The Assassin

by SE Chardou

  “So, let me get this straight.” Fernando finished his champagne in exactly two long swallows. “You—merely a wisp of a woman—all innocent blue eyes and a body made for sin . . . are supposed to be the person who assassinates me?”

  The heady feeling brought on by the excellent champagne left as fast as it’d come. Ice crawled quickly through my veins as the hair on the back of my neck stood at attention.

  So much for the element of fucking surprise.

  “I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I selected a prawn, dipped it in sauce and took a bite. “Do I look like a hired killer to you?”

  “No,” he replied truthfully, “however, you don’t grow up in a country like Mexico without figuring out that most people are not what they seem. Take you for instance. You come in here dressed up and looking like sex yet you wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet in my head if you thought you could get away with it.”

  I tried to smile ingratiatingly. “I’m a bit confused why you would think anyone would want you dead at all.”

  Fernando laughed but his was hearty and cold at the same time. “I could think of quite a few people who would love to see me dead. Naomi Cox being the prime suspect. What I did to her was deplorable. I kidnapped her and raped her repeatedly. Of course it didn’t sit well with her then fiancé but there was nothing he could do.”

  “I don’t know Naomi Cox very well—certainly not well enough for her to confess something like that happened to her.” The blood began to boil in my veins like lava. “What the fuck are you smiling about? Is the fact that you took a woman against her will a big turn-on to you? Are you some sort of sick fuckin’ twist who gets off on hurting and humiliating women?”

  “Only one certain woman, and believe me, she got what she deserved. She left me in devastation. Naomi is the only woman I have ever loved and she could have been a queen at my side. But what did she do? She gave it all up to be a whore to some biker bastard and not once did she ever look back or think about what we had. She needed to be taught a lesson, and I believe she’d learned it until she put the bounty on my head—”

  “It wasn’t Naomi.” I glared at him, my eyes never leaving his. “It was a job through an independent contractor. I don’t get many details but I understand enough to know she couldn’t afford to ever take you out. You’re special to all the right people, and she would be putting her life at stake if she ever decided to hurt one hair on your head. As far as I know, she’s moved on and is making a life with her new husband.”

  “Ah, so you don’t deny you’re here to kill me?”

  “No but I won’t confirm my intentions either. This wouldn’t exactly be a great set up unless I had a death wish. All your bodyguards are packing—I would never make it out of this club alive.” I smirked as I reached over, grabbed the bottle of Cristal and refilled my champagne flute.

  “Like I said, I knew it when I saw you. Those icy blue eyes so fucking cold, they could freeze a man’s heart not to mention his cock.” Fernando refilled his champagne flute and tossed it back quickly. “This is the only warning you’ll ever get from me. If I suspect you are following me or trying to worm your way into my life then I will do to you something much worse than what I inflicted on Naomi.”

  I was silent, weighing the pros and cons. I refused to shoot off my mouth and incriminate myself any further.

  “Just think.” He scooped up a good portion of caviar and placed it on a slice of bite-sized, sourdough bread. “If I could I do what I did to Naomi, and I can freely admit to still being in love with the woman to this day then what do you think I would do to someone I neither love nor hate but merely . . . tolerate? I can tell you the torture will be like adrenaline in my veins. It would fuel me to keep you alive as long as possible, if only to prolong your suffering.”

  “I don’t doubt you would do everything you’ve indicated but you no longer have anything to worry about from me. My cover is blown. They’ll have to find someone else—whoever they are.”

  Fernando sized me up, those deadly hazel-green eyes glaring into my very soul while a remix of “2 On” played so loudly, the partition did nothing about the noise carrying over from outside our little private room.

  “They aren’t going to send anyone else because it was one of them who told me you were coming for me. Let’s just say . . . there are rules to this game we play in the dangerous underworld we choose to live in. And if you want to survive my dear, you will learn the code quickly or you will risk being just another casualty.”

  He leaned closer to me, placing his elbows on the table and pressed his hands together. “Tell me, would anyone miss you? I mean besides Pyro?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” My blue eyes iced over, and I refused to give anything away when it came to my relationship with Pyro.

