Her Hollywood Hitman: A Dark Romantic Suspense Read Online Free Page B

 

    I got out of the car and slammed the door behind me. I didn't look behind me to see if Gabi was still sitting there. It didn't matter. She was different.  

    Too different.  

    Her beauty wasn't enough to distract me from my job. And I'd better leave getting to know her the hell alone.  

CHAPTER THREE

    Gabriella

    I screamed in the car and beat my fist on the dash.  

    “It would serve you right if I fucked up your car, asshole.” Something in me had wanted to reach out to him, but that was a big fucking mistake. Just because a man was completely fucking gorgeous didn’t mean he’d be the type of person I should get to know. He was beautiful and cruel, just like all the temptations in L.A.  

    “ Dick . I don’t even know why I talked to you in the first place,” I said, banging my hand again. A surge of anger welled up in me. All I’d wanted was one person I could talk to, one friend among the wolves. I crumpled, folding my body over and putting my head in my hands. I wanted something, an ache rising deep within me. Red had set it off, and I wanted to rush after him, find out why and what it was.  

    But he’d left. And I was alone again. It was best that he did, anyway. I could go inside and get good and wasted, and then I wouldn’t have to think about what exactly that man made me want.  

    Can’t get involved with a man like that, anyway. Mama said.

    Never trust one of your father’s men, she always told me. They’re loyal only to him. And they’ll rip you to shreds . I shuddered and watched as the tall, lanky man opened the gate and went in the backyard.  

    Damn, his body is a work of art. Not even twenty-four hours out from Berkeley, and I’m already looking for trouble.  

    Fuck. Fuck that man. I’d get fucked up tonight and prove to him that he was shit at his job. My father could deal with him in the morning. I shifted in the seat of the Aston, that heat spreading through my thighs again. Red was all trim muscle, molded into that suit. The car smelled faintly of him—clean and masculine.  

    Cool it, Gabi. He’s not interested.

      I’d seen him looking at my body while I was walking out to the car. His gaze had hit me like a freight train, making me so hot I thought I might strip in front of him. Maybe I'd gotten the wrong impression. He’d grabbed my wrist so hard I was sure there was going to be a bruise. I didn’t tolerate shit like that. I couldn’t be with a man like that after what had happened to my mother.  

    Fucking arrogant jerk. Why you gotta be so good looking? There’s gotta be another person at this party who can make me forget, at least for a moment.  

    I flung the car door open and nearly fell onto the elegant walkway. It was a different style of mansion than my father had created for himself, the Art Deco vibe a little dark and foreboding as the sun started to set. This was a house I hadn't been to before, the home of some other director who was probably interested in gawking at Rose Dawson’s daughter.  

    I shivered as I walked up to the house. I opened the door into the vast, empty space, watching shadows move around outside. This time of year, there was still a chill in the air, but there would probably be a heated pool and several Hollywood hopefuls skinny-dipping. I chuckled and walked out to the veranda, surprised that there weren't staff members to greet me. It seemed low-class for a Hollywood affair.  

    They did have a bartender though, set back away from the craziness of the pool party. I walked up to him, looking around and spotting some of the same people I always saw at these things. They might remember me too, from the drunken good times of summers and holidays past. The member of a boy band I’d made out with last winter waved in my direction, and I turned away.

    Alcohol first. And then you can decide what to do with your evening, Gabi.

    “Vodka and soda. With lime,” I said, smiling. Thank God there was an open bar.

    “Hey,