Beauty and the Assassin

by Nadia Lee

  What’s he talking about? The streets of L.A. aren’t like a war zone! “You said Roy wouldn’t bother me again.”

  “Correct. He’s gone.”

  “So why would we need defensive maneuvers?”

  That makes him shut up.

  God, it feels good to win a point. “Anyway, if you insist on going to work, I’m driving. And that’s that.”

  He sighs. “Fine.”

  “But if you don’t look good, we’re coming straight home.”

  “That won’t happen.”

  “We’ll see.”

  The man thinks he’s made of steel. But he’s very much human. I’ve seen him bleed. It still bothers me he won’t take the pain medication. He has to be hurting, and he’s being stubborn for no reason. If he’s worried about getting groggy or something he could’ve asked the doctor for something else.

  But noooo! That would take away from all that Slavic vodka manliness. I’m tempted to inform him that taking medicine doesn’t cause erectile dysfunction.

  When we’re in the office, Rhonda hugs me. “Oh my goodness, are you all right? I was so scared when those men grabbed you! I made sure Elizabeth and Tolyan knew about it first. I wanted to see you, but you were busy being questioned by the police and had to be looked over by doctors and all that. You know, when something traumatic like that happens, the best thing to do is sleep and sleep some more…”

  Words pour out of her mouth. I let her talk, since she seems to need to get it all out. Others come over to make sure I’m okay.

  Finally, I say, “I’m fine, Rhonda. Your quick action made all the difference because Tolyan found me almost immediately.”

  “I’m glad I was able to help.” She hugs me again, even more tightly. “I would’ve died if anything had happened to you.”

  “He got hurt, though,” I say, slightly embarrassed by the amount of fussing.

  Her eyes go wide. “I heard something about him going to the hospital.” She looks at Tolyan over my shoulder. “What happened?”

  “He got stabbed.” I get it out quickly, before he can say something like “A nick.”

  Her hands fly to her mouth. “Oh my God, Tolyan, why are you here?”

  Just then, Elizabeth walks out of her office, hands on her hips. She looks like a fashionista warrior in a white dress with a waist cinched with a platinum belt and silver sandals. “Tolyan, Angelika, what exactly are you doing here?”

  “I have this thing called a job,” he says flatly.

  “And I have to work on the bachelor auction,” I say, unsure why she seems confused and upset that I’m here. But maybe she thought I’d stay home to take care of him.

  “You’ve gone through a significant trauma. You should be home, recuperating,” Elizabeth says.

  “Told you,” I whisper to Tolyan, since what I got from Friday’s incident is bruises on my wrists, nothing more, while he bled. A lot.

  “Both of you,” Elizabeth says, pointing a finger in my direction.

  “But I’m not injured.”

  “The heck you aren’t. Emotional trauma matters. Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there.”

  “She’s quite hurt,” Tolyan says. “She can’t stop worrying about me when she’s the one who got kidnapped.”

  “Both of you, go home. Don’t come back for two weeks. No working from home, either.”

  Two weeks?

  “I mean it,” she adds firmly.

  “But what about the auction? The to-do list to organize it is huge! I—”

  “No arguing unless you want to be fired.”

  I shut my mouth.

  “Good. Now. Please do as I say. I just can’t…” She inhales deeply, clenching and unclenching her hands. Her eyelids flutter, and I see tears in her eyes. She’s worried about us. And she’s upset over what happened.

  All my objections to our enforced leave vanish. “Okay, Elizabeth,” I say meekly. “Will do.”

  “Good. Now, before you go, can I talk to you for a second, Angelika?”

  I follow her into the office and shut the door behind me.

  She walks to the couch and armchair, starts to sit, then stops. “Please take a seat,” she says, pacing.

  What is going on? “I’m fine,” I say. Her nervous energy is making me jittery. I’ll bounce my heels the entire time if she forces me to sit.

  “If you don’t feel well, you should sit.”

  “I will.”

  Elizabeth paces some more, then finally halts. “How’s he doing?”

  Ah. “He says he’s fine, but I think he’s in pain. He won’t take the painkillers his doctor prescribed, though.”

  “He’s never liked medication.”

  “And he drinks vodka,” I add. I’ve been trying to get him to quit drinking while he’s injured—and failing. Maybe Elizabeth knows a way.

  “As long as he isn’t drinking more than a bottle, it’s no big deal. His tolerance may be even higher than mine. It’s like water to him, and if he isn’t taking any drugs, it won’t matter.”

  O-kay. Never mind.

  “It isn’t like him to rush in like that…or get injured. I thought he had his gun with him,” Elizabeth says, rubbing her temple. “Otherwise, I would’ve held him here until Antoine could join him.”

  “Antoine?”

  “My husband’s security consultant.” She shoots me an apologetic look. “That probably isn’t what you want to hear, since you were desperate for somebody to come save you. But I didn’t want him hurt.”

  “I’m with you on this.” I still can’t forget the terror that rushed through me when the trio pulled out their guns, and Tolyan threw the sole knife he had with him at one of them and fought the other two without any weapons.

  “I texted Tolyan to take time off with you, but I don’t think he saw.”

