We were both from high-profile families, so we had to hide our faces whenever possible. His father was the governor, and my family ran one of New York’s wealthiest corporate empires. We’d make front-page headlines if word got out we took down criminals in our spare time.

Daniel twisted his neck, looking over at the mirror. “The guy who hunted me is here?” He returned his attention to his current problem.

Hudson answered him with a nod.

“You’re not cops or DEA agents. So, who are you?”

“Consider us concerned citizens.” Hudson offered a politer response than I would have. “You’ve given your word never to lift a hand to a woman again, and you know what will happen if you break that promise. Now, I need to know who you’re working for.” He unsheathed the knife strapped to the side of his cargo pants.

If Daniel’s common sense were ever to return (if he had any in the first place), now would be the time. Hudson didn’t fuck around. Same as me.

“Nah, man. I can’t talk about that.” Daniel spit out blood.

“Fine.” Hudson shrugged. “You’re just some street-corner dealer, right? I suppose your boss won’t notice if you don’t show up.”

“You have no idea who you’re messing with,” he snarled, and more blood came from his mouth along with his words.

Shouldn’t have made me run.

“Oh yeah? Why don’t you tell us, then?” Hudson kept his tone casual, circling him.

“You’re treating me like a terrorist,” he said instead of answering. “Ain’t this a little extreme for drugs and that, uh . . . other thing?”

Other thing? Hitting a woman? I rotated my neck side to side, doing my best to dial down my anger before I got blood on my clean shirt. I’d rather not change again.

“Extreme, really?” Hudson scoffed. “Tell that to the parents of the kid you said almost died last week.”

Daniel’s throat bobbed, his expression flickering between remorse and fear. “You just don’t understand.”

Hudson dragged the tip of his blade along the man’s sternum, slow and deliberate. “Then help us understand.”

A quick check of my watch confirmed I was already late for my date. Time to speed this up.

Setting down my whiskey, I knocked at the glass again, signaling to Hudson I was stepping in.

I undid the top two buttons of my white dress shirt. Spectacular color to wear for this. Then I rolled the sleeves to my elbows before covering my head and face with the same mask I’d had on earlier.

Door open, no weapon in hand, I remained standing there without fully entering the space.

Daniel’s green eyes immediately flew to my forearms, and his breath hitched. “Your scars.”