offer and that includes you in the deal.”

I figured as much but seeing Bree pale at the news made it all the more real.

She glanced nervously at the large window gracing the far wall but Travis allayed her fears instantly.

“Bullet-proof glass, sugar. You’re safe here.”

Bree relaxed visibly but scooted closer to me, just the same.

“Hey, you guys hungry? I got some cold Chinese left over from last night.”

“We could eat,” I agreed, thankful for my buddy’s hospitality.

I recognized Travis’s tactic to lessen the tension. Bree was practically vibrating with anxiety.

Food was always a good buffer.

“So how’d you two meet?” Bree asked after we’d wolfed down the left-over Kung Pao and broccoli beef.

“It’s a cute story,” Travis began with a flirty grin that made me want to stick my foot up his ass. “Shall I tell it, dear?” He looked to me, fluttering his eyelashes like an idiot.

Bree giggled and I realized I better take point on this story or else Travis would charm his way prematurely into her pants.

“Travis and I served together,” I said, leaving it at that. “In spite of his terrible sense of humor, he’s a good guy.”

“I think he’s pretty funny,” Bree said, earning a grin from Travis.

“See? She thinks I’m funny. You’re the one without a sense of humor,” Travis said, leaning over to whisper to Bree. “He’s always been like that. Couldn’t tell a joke to save his life. I’m pretty sure there’s a stick wedged up his ass.”

But Bree just flashed me a secret smile that I felt to my toes. I’d made her laugh plenty.

And moan.

And scream like a banshee.

That was good enough for me.

“All jokes aside, I owe this man my life,” Travis said. “After we got out of the service, I went downhill. Couldn’t acclimate to civilian life. A couple of failed relationships, businesses, you name it, I fucked it all up. I ended up on the streets. That’s where Dex found me — drunk as a skunk and lying in my own piss. Not my finest hour.”

Bree’s expression softened. “Oh my God, that’s awful.”

“Yeah, being homeless is not as glamorous as they make it out to look on TV,” he joked, drawing a deep breath before continuing. “Anyway, Dex got me cleaned up, slapped some sense into me and then showed me a way to exist in a world that had no use for my particular skillset.”

“You...kill people for hire, too?” Bree asked.

“Only bad people,” Travis said quickly. “I mean, really bad people. Not like cheat-on-your-taxes-bad, I’m talking scum of the earth. In a way, I’m really doing a public service.”

He was laying it on pretty thick but I let him continue. It was his story, not mine.

I knew Bree was wondering about my history. How many people I’d killed. If there were any innocents on my hit list.

I wasn’t going to answer.

I’d never pretended to be a good guy. She needed to remember that fact.

She must’ve had a spy scope shoved into my brain because she seemed to zero in on my silent conflict, saying, “Your secret is out, Dex...you’re a very good man” and I wanted to sink into the floor.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” I said, uncomfortable with her adoration. She’d be singing a different tune when I broke her heart.

Bree rolled her eyes at my subtle scowl and rose to clear our spots.

We cleaned up quickly and she surprised me by announcing that she was going to hit the bed.

Travis and I talked about stupid shit until I was sure she was asleep and then we went onto his terrace and closed the sliding glass door to really talk.

His place overlooked the city that never slept. Car horns, a constant barrage of car lights, people and motion — it was a white noise I’d become accustomed to.

For all the houses I owned out in the country, where the only sound came from nature...I always missed the city sounds most.

“Level with me. What’s going on?” Travis handed me a beer. “You’ve never backed out of a job before.”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I just couldn’t do it.”

“Latent conscience?” he teased and I shrugged. “Or is it her?”

How could I answer without revealing what I was afraid to acknowledge myself?

I stared out at the city lights for a long moment before giving a chicken shit answer. “I don’t know.”

Travis accepted my answer, swigging his beer before asking, “You love her?”

I smirked as I tipped my beer. “Like I would know what love is.”