  “You don’t have to answer. Estelle feared for her brother’s life when I approached her yesterday. She was in a state of shock and almost dropped several bags of her expensive groceries from that pretentious Whole Foods Market in Summerlin. Anyway, I assured her I meant neither her brother nor you any harm and I keep my promises.”

  An eyebrow shot up as I bit out, “What are you saying exactly?”

  “Come at me with your best shot, chica, but just know that the element of surprise is over. I’ll be expecting you and that beautiful body.”

  I stood up from the table when he reached over and grabbed me by the neck like a rag doll. “Sit. The. Fuck. Down. Or I will snap your neck like a fucking breadstick.”

  Slowly I sat back in my seat, my heart thundering in my chest and my lungs burning from a lack of oxygen. He added even more pressure and I tried to calm myself but soon, my whole body tingled and the light headed feeling taking over me confirmed I would pass out soon if he didn’t let go of the hold he had around neck.

  “Are you going to be decent if I let you go?”

  I merely nodded with every ounce of energy still left in my body before he let go.

  I breathed deeply and greedily, craving air, and that feeling of almost passing out to leave as quickly as it’d come.

  “I find it hard to believe Pyro would give you permission to fuck me so . . . how exactly were you planning to end me? I don’t trust anyone—not even the people I screw so what did you plan to use? That innocent face? Those big blue eyes that stare back at me with rage and resentment? I’m not indestructible you know but I truly thought my adversary would be . . . much more worldly than some country bumpkin from hillbilly country here in Nevada.”

  I smiled. “Well, you know all my secrets, don’t you? However, I know all of yours too, and I know you’re an informant for the Feds. At least you know now that you are wanted dead but not by the very government that has taken you under their wing. Yes, we’ve met but don’t think for one second I wouldn’t put a bullet straight into your chest if given half the chance. I’m just as deadly now as when you had no idea what my intentions were gonna be.”

  “We shall see, mi rosa dañado.” Fernando stood. “In the meantime, I’m going to mingle and get very drunk around people who I know wouldn’t dare touch me because my name instills fear in them. You’re free to stay until New Year’s but if you’re still here ten minutes after twelve, I’ll have Hector put a bullet in the back of your skull and mail your body back to Pyro—piece by bloody piece.”

  My whole body shook with fear and trepidation as he left the room. I grabbed the bottle of Cristal and drank from it until I finished every last drop. My neck was sore from where he grabbed me and no doubt, bruises were forming. I’d have to wear turtlenecks for a goddamn week just so people wouldn’t think it was Pyro who’d done this to me.

  I stood on shaky legs and left the VIP area unmolested though I noticed Fernando’s guards were well aware of my presence. I couldn’t walk down the flight of stairs fast enough. No way did I want to involve Estelle and Chemist but they should know we weren’t safe staying either.

  When I reached the happy c
ouple and placed a hand on Estelle’s shoulder, she turned my way and let out a sigh of relief.

  Chemist helped her to her feet, and all three of us hauled ass out of the club. We had to walk a block to Estelle’s car and I wanted to get there as soon as possible.

  “He must really like you. Usually when Fernando finds out he has a contract on his life, his first thought isn’t to let the person live,” she finally said as we walked rather quickly for chicks in high heels. Chemist matched us stride for stride but he had a pair of steel-toed shitkickers that were infinitely more comfortable than the shoes Estelle and I were wearing.

  I shook my head, a combination of too much wine and the slight chill in the air. “It wasn’t an error, and you didn’t tip him off. Someone else did.”

  “Who?”

  “Is this person an enemy of the club or just someone who has it in for you?” Chemist wondered sarcastically with a smirk on his face.

  “I don’t know exactly but when I see the bitch, I’ll be sure to ask her that,” I snapped before I turned toward Estelle again. “Where the hell is your car?”

