Genre: Romance/Suspense/Erotic

Heat rating: NC17

ZANDER 

Preface

Witnessing a murder wasn't like how they showed it in the movies. Blood didn't just explode out of the body. It was a slow trickle, falling like a thick, crimson latex paint from the bullet hole down to the man's shirt, grubby from the merciless beating he'd received. The man didn't drop like a bag of flour on the grimy ground of the dark alleyway. His mouth parted slightly, letting his last breath escape in a form of a gurgle. His eyes widened, wondering if it was really happening. Was he really dying? Then his gaze found Cassidy's as she hid in the dark before he slumped forward. And for good measure, the man with the aluminum bat took another swing at the lifeless corpse.

It was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Her first instinct was to scream, but the devilish expressions on the murderers' faces told her it was a bad idea. Cassidy whimpered, while she bunched the silk fabric of her dress covering her stomach. Her hand flew to her mouth as bile rose--burning her throat, spreading bitterness on her tongue--and effectively stopped the fright from coming out of her mouth.

Run! Someone else's voice shouted inside her head. Self-preservation was high on her list. When it came to fight or flight, Cassidy always flew, as fast as she possibly could. She turned on her heel, jostling a few empty tin cans to the cement floor, and alerting the killers behind her.

Cassidy didn't bother to turn around to check if the men had heard her before running back into the restaurant, where she would be safe, where she could blend in and pretend that there wasn't a man lying on his face in the back of the famous Italian restaurant. She would push away the thoughts and get on with her life. People died all the time. Her time wasn't tonight. She was sure of it. But before she could push open the door that would take her into the short hallway leading to the bathrooms, she heard a strong commanding voice back in the alley barked an order, "No witnesses!"

Her heart dropped right down with her twisted gut. Blood drained from her face. Her fingertips turned icy cold when she realized how familiar that voice was to her.

It belonged to a man who was the reason why she was at that establishment.

***

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Interesting facts: The idea of this book came from one of acheairs' writing prompts.  It is my first attempt at Romance/Suspense.  Zander appears in my published novel, "Harley".  Can you figure out who he is?