“You have feelings for her though,” Travis guessed and I couldn’t bring myself to shoot his theory down. My throat tightened up. He seemed to understand. “Okay, we’ll put a pin in that for now. How are you going to get yourself out of this mess alive?”

“I’m going to kill whoever put the hit on our heads,” I answered simply.

“Do you know who that is?”

“Nope.”

Travis burped. “Well, that seems like a pretty big obstacle.”

“Ya think?” The companionable silence stretched between us. Travis was as close to a brother as I’d ever have. I turned to him. “Tomorrow, I’m going to track down the executor of Richard Burke’s estate and see if I can find out who stood to inherit with Bree gone.”

“The shortest distance between two points is a straight line,” Travis agreed, adding, “But I wouldn’t suggest just walking up to the front door. You’ll be an easy target. Whoever is after you and your girl is bound to know that you’ll go to the executor at some point.”

“That’s what back doors are for,” I replied with an arrogant smile. I had no plans to waltz through the front door and sign in like a good, law-abiding citizen.

Travis grinned. “You plan to make a house call?”

I smiled and we both knew the score. It would be easy to find the name of the executor and even easier to get an address. Civilians were really fucking lax when it to their own personal security.

“Need a partner in crime?” he asked. “I could use a little excitement.”

“If you’re not busy,” I said with a subtle grin.

“I’ll check my calendar but I think it’s clear.”

Travis fist-bumped me, a silent accord between brothers.

Now, onto more difficult conversations.

“I need a huge favor,” I began, drawing a deep breath.

“Anything,” Travis responded without hesitation.

“When this is all said and done...I need you to promise me that you’ll look after Bree.”

“Where are you going to be?”

I waved away his question. “Just promise me.”

“Of course, you got it, but I don’t like the look in your eyes.”

Travis knew me better than anyone, or at least more than I let anyone see. I couldn’t hide the truth and I wasn’t going to try. “You know I’m an asshole. I’m not cut out for this Happily-Ever-After shit. We both know at some point I’m going to crush her heart and break her spirit. I mean, she’s like a kitten dancing around the feet of a tiger. I’m doing her a huge favor by bouncing.”

“And how does she feel about this?”

“She doesn’t know.”

Travis chuckled. “And...you think she’s just going to go along with your plan?”

“She doesn’t have a choice,” I answered gruffly. “Once I’m gone, she’ll never be able to find me.”

“That’s a genuine dick move,” Travis said, pulling no punches. “You’re better than that.”

“No, I’m not and the sooner Bree realizes it...the better off she’ll be.”

“That girl is in love with you already. She’s practically got hearts and stars in her eyes when she looks at you. I mean, let’s be honest, I’m way better looking than you and she didn’t even look twice my way. That’s saying something.”

“Get over yourself,” I retorted. “You’re not better looking than me.”

Travis was definitely better looking than me but I had a bigger dick so it evened out.

The smile faded from my lips as I held the most damaging admission behind my teeth.

And I might’ve knocked her up.

God help me, what I really meant was that I hoped I’d knocked her up. I wanted to know Bree held a piece of me deep inside her, that I would always be a part of her life in some way.

Jesus, I was a selfish bastard.

My voice thickened as I forced the words out. “Regardless...promise me you’ll take care of her.”

Travis knew I wasn’t going to budge. Once I made up my mind, I never faltered. It was a blessing and a curse.

Travis shook his head, finishing off his beer. “Sure, I got your back. Even if you’re a fucking dumbass,” he muttered.

Be that as it may, as long as Bree was safe, I could live with whatever consequences happened in the aftermath.

I nodded my thanks, my throat closing up. Travis would make a good dad to my kid if it came down to it.

In the meantime, I was going to soak up every moment I had left with my sassy geek.

“‘Night, brotha,” I said, heading for bed. “See you in the morning.”

I left Travis on the terrace, staring out at the stars, probably wondering when I’d sold my soul to the devil to be so heartless to an obviously good woman.

You and me both, brotha. But the truth was ugly and painful.