KILLER INSTINCT (A Mafia Bad Boy Romance Novel) by Julia Gardener

with a mother and enjoy moments like these. His father didn’t seem to be around much when he was growing up. It was day after day of violence for him. I didn’t help matters by coming to him with the Black Fang after me.
     
     
    I did the dishes for him as a show of thanks.
     
     
    Later, I sat on the couch and thought about the future. I hadn’t given it much thought beyond getting back at Colman and Gregori. Chances were that that things would never go back to normal, even with Gregori dead. I’d have to either go to the CIA for protection or disappear off the planet.
     
     
    After we rested, it was time to meet Colman.
     
     
    “The good news is that Colman is right where we want him,” Jackie said as he drove us to Colman’s luxury penthouse. “He’s been holed up in his suite for the past three days. Colman’s been living off room service. He’s likely planning on changing his identity.”
     
     
    “The bad news?”
     
     
    “The Black Fang has probably made their move on him,” Jackie answered with a frown. “I’ve kept my ear to the ground it seems like Gregori’s men are asking about Colman’s whereabouts. They know he was last sighted near that building.”
     
     
    I sighed. “That doesn’t make things any easier.”
     
     
    “Their alliance lasted longer than I expected. They’re looking to silence Colman before he makes a deal with the CIA.”
     
     
    “So we’re on a clock.”
     
     
    He nodded. “Sooner or later, someone is going to snitch on Colman. It could be a maid at the hotel who talks on Facebook about the weird hotel guest at work. Or someone Colman’s working with betrays him for a bigger payday from Gregori. That’s when it will be lights for him. If we want answers, we have to get to him before they do.”
     
     
    I had gotten used to this line of work always being so complicated. “What’s the plan?”
     
     
    “It’s pretty straightforward all things considered,” he replied. “We’ll use the maintenance elevator to go directly to the penthouse. It’s clear this time of day so we shouldn’t encounter any hotel staff or guests. The cleaning staff have their break during this time.”
     
     
    “Is there any security on the elevator? Do we have to break the lock on it or something?”
     
     
    He shook head. “No, it just needs a four digit passcode. As for Colman’s room, I have a security override card. I bought it off black market. It looks like a disgruntled maintenance worker sold it to hackers.”
     
     
    I raised an eyebrow. “Is there anything money can’t buy on the black market?”
     
     
    He laughed. “The sky’s the limit. They even offered to scramble the security footage for us. A bargain all things considered. We just have to be take the ride up straight to Colman’s suite.”
     
     
    I felt a shiver running up and down my spine. I gripped the handle of the gun hidden in my jacket. “This seems too easy.”
     
     
    “It’s normal to feel uncomfortable when things seem simple in this line of work,” Jackie said in agreement. “I’m more worried about Colman. With luck, he doesn’t try something stupid once we get the drop on him.”
     
     
    We would get him to talk… before killing him.
     
     
    The two of us found the maintenance elevator in the parking lot. The passcode worked without a hitch. The ride up was a silent one.
     
     
    I wasn’t a wolf like Jackie. I didn’t have his killer instinct. But I couldn’t let Colman get away.
     
     
    The doors opened and we headed to Colman’s room. Thankfully, no hotel staff were here. There wouldn’t be anyone to disturb us. Jackie slotted in the security override card. Within seconds, the door was open.
     
     
    However, he didn’t open it just yet. Like a one man SWAT team, Jackie got out his gun and prepared to swing the door open. He glanced at me to back me up. I held out my gun and turned off the safety.
     
     
    With expert precision, Jackie opened the door and