“I found you.” Joel sneered at Annique, the ugly twist of his lips matching the dark gleam in his eyes.

“How?” She’d moved so far. Thought she’d left him behind.

“You can’t hide from me.”

But she kept trying. Two cities now, Annique had fled. Escaped because of the threats. Just the sight of white roses made her sick to her stomach.

“Go away.”

“Stupid Qiqi.” He’d adopted the nickname Jazzy had for her, yet from him, it sounded mocking. Mean. “We have unfinished business.”

“No, we don’t.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” The hands tucked behind his back came forward.

Her breath caught. “What are you doing?” A dumb question, given she could clearly see the gun pointed at her chest. A gun held by a man she’d slept with. A man she’d once foolishly thought she loved.

“Doing?” He waggled the weapon. “Are you really that dense? I am preparing to kill you.”

“But why? Why do you keep terrorizing me?” Why did he hunt her down and pluck every frightened nerve she owned? “We broke up. It happens. You can’t tell me you loved me.” Joel made his regards to Annique clear when she found him in bed with another woman.

“Love.” He sneered. “Did you really think I could care for an old hag like you?”

That burned. She was only five years older than he was.

“If you never loved me, then why are you doing this? Why did you even date me at all?” Because she’d certainly never understood why this younger man, handsome and rich, had wanted her. They had nothing in common. A part of her knew better than to date him. But he pursued her, ardently. Made her feel desirable. In the end, she’d let her hormones decide for her.

“I had my reasons. You served your purpose. Now, for the grand finale.” The gun steadied, and she couldn’t help but plead.

“No.” She whimpered. “Please.”

There was no mercy in his gaze, and so she shut her eyes from seeing the death reflected in his. Closed them tightly and screamed as a gun was fired. Then shrieked some more when she saw all the blood…

So much blood.

“Annie. Wake up, honey. It’s just a nightmare.”

She thrashed and moaned. “No.” The dream, the one that had terrorized her for so long, wouldn’t loosen its grip.

A warm body cradled around hers, and a low, husky voice soothed. “It’s okay, honey. It can’t hurt you. No one can hurt you.”

Joel could. Joel would. The dead weren’t supposed to harm the living. Yet he still did.

Tears clung to her lashes as she forced them open. “I’m sorry.” She hiccupped, realizing her night terrors had woken Reaper up.

“Sorry for what? Giving me an excuse to hold you?”

And hold her he did, his brawny arms circling her body, his body pressing against her back, cradling her in his grip.

“I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“I wasn’t sleeping.”

A reminder she’d taken his bed. She’d brought the nightmare to his doorstep.

Because of Annique, he was in danger.

I am so selfish. Being in his apartment put him at risk. She had to leave.

She struggled to get out of his grip.

Tried, and failed.

“Let me go.”

He held her tighter. “You’re not going anywhere, honey.”

“I should never have let you talk me into coming here. I have to leave.”

“You can’t go home.”

“Obviously. And I wasn’t talking about my place. I need to leave. This city. Now.”

His body stiffened. “Will you finally tell me what you are so afraid of? Or should I say who? Tell me his name, and I’ll take care of it.”

“You can’t help me.” A bitter laugh escaped her. “No one can. He was supposed to be dead.”

“Obviously not. Who is it?”

She wanted to lie. To conceal the shame of her past. To hide the horror of it. But just once, dammit, she’d like someone to know the truth, to understand why they’d find her corpse at some point.

Besides, did it matter if she told? She’d soon be gone. She might have gotten complacent in her new life, but she still remembered how to disappear.

Annique wiggled enough that she turned to face him, his face so close, his expression in the dim gloom of the room intent on her.

“It’s the same old story.” A wry twist of her lips. “Even though it’s been years, I have an ex-boyfriend with breakup issues.” Understatement.

“I thought you said he was dead.”

She shrugged and stared at this chest, his rather nice chest. “Guess I was wrong. He’s back and still playing his sick games. I have to leave before he starts in on you.”

At that, he scoffed. “He might be good at terrorizing women, but I’m not so easily scared.”

“He’s a killer.”

“So am I.”

“Killing it at real estate is not the same,” she snapped.

“You’d be surprised what I can do to close the deal,” he murmured, one hand moving to cup the back of her head, threading his fingers through her hair.

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt because of me.”

“Don’t you worry about me, Annie. I can take care of myself.” His voice lowered to a husky growl. “And you.”

“Joel doesn’t care about laws.”

“Neither do I.” The odd statement was lost amidst the roaring in her head, the fire licking at her skin.

He tugged her closer, his lips, framed by his beard, tickling against hers.

“I—”

“You,” he said, interrupting, “need to stop talking.”

“You can’t—”

He meant what he said. His lips silenced hers, the brush of them slanting over her mouth, stealing all words and thought.

Not all thoughts. One thing did remain.

Need.

It burgeoned in her as he kissed. Boiled her blood. She found herself clutching at him, her fingers gripping his head and hair, her mouth tightly meshed to his.

Their bodies pressed against each other, the fabric of the shirt she wore rubbing his bare chest while her nude legs were covered by his track-pant-clad ones.