  “Even if he had, he would’ve ignored them.”

  “Is he being difficult?”

  “Very.” Then I remember what he said about getting stabbed to prove himself to me. “Is he often that reckless?”

  Elizabeth looks surprised. “Reckless? Never. He’s methodical, careful”—she searches for a word—“dispassionate. That’s what makes him good at what he does.”

  That’s what I think, too. There are other adjectives, but the three she listed would all make my top ten list to describe Tolyan. “But he said he got stabbed for me,” I blurt out.

  She tilts her head, her eyebrows pulling together to form a deep V as she considers. “He must’ve decided getting stabbed was important, and it was worth it to achieve his objective.”

  He told me his objective was to have me stay. He said he loved me. I haven’t answered him one way or the other. I’m still overwhelmed by the depth of his need for me.

  The thing is, I do love him. I think I fell in love with him the moment he showed up on the jogging trail with his three Dobermans. I just didn’t realize that until now.

  “I see. Thank you for all you’ve done. Tolyan and I will head home now.”

  “Let me know if you need anything.”

  “We will.”

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Angelika

  When we’re back home, the Dobermans rush toward us, their tongues hanging out in excitement. We don’t usually come home this early, so maybe they think we’re here just to play with them.

  Tolyan gives them treats, then lets them out on the rooftop. They jump around and play with each other while we sit by the pool. The water reflects the late-morning sun. He hasn’t swum since Friday.

  But it’s nice to be out by the pool and soak up the warm sunlight. I realize I’ve never been by the pool since I moved in with him.

  “When are you getting the stitches out?” I ask, looking at the spot where he got stabbed. Sometimes I still feel like I can see the blood dripping.

  “Friday,” he says.

  “I’ll go with you.”

  “It isn’t necessary.”

  “It is when you got stabb
ed to keep me. Who knows what other reckless thing you might do?”

  He frowns a little. “If I knew you’d hang it over my head, I wouldn’t have told you, no matter how much you insisted on honesty.”

  “Not having honesty would totally doom our relationship. I can’t be with a guy who lies.”

  “But you would’ve never found out.”

  Spoken like a true Machiavellian! And so missing the point. “That’s when you should be the most honest!”

  “Why?” A small bit of resentment roughens his voice. “I haven’t received much reward for the effort.”

  “Uh, I seem to remember that I did reward—”

  “No. You staying with me long-term, ideally forever, which you haven’t committed to yet. You said ‘I love you’ would be enough, but you never responded when I said it to you. The sex afterward was nice, but it doesn’t really mean anything.”

  Is he sulking? I didn’t respond because I simply couldn’t speak with all the emotions surging inside me when he said the words, and then with the kiss and everything else afterward, it sort of faded into the background. Regardless… “I can’t believe you’re being this cynical. Sex means a great deal.”

  “Yes, like goodbye.” His lips purse for a fraction of a second.

  I stare at him. His mouth is set in that flat, stubborn line, his pose indolent and confident. But I swear I sense a hint of vulnerability in what he said.

  And that makes me want to hug him and kiss him until he realizes I didn’t have sex with him to say goodbye. “I wouldn’t fuss over a man I planned to leave.”

  He doesn’t respond.

  “And I wouldn’t sleep curled up next to a man I planned to ditch, either.”

  He still doesn’t say anything.

  “If you want us to be together, then I want you to take better care of yourself. No more getting stabbed or, or…shot or whatever. You wouldn’t like it if I put myself in danger.”

  He tilts his head and gives me a long, hard look. “I wouldn’t let you.”

  “Because you’re bigger and stronger than me. Sadly, I’m not in that position, so I have to rely on you to be good to yourself.”

  “I’m always good to myself,” he mutters.

  “Fine. So no taking needless risks. I’m really fond of your body.”

  “So am I.”

  “And your face, too.”

  “Good.”

  “And I’m crazy about you, too, Tolyan. You don’t have to do anything insane to prove yourself. If we’re always honest with each other, words will be enough. Does that make sense?”

  He gives a slow nod, his body tense.

  I reach over, take his large hand in mine and thread our fingers together. His pulse throbs against my palm, and I kiss the back of his hand. “Since I don’t want any misunderstanding, I’m going to make it as plain as possible. I love you too. And I want to try to make this relationship work. What do you say?”

  “I say that’s the best idea I’ve heard in my life.” And he presses his lips to mine.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Tolyan

  –one year and several months later

  Comfortable in my favorite armchair, I look up from my tablet as the little fawn comes home, her step light.

  “How did your group study go?” I ask, then sip my vodka. It’s a little after three, and I’m working from home today.

  “Good. I think I’m ready for the econ midterm on Monday.”

  I nod. She enrolled in UCLA this year. Going to college is her dream, so I did everything possible to support her. I’m proud of her for also continuing to work at the foundation part-time. She wants to get a degree in economics and math in four years and use her education to help the less fortunate.

  “Should you be drinking while you’re working?” she asks.

  I cock an eyebrow. “Should you even ask that question?” I flick my eyes to the dining table. “Remember our poker game?”

  Her cheeks flush, making her look younger and cuter. She has this odd notion that I shouldn’t drink. On top of that, she seems to believe that if I have more than a single bottle of vodka I won’t be able to control myself.

