Page 17 of Wanted 2

If only I didn’t have to help Don and betray the Count. I’d never met anyone like him. Abrupt and commanding, yet kind and surprisingly tender. Sexy. God, yes, sexy. And mysteriously dark…

Shit.

I was falling totally falling for my boss/target.

That wouldn't end well at all.

6

The next few days flew past. I inspected every inch of the house, and I’d listened to the bank’s music so much I caught myself singing the sappy songs in the shower. Still, after all that effort, I hadn’t found a thing, I didn't have time to order any of those fancy devices.

It was late when I made it back to my room. Jeremy had fallen asleep on the couch while reading a book. I had just enough energy to toss a blanket over him before collapsing into bed, exhausted.

My cellphone vibrated just as sleep was settling over me. I moaned and glanced at the screen.

“1”

One?Then, realization flooded. Shit. One day left. Twenty-four hours.

I’d run out of time.

I sat up, suddenly wide-awake.

No way was sleep coming for me now. Instead, I was visited by the ghosts of bad life choices. The first ghost berated me for betraying the Count. The second one showed me what would happen should I fail, and Don dug his claws of revenge into his pound of flesh owed, only it wasn’t my flesh he would collect on.

No matter what happened, I was going to be miserable, but wasn’t that just par for the course of my life?

Thanks, universe. Thanks for all the help.

Sick of tossing and turning, I slipped out of bed and padded quietly into the kitchen. After retrieving a tub of raw cookie dough from the fridge, I sat at the island and ate my feelings.

Part of me wondered what would happen should I approach the Count and tell him everything. I nearly did, yet deep inside, I just couldn’t take the chance. Yeah, he’d been spending a lot of time with Jeremy, and I’d let myself fall deeper into the spell of attraction, but that didn’t mean I could trust him. The closer I got to him, the more my instincts screamed that he was a man of many secrets. Many. And in my experience, those kinds of secrets weren’t the good kind. Long story short, I finally came to the conclusion I just couldn’t risk Jeremy’s life and future on such an unknown.

And that meant I had to go through with Don’s plan.

My heart tore, but I had to choose. It was Jeremy or the Count. It wasn’t much of a battle. Jeremy would always win.

And with that, I had only one path before me. I had to help Don. I had to freaking force the Count into his office.

I tapped my fingers on the cookie dough container like a drum. How could I get the Count to open his safe?

I tried to come up with a plan, but my mind either wanted to wallow in self-pity over betraying the Count or it wanted me to forget everything and go hunt down some Tums.

Finally, a good six Tums later, I had my plan.

It wasn’t the best, but it was the best I could do.

“I need money.”

The Count arched an elegant brow and waited where he stood in his private library, book in hand.

Hell, he wasn’t making this easy. Did he enjoy watching people squirm? As dark and brooding as he was, he didn’t seem like the type to lord it over others. In fact, he’d seemed quite opposite.

I swallowed. I couldn’t fail. This had to work. I didn’t have a backup plan. “It’s Jeremy.”

“Jeremy?”

“He’s talented. Brilliant, actually. You've seen that. He needs supplies for the science fair. I didn’t save back any money this time.”