The sheets didn’t ignite, yet the heat between them had her panting and sweating.

Carnal hunger had her in its grip. When he rolled onto his back, taking her with him, she gasped but enjoyed the new position. It allowed her to rub her mound against the evidence of his desire.

The friction was delicious. Evocative.

His hands cupped her ass as they continued to kiss, rocking against each other, partially clothed, yet she’d never been more aroused.

So ready to—

A shrill ring of a phone startled them both.

She pulled back, reality intruding on her pleasure, her lips throbbing and bereft without the pressure of his.

The phone kept ringing, refusing to be ignored.

He cursed as she clambered off him. “Of all the rotten timing.”

Didn’t he mean perfect timing? She’d almost had sex with him. Would have. Still might, given how her body ached for his touch.

But the phone kept up its shrill ring, and he rolled out of bed. Montgomery stalked off, his upper body bare and breathtaking, even from behind. Broad, muscled, his chest tapering down to his track pants, which hung low on his hips.

The phone stopped its insistent ring, and despite the silence in the place, she didn’t even hear the murmur of his voice.

Rolling to the opposite side of the bed, she grabbed her phone charging on the nightstand and checked it.

No messages. Not a single one.

What did it mean? Perhaps he’d not gotten her number yet. Except how could he get her address without discovering it?

The stress was the worst part. Stop toying with me and get it over with.

Getting it over with, though, would mean someone dying. Probably her since the last time obviously failed.

She sighed. Now what?

What do you mean, now what? You know what to do. What has to happen.

By the time Montgomery returned, she was fully dressed and about to leave.

He stood in the doorway, leaned in it actually, blocking the exit.

“Where do you think you’re going, Annie?”

“Get out of my way.” She stalked toward him, determined not to let him sway her. This man who wore a suit to work had no idea what he was dealing with.

Or whom.

He didn’t budge, even when she shoved at him.

The temper—and frustration and fear—she’d held at bay spilled out. She pummeled at his brick-hard chest. “Move, dammit. Why won’t you let me go?”

“Because. You’re in trouble, and I can’t walk away.”

“I thought you weren’t a hero.”

“I’m not, but I can’t stand aside. So stop fighting me.”

“Or what? You can’t keep me a prisoner here. What are you going to do? Tie me to a bed?”

His lips quirked. “That has some interesting possibilities.”

“You can’t help me. No one can.”

“I don’t see you suggesting we call the cops.”

She snorted. “Because they can’t do squat. The only thing to do is disappear. And before you tell me I can’t, I’m going to say yes I can. I’ve done it before.”

“And were found.”

“So I’ll be more careful.”

“Until what? Until he finds you again?” He arched a brow. “That’s not a solution, Annie.”

“Then what do you suggest we do instead?”

His lips quirked. “How do you feel about skiing?”

Explaining she didn’t have anything to wear didn’t deter him.

Actually, all the excuses she managed didn’t budge the man. Even the fact it was three a.m.

The man didn’t like the word no. He just pretended it didn’t exist, which was why, at the crack of dawn, they were in his car driving north to some resort.

Together.

He deserved the drool she left on his shoulder when she fell asleep most of the way.

When she woke for the last stretch, she purposely ignored him to answer some emails from her staff. It was the day before Christmas Eve.

The last-minute flurry for a date was on, yet she was hundreds of miles away from the office.

And oddly content. All because of the man beside her.

Despite all her attempts to keep away, they’d gotten close. No point in denying that anymore. She might have started out trying to keep him at arm’s length, but he kept forcing his way in.

A part of her found it flattering that, after all the dates he’d rejected, he’d fixated on her.

At the same time, it frightened. A man this powerful, this determined…what was he capable of if he didn’t get his way? And how badly could he hurt her?

“You’ve got that look again,” he murmured.

“What look?”

“The one that says you’re about to argue. Bring it, honey. I’m ready.”

“I am not always arguing.”

“Says the woman arguing right now.”

“You’re an ass.”

“Is that any way to talk to the man taking you on a romantic getaway?”

“It’s not romantic if you practically kidnap me.”

“The number of pirate books featuring abduction in the bookstore says otherwise.”

Her lips twitched. “Do you have an answer for everything?”

“Yes.”

“Must be hard being right all the time.”

“You have no idea.”

The self-assured arrogance should have been a turn-off. Instead, it brought out the womanly side of her, the part that was happy to kick back and let a man cater to her.

Did that make her weak? Not at all. It was nice to have someone else making the decisions for a change.

Hopefully, it wouldn’t get them both killed.

“Where is this place we’re going?”

“And ruin the surprise? You’ll soon see.”

What she saw was a barren road, hardly any traffic, and snow. So much freaking white covering the ground, the trees, piled in banks on either side of the road.

What she didn’t see was any sign of someone following. They were so remote, even her phone lost signal.

No one can find me now.

She had yet to decide if that was a good or bad thing.

As for the fact that he’d only rented them one bedroom to share?

Bad. So bad. Because she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep her hands off him.

Nor did she want to.