  “We’ll leave it here until the morning,” she replied. “Chemist brought his Chevy Tahoe—it’s just around the corner from where I parked. It’ll be safer to take his vehicle.”

  “Then give me the keys to your Mini Cooper and I’ll follow the two of you back to the clubhouse.”

  Estelle handed me her keys before she said, “Look, he might not have touched you up there but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t hesitate to send one of his thugs after you. I think it would be safer if we all traveled together.”

  I smirked and shook my head. “It’s doubtful.”

  Chemist raised his eyebrows, steel-gray eyes glared at me with thinly disguised dislike. “Why would you assume that?”

  “Because men like Fernando love to get their hands dirty . . . especially with innocent, clean girls like me. He will want to sully me and desecrate my flesh before he ended my life.” I sighed though it sounded inappropriate and echoed in the parking structure. “That might be tomorrow or six months from now but it sure as fuck won’t be tonight.”

  Chapter Six

  Pyro

  “You did what?” The veins in Pyro’s forehead and neck bulged with anger but Mags failed to take the bait.

  If she wasn’t his first cousin, he would have murdered her then and there.

  “Relax, Fernando isn’t stupid.” She sat down in a chair in the same room the clubhouse used for chapel.

  Not only was Pyro there but Hardy and Ronan were present too. They looked at one another rather than face their angry brother.

  “That’s the best excuse you can come up with?”

  She played with her vaping device before she pulled from it and sent the clove scented water-based smoke in the air. “Listen to me, Pyro, I had no choice. Not very long ago, Fernando could have killed me. He made me make him one promise, and that was if anyone was ever sent after him, I was to tell him. I honored that vow, and now my conscience is clear.”

  Pyro laughed before he shook his head disgustedly. “Your conscience is clear? Apparently you don’t give a fuck about what happens to Mira then—”

  “Oh my God—stop being so melodramatic, Maarten.” Her green-gray eyes cooled as they looked in his direction. “I did this because it also helps you too, and the club. Plausible deniability and implausible culpability. If Fernando comes after you or anyone in the club, you can shoot to kill, and it’s still considered self-defense. He was aware of the hit that was put out on him but he doesn’t know who ordered it or paid for it. All he knows is someone wants him dead and they hired a rank amateur like Mira to do it.”

  The chapel door swung open and Mira stormed into the room, slamming the door behind her. “Are you trying to get me killed?”

  Pyro turned toward her and couldn’t help but see a beautiful and vulnerable woman. She was still alive—bruised but not broken from the marks settling around her neck. Someone had grabbed her tonight and tried to strangle her.

  Not someone.

  Fernando fucking Navarro.

  “Listen, I knew you were conflicted from the get-go about this whole set up when Max and I approached you with it.” Mags set her vaping device on the table and placed her hands together. “After you found out what happened to Naomi and with your . . . less than stable family background, there was no way I could put you in the position of having to sleep with that man. Now he knows he has an enemy and he will treat you as an equal.”

  “But she isn’t his equal and we both know it,” Pyro bit out in an angry tone.

  “No? But you are—in fact you’re better than he is, Maarten. If I wasn’t convinced you could take care of and look after her properly, I wouldn’t have tipped him off in the first place. I’m not blind, you know. Everyone in the club can see two have something going on so I feel confident that Fernando will never hurt a hair on Mira’s head.”

  “Though he almost snapped her neck like a toothpick tonight judging from the rapidly forming bruises around her neck?” Ronan interrupted as he lit a cigarette.

  “Believe me, Nel has done worse,” Mira murmured as Pyro wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. “I’m not some fragile piece of china that can’t take a hit or two. I still don’t understand this whole . . . agenda or angle you’re playing, and that’s what’s pissing me off.”

  “The less you know, the better off you are in the end.” Mags stood and stared at her cousin with understanding eyes. “I know you hate me right now but believe me when I tell you I was protecting you, and this club. Max may not be a lifer but he is still a Gillespie, and his father is one of the Originals who built this club.”

