Page 6 of Collateral Love
I finally met his gaze.
Up close, Zayden King was all angles and restraint. His face wasn’t soft like Xavier’s, not the kind that made people project goodness where it didn’t belong. Zayden’s face told the truth if you knew how to read it. He had a serious gaze, disciplined and controlled. Watching his intense stare told me he was a man who was used to being responsible for outcomes.
He sat down slowly, like he wasn’t sure yet whether he was staying.
“You usually call strangers to libraries to critique their business?” he asked.
“I don’t usually waste my time,” I said. “You interested, or should I pack up?”
His mouth twitched. It wasn’t quite a smile, but I could tell I got his attention.
“Talk,” he said.
I turned my laptop toward him.
On the screen was a map of the campus and surrounding blocks. Buildings labeled. Cameras marked in red. Security routes were traced in thin blue lines and purple dashed lines, with parking structures, dorms, and exits marked. I had it all laid out clean and precise.
His eyes flicked over it quickly at first, then his hazel eyes slowed, and he assessed my map more deliberately.
“You've been watching me,” he said.
He reached down to his waist, and before he could grab his weapon, I smirked and raised my pink Ruger .380 to his head. “I’ve been watching the environment,” I corrected. “You just happened to be loud enough to notice.”
His jaw tightened slightly. He smiled, revealing his gold fronts, eyes sparkling.
“I like you, Kenya. Did you map security?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said as I lowered my gun back to my waist.
“Why?”
I met his gaze evenly. “Because they don’t change their routes. Because they get lazy. Because systems always break at the same points.”
I clicked my mouse, zooming in.
“You’ve been moving product near high-traffic areas with too many cameras,” I continued. “You’re counting on your name to keep you safe. It won’t. Not out here.”
He leaned closer, elbows on the table now. Invested.
“You know who I am,” he said. “You know what comes with that. So tell me why the fuck you think you can sit across from me like this?”
I didn’t hesitate.
“Because you’re disciplined,” I said. “Because you’re not reckless and you recognize I can help you make triple what you currently make. Because if you were, you’d have shut me down already.”
He went silent and assessed me more closely.
I clicked again, pulling up another screen.
“This is where you should be moving,” I said, highlighting a stretch just off campus. “No cameras. No security patrols. Student parking overflow. You keep transactions under ninety seconds, you rotate locations every week, and you stop dealing directly with buyers.”
He frowned. “Then who does?”
I looked at him over the edge of my screen.
“People who can afford to get caught.”
That did it.
