Free Rulers of Deception by Katie Jennings

and elegance. The beautifully arranged white lilies and orchids that rested on mahogany end tables and the front counter brought freshness and light to that tradition. She was, above all else, a master of contrasts.
    Wasn’t that exactly what had intrigued him about her since the beginning? She knew how to keep cool under pressure, and yet she never lost that flare of fire in her eyes. It remained there, burning brilliant and bright and more than a little dangerous.
    He lived for that kick of danger, that swift shock to the system that hurt and pleasured at the same time. It meant, above all else, that he was alive.
    A smile crept over his face at the thought as he made his way to the elevator. Before he could punch the button for the second floor, someone called his name.
    “Wyatt! Hey, boss, how ya doin’?”
    He froze, his eyes closing in regret. He’d never thought he’d hear that voice again. He turned slowly and looked at his old friend. “Jimmy.”
    Jimmy Moretti grinned ear to ear as he approached, slapping Wyatt on the shoulder. “I knew you’d remember me. How long’s it been?”
    “Ten years.”
    Jimmy hadn’t changed, at least not much. There were more lines fanning out around his dark, heavy-lidded eyes, flecks of gray in his trademark moustache and in his messy curls of black hair. He seemed thinner, if that was possible, his shoulders hunched and draped in an oversized red button-up shirt and jeans. A nervous tick that hadn’t been there ten years earlier flickered in Jimmy’s right eye.
    It hit Wyatt then that he shouldn’t be seen with the man, old friend or not. That part of his past was still successfully under wraps. If Linc walked by, or worse, Grant, then it would only bring up questions that he had no intention of answering.
    “Come this way,” Wyatt ordered, grabbing Jimmy’s shoulder and dragging him through a door and down a hallway that led to a maintenance and storage area behind the hotel’s kitchen.
    Jimmy shuffled along, then looked up at Wyatt when they stopped. “You ashamed of me or somethin’? I know I’m ugly, man, but c’mon.”
    “It’s not that.” Wyatt sighed, removing his fedora to run his hand through his hair. “It’s just been a long time, Jimmy. I’m not the same guy I was.”
    “I can see that,” Jimmy observed, eyeing Wyatt from head to toe. “Got yourself a rich wife. Bravo, boss.”
    Wyatt frowned. “How do you know that?”
    “Even I can read the papers. That’s how I knew I’d find you here.” Jimmy leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms and ankles. “Look, I know this ain’t kosher, me showing up like this. But—”
    “No, it’s not.” Wyatt growled, his temper flaring. “I’m sorry you got busted, but there was nothing I could do.”
    “I don’t blame you for that, boss.” Jimmy shook his head with a light laugh. “You told me you wanted nuthin’ to do with the coke and I respect that, which is why I did my time and never once said nuthin’ about you to the cops. I ain’t no rat.”
    Wyatt felt his anger deflate just as quickly as it had come. The old memories resurfaced, painful and dark. “I remember when I heard you got picked up by the DEA at the border. I was already halfway to Vegas by then.”
    “And on to your new life,” Jimmy added with a hard grin. “Hey look, I don’t blame you. We had some good times together, you and me. We go way back. It makes me happy to see you doin’ so well.”
    Wyatt pushed back the memories and nostalgia and met his old friend’s gaze pointedly. “Why are you here?”
    “Two things…first, I came to warn you.”
    “About what?”
    Jimmy uncrossed his arms and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets instead. “I caught wind that Franco’s got it out for you. He wants you dead.”
    A spark of fear lit a tiny fire in Wyatt’s gut, then extinguished. “He knows where to find me. If he wanted me dead, he could’ve done it any time in the last year and a half that