  She grabbed her vaping device and shook her head. “Christ, I feel like a younger fucking Gemma. God knows this club doesn’t need a biker queen, princess, or any other prima donna bitches struttin’ around. All I’m saying is that this is how it works, and you haven’t been in the life long enough to know that sometimes you have to make deals with the devil. You aren’t in Afghanistan or Iraq anymore, Pyro—a bullet or a bomb can’t solve everything.

  “This underworld we inhabit is just like politics and unfortunately, that means you have to learn to understand what diplomacy, pandering and yes, sometimes taking it up the ass for the greater good. Lucifer’s Saints isn’t the Pyro and Mira Show. We all help to keep this club relevant, and alive . . . otherwise we better start building deck chairs on The Titanic because our place in history will be right next to the ‘unsinkable’ ship. The next thing you know, we’re a third rate club lacking good leadership and basically falling apart at the seams.”

  “Hey, love, you sure you’re not after me job?” Hardy questioned, breaking up the tension in the room.

  “Not for all the money in the world. Besides, last time I checked, I have a vagina—I believe a cock is a requirement to join the Saints . . . or has club policy changed?”

  “No, it hasn’t, but we all know a bitch is at the helm of this club and my father is merely a figurehead. Eve Kerrigan has been running the show for a long time now, and I don’t see that ending any time soon.”

  “Like I said, Ronan, sometimes you gotta deal with the devil. Better the Feds than some other two-bit club that would stab us in the back. At least we know where we stand with them.” Mags ran a hand through her hair. “Listen, I’ve already said too much and I want to end this year on a good note. We can discuss all the particulars tomorrow. Believe me, Fernando is having fun—why shouldn’t we?”

  Pyro and the rest of the guys reluctantly agreed. He waited until they left the chapel along with Mags before he faced Mira. She looked absolutely fragile and devastated beyond belief.

  “Are you scared? Now that Fernando knows everything?” The questions felt stupid but he had to ask them just to get a gage on her emotions.

  She shook her head silently. “I know I have you to protect me now, and it’s not exactly like I’m a lightweight on my own. Mags did what was
best for her, and I can’t blame her. All’s fair in love and war, right?”

  Pyro stood and wrapped both his arms around her slender waist. “I’m so fucking sorry I couldn’t be upfront with you. You’ll never know how much it weighs on my conscience that you won’t ever be able to fully trust me. How could you? After what happened tonight?”

  Mira stared at him with those gorgeous blue eyes of hers and smiled wryly. “What makes you think I no longer trust you? I’m only too happy I won’t have to bed that sleaze ball before I kill him. Believe me—I will shoot him and end his miserable fucking life. He thinks he knows what kind of person I am but he doesn’t know shit.”

  “The last thing I wanted to do was put your life in danger. This isn’t a game, Mira. We are talking about serious, cold heartless killers, and he wouldn’t think twice about putting a bullet in your skull. We can both go after Fernando but you shouldn’t try it alone. I know you have the skills but believe me, baby, he’s got the security and the power to end you. The man is protected twenty-four-seven. You understand what that means, don’t you?”

  Her arms wrapped around his neck. “I think we should take a page out of Mags’ book and have some fun. We only have fifteen minutes until the New Year. I don’t want our last conversation of this year to be about killing Fernando. I want to celebrate us. Whatever ‘we’ might be, you can’t deny we have a connection.”

  Pyro smiled seductively. “Yeah, we do, and I’m lovin’ it ‘cause all these years, all I wanted was to meet a nice girl like you. Someone who could see behind ‘Pyro,’ and know the real me.”

  Mira placed her hands on his cheeks—her soft palms contrasted his five o’clock shadow. “I see the real you, Maarten. Not the persona in an outlaw biker club but you. Dare I say the wars you’ve been involved in have fucked you up more than I am? I’m not here to ‘fix you’ but if I can help you forgive yourself then I would be the happiest woman in the world. You, by my side, and although you’ll never be the man you were before the Marines, you’ll be content and happy because you know you have my loyalty and undying trust. I could never give up on you, Pyro. Not when I’m falling in love with you.”