  So to prove her wrong, we played strip poker after I had more than a bottle. I won hand after hand until she was bare except for the tiny black thong. Then I got bored with the game and had my way with her until she nearly blacked out from climaxing.

  She clears her throat. “Yes, well, anywaaay, we’re thinking about doing the group project together for part of the econ final, too.”

  Her attempt at changing the topic is cute, so I let it slide. No need to embarrass her over what should be a good, satisfying memory for both of us.

  I look down at the tablet and skim the background check I have on the kids in her econ study group. They’re clean except for one guy with four tickets for reckless driving…and a DUI. He better not offer to drive her anywhere. I let her drive my Audi convertible because she looks adorable—that’s the only word for it—in the car, but you never know with young men. Their brains are full of testosterone and a special “young and immortal” psychosis that makes them act like monocellular idiots.

  I should also note those male idiots might consider stalking her. It’s too bad humans don’t pee on each other to mark their territory.

  Stravinsky looks up and whines like he can read my thoughts.

  “What project are you working on?” Angelika asks.

  “Some security matters.” I keep it vague. She doesn’t need to know everything I do to ensure her safety. No unworthy boys bugging her. No pests like Eric, who will now never work for any organization affiliated with the Pryce family.

  I put the tablet away and stand. “Want a snack?” It’s about time I interrogate her—without her realizing I’m doing so—to see if anyone’s been annoying her.

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “Greek yogurt?”

  “Ooh, my favorite!”

  I smile and hand her a strawberry-flavored yogurt along with a spoon. She takes it with eyes large in anticipation. “Love you.”

  She’s gotten used to saying that in the last several months. Not only that, she says it at the most random times, like she’s stating it every time it pops into her head. I find that I like it.

  I place a tender kiss on her forehead. “Love you more, little fawn.”

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Tolyan

  Something’s up with the little fawn.

  She’s been gazing at nothing for a while. When the dogs came out to greet her, she petted them, but I don’t think she can recall which dog she touched first. Or which one begged for his treat extra hard today.

  Now she’s opposite me at the dining table eating her dinner. Her movements are mechanical, her eyes unfocused. If I ask her what she just swallowed, she probably won’t be able to answer.

  She had a calculus midterm in the morning and spent a few hours at the Pryce Family Foundation. She was fine when she arrived in the office, so I doubt it’s the midterm that’s bugging her.

  So. Who at the foundation upset her?

  More importantly, will I need to hurt them?

  “What’s wrong?” I ask.

  She swallows, then places a small bit of pot roast into her mouth and starts chewing again.

  I exercise what’s left of my patience. “What’s wrong?” My voice is still calm, but louder.

  “Huh?” She stares at me, then blinks. “Oh, sorry. Uh. Nothing.”

  “Honesty, remember?” I gesture at her with my knife.

  Her cheeks turn red. She lowers her gaze for a second in embarrassment. “I was just thinking about stuff.”

  “And? Let’s be honest about this ‘stuff.’”

  She sighs. I’m certain she didn’t expect her insistence to come back and bite her in the ass. I’m not letting it slide, though. I want to know who’s been distracting her.

  “It’s Elizabeth.”

  Lizochka? I don’t recall her sayi
ng anything to the little fawn today. Lizochka’s been quite busy recently.

  “And Dominic.”

  That explains everything. He can irritate you just by existing. “What did he do?” I want the specificity of his crime so I can decide how many limbs of his I should break. I’m not going to kill him, since that would upset Lizochka and Thomas. But you don’t need all your limbs intact to live.

  “He didn’t do anything except say hi,” Angelika says.

  That “saying hi” could’ve been upsetting to the little fawn. It’s the man’s fault. He has the most annoying voice. Actually, everything about him is annoying. I wish Lizochka hadn’t fallen in love with him.

  Anyway, I’ll break his right leg. Being stuck on crutches will do wonders for his personality and character. He might quit saying “hi” from now on, and humanity will be better off.

  “Please don’t hurt him,” she says, giving me an “I know what’s in your head” look.

  “What do you mean?” I frown, all affronted innocence. For some reason, Angelika can read me surprisingly accurately at times. Somewhat disconcerting, since nobody else can. It’s as though my shield slips without me noticing when I’m with her.

  “I know that look. You’re thinking about hurting him.”

  “No, I’m not.” I’m planning to hurt him. Two very different things.

  “He didn’t do anything, honest. It’s me.”

  “How so?”

  Sighing, she reaches for her glass of burgundy and drinks it. “It’s just…” She sighs again. “He’s so in love with Elizabeth.”

  Yes, which is another reason—albeit a minor one—he’s alive.

  “They’re such a team,” she adds. “A unit. A family.”

  I process that, unsure of how exactly that’s making her distracted. Or why seeing Lizochka and Dominic together is worthy of two sighs from the little fawn.

  “They anchor each other. No matter what happens in their lives, they’re going to be okay as long as they have each other.” She sighs again. A tinge of longing threads the soft exhalation of breath.

  Ah. She wants the same for herself. A team. A unit. Family. An anchor to keep her grounded.