“You have never been, and never fucking will be, nobody,” he growls, his eyes cutting back to me. He looks up and down my body, anger is at the surface, but I can see a hunger behind his eyes too.
“Your note had four lines, Isaac, and that’s what it told me. Anyway, my job has nothing to do with you, it has fuck all to do with anyone. I’m doing me, you do you.” I throw his words back at him, and his eyes flash with what looks like hurt, before he blinks and it’s back to anger.
“You can’t fucking strip in front of those guys…” he pauses and runs a hand through his hair “… they all want a piece of you.”
“Well, maybe I want to give them a piece of me!” I scream, throwing my arms in the air. He stops pacing, turns, then stalks to me. His big body would be enough to force me backwards, but it’s the aura surrounding him that makes me step back and back again, it doesn’t stop him closing in. I back all the way up until my calves hit the sofa, but Isaac still doesn’t stop. The moment his body is lined up with mine, touching all the way from top to bottom, I fall back onto the couch. Even that doesn’t halt him as he puts an arm either side of me and leans down. His head moves until his lips rest against mine, both our mouths open, breathing heavily into each other. Our chests rise and fall simultaneously in quick succession. His eyes pierce mine, neither of us blinking.
“Don’t give them a piece of you.” His voice is soft, so much so I’m almost convinced I’ve imagined the words.
“What?” I whisper, but I know he hears me when his eyes flare. Before he gets a chance to answer there’s a small commotion and the bathroom door opens into our space. Malena walks quickly toward the outer door muttering apologies. Through all that, our eyes don’t break the contact of our intense stare. When she leaves and the door clicks shut, it’s like it kick-starts his brain again, and his eyes close, breaking our moment. He keeps his eyes closed, taking a long breath in before exhaling, then he pulls himself back, away from me, and I feel the distance like a bitter wind.
“Get dressed, you can’t do this shit. You’re better than this, showing your body off to drunken dicks. This isn’t dancing, no matter what you think. If you don’t get your shit together, I’m calling your mum.” His words are like a knife to my heart. After having that moment, I thought maybe we’d turned a corner. I should have realised that wasn’t what was happening. I need to learn. It’s time to cut the strings tying me to him. The strings I’ve been the only one holding onto.
“Go back to, Shelly.” The words come out in a raw whisper, and I know he hears my pain as he flinches. “Go,” I repeat.
His jaw clenches, and I see the muscles in his cheeks tick. Then, just like that, he spins around and strides out.
Poof.
He’s gone again.
ISAAC
‘Smack, thump… smack, thump… smack, thump.…’ I watch as the punching bag swings away and hit it again on its return. ‘Smack, thump...’
“What’s bitten your arse?” Shelly asks standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame. I continue to hit the bag but keep my eyes on her. She’s lean, around five-foot-nine with shoulder-length auburn hair. She has a few freckles dotted across her nose and cheeks, her eyes are light brown, and she has a little gap in her front teeth. She’s pretty, there’s no denying it, but what works in her favour is the innocent thing she has going on. Nobody ever thinks she’s Black Ops and could kill someone in a matter of seconds—that little nugget of information has worked in her favour, and mine, on more than one occasion.
There’s never been anything between us, there never will be, but I have to convince everyone differently tonight as we attend Uncle Con and Aunt Pea’s anniversary party. Shelly is coming with me as my new girlfriend. I wanted to go alone, but Dad pointed out the farce that is our relationship has been laid out for everyone, so they will be expecting her to come. Only four people in my family know what I really do—Mum, Dad, Uncle Dane, and Tobias. The only other person who knows outside of my organisation is a friend of mine who got out of this life a year ago.
“Do we have to go to this thing tonight?” Shelly asks when she realises I’m not going to answer her first question.
“‘Fraid so,” I throw back, grabbing the bag and halting its swing. I walk over to the bench and pick up my towel wiping my face down.
“Shit, I hate this part,” she grumbles, picking at her nails and not seeming too bothered at all.
“You and me both,” I snap.
“Okay touchy, is it your time of the month?” she asks with a smirk.
“Just go get changed into something more feminine,” I order looking at her jogging bottoms and shapeless t-shirt, which is her usual attire.
“Fine,” she groans and stalks out.
I lean back against the gym wall. I had the house renovated and a brick building installed at the bottom of the garden so I could have a gym. The intention was to only come back for a couple of weeks, but that timeline grew, and one job turned into two. It seems the scum of the world like to operate in London these days. Lucky me.
Every
