Liliana Arthur
I sat there, hands still gripping the steering wheel, eyes locked on the glossy black G-Wagon like it might make the first move.
It didn’t.
No door opening. No window rolling down. Just sitting there, silent, blocking the road like a damn barricade put there just for me.
My pulse was a steady hammer in my ears. Whoever was in there either had a death wish… or thought I wouldn’t be willing to make one happen for them.
I shifted in my seat, leaning forward slightly, trying to get a glimpse through those tinted windows. Nothing. Not even a shadow.
For a long moment, the only thing moving was the heat shimmer rising off the asphalt between us.
Then—finally—movement.
The driver’s side door clicked open.
A leg emerged first—bare, tanned, toned, ending in a black stiletto heel that probably cost more than some people's pay check.
Then she stepped out completely.
She was a redhead. Not the dull kind, but that deep, copper-red that caught the light and threw it back like fire. It fell in loose waves all the way to her waist. Her skin had that expensive kind of glow you couldn’t fake, the kind that screamed private spas and skincare regimens with more steps than a staircase.
She wore a fitted black suit jacket and a skirt that ended halfway down her thigh, tailored sharp enough to cut. The skirt had just enough movement in it when she walked around the hood of her car that you knew she did everything deliberately.
Silver eyes.
Even from inside my car, I felt them lock onto me. Cold. Calculated. Unblinking.
I’d never seen her before in my life. But something about the way she looked at me… it felt like she’d been watching me for a long time.
She slid off her sunglasses that were perched on her head and in one slow motion, folding them delicately in her fingers before tucking them into her jacket pocket.
And then she leaned against the hood of the G-Wagon like she had all the time in the world. Like stopping me dead in the middle of the road was just… Tuesday.
I reached for my door handle without thinking.
Her gaze tracked the movement.
The heat hit me full force when I stepped out, but it wasn’t the sun that made the back of my neck prickle—it was her.
I stalked toward her, jaw tight. “You want to tell me what the hell this is?”
She smiled. Not warm. Not friendly. The kind of smile that told you she already had an answer for every question you could possibly throw at her.
“Oh, come on,” she said, voice smooth and confident. “I just had to meet you.”
My steps slowed. The voice.
It hit me before she even finished the sentence.
Her.
The mystery woman.
The one who’d been calling me for like she owned the rights to my time.
I stopped a few feet away, eyes narrowing. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Her smile widened slightly, like I’d just passed some unspoken test. “Since you were being stubborn, Ronny… I had to meet you one way or another.”
I took another step forward, letting my shadow stretch over her pristine shoes. “By almost getting me into an accident?”
She raised one perfect brow, completely unfazed. “Well… you didn’t get into one, did you?”
I could feel my teeth grind. She was the kind of woman who treated control like oxygen—needed it to survive. And I was the kind of man who didn’t like being told when to breathe.
“Whatever game you’re playing, find someone else.”
“I told you, it’s not a game.” She pushed off the hood and closed the space between us by a fraction, enough that I caught the faint trace of something floral in her perfume. “My name is Liliana Arthur, by the way.” She held out her hand like we were old friends just meeting again.
I stared at it. Didn’t move. Didn’t shake.
She let her arm drop without missing a beat.
“Good,” I said flatly. “Now that I know your name, I can tell you exactly what to do with it. Take whatever job you think you’re selling and give it to someone else.”
She gave a dramatic sigh, the kind you give when a child refuses to eat their vegetables. “You’re going to be difficult, aren’t you?”
“I’m not your anything,” I shot back.
Her hand dipped into her jacket pocket, and for a second my instincts screamed—but all she pulled out was a black card with silver lettering.
Before I could stop her, she stepped close—close enough that the tips of her hair brushed my arm—and slid the card into my front pocket. I caught her wrist, but she was quick, pulling back like it was all part of the plan.
I yanked the card out immediately, holding it between my fingers. “I don’t want this.”
She just smiled again, slow and knowing.
Then she leaned in, so close I felt the whisper of her breath near my ear. Her voice dropped, low and almost seductive. “I know you, Ronny. You’re a curious cat. You’ll definitely find me.”
The way she said it wasn’t a dare. It was a promise.
Before I could get a word out, she pulled back, slid her sunglasses on with a little flick of her wrist, and turned toward her G-Wagon.
The driver’s side door shut with a solid thunk, the engine rumbling to life an instant later.
She didn’t peel away or try to show off speed—she just pulled out smoothly, merging back into the empty road like she hadn’t just hijacked my morning.
I stood there, the card still in my hand, watching her taillights shrink into the distance until they disappeared entirely.
I should’ve tossed the damn thing right then. Should’ve dropped it in the nearest storm drain and forgotten her name before it could carve a space in my head.
Instead, I just stood there.
Speechless.
And already wondering what the hell Liliana Arthur really wanted with me.
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