“We’re all going to have to leave within four days. Do you think you’ll be strong enough?”
With an effort, Anna sits up in bed and brushes her long hair back over her shoulder. She swings her legs around slowly, and places the soles of her feet on the cold floor.
“I’ll be ready.” She takes a deep breath. “But there’s something I have to do before we go.”
I know what her ‘something I have to do’ means. “How many are you going to kill?” I ask as I stand and offer her my arm as support when she stands. She shoos my assistance away, and sits back down quickly. Her legs aren’t steady enough to hold her up. I sit back in my chair.
“Four,” she answers with her normal precision.
“Three,” I correct her.
She doesn’t lift her head or her gaze from the floor, she simply smiles. “Which one don’t I have to worry about?”
“The cutter.”
“What did you do to him?”
“I paid him the same respect he was paying you.”
Anna runs her hand across the pale skin of her throat and lifts her head to look at me. “You cut him?”
I fidget in the chair and slide forward as I place my elbows on my knees. “He was hurting you,” I pause as I remember him running the knife over her neck as he had his hand in his pants stroking his cock. “Despite the fact that he knew we were coming in because he helped us, he must’ve been lost in the moment.” I look over to Anna, whose deviant smirk tells me she’s pleased with what I’m telling her. “I slit his throat, but not deep enough to kill him instantly.”
“He could’ve got to a hospital,” Anna cries as her face crinkles in disgust.
“Not after I locked him in the dungeon where they kept you.”
She smiles widely as I sit back in the chair.
“And the slut that thought she was going to let him do that to me?”
“Emily knocked her out. We knew you’d want the honor of killing her and her parents.”
Anna’s face is beaming so brightly that I can’t help but smile too.
“But my guns…” she says.
“They’re gone. We’ll have to get you new gold guns.”
“It’s alright. I have my sources.” The cheeky minx stands and almost collapses back on the bed again.
“Anna, you can’t do this on your own. Let me help.” I stand and offer her my arm so she can lean on me.
She looks at me as though my arm is coated with an invisible poison that will kill her upon contact. I lift an eyebrow and roll my eyes.
Damn proud woman.
“Let me help you, you can kick my ass when you’re better.”
She looks at me from under her lashes.
I make no mistake about the venomous look she’s shooting at me. That’s exactly what she plans on doing.
“Help me to the shower,” she demands as she begins to get up one more time.
“That must’ve hurt.”
“What?” she says as she stands.
“Asking for help.”
She takes a step, stops as she straightens her back and lifts her chin in a true sign of dignity and self-respect. “The strong sometimes fall and need a hand to raise them back to the top.”
“You haven’t fallen, you’ve hiccupped, and I’ll always be close by.”
She starts walking slowly to the bathroom door. Her arm wraps around my torso and she tightly clasps my body as I support her with my arm around her waist, taking her body weight.
“I’m glad we’re on the same page,” she murmurs loud enough for me to hear.
I help her into the shower and turn on the faucets to a comfortable temperature. As soon as she’s in the shower and steady on her feet, I leave to get her something to eat.
Doctor’s stripping the bed and changing the sheets when I get back with a tray of food.
As I head back into the bathroom, my phone rings. Emily answers it.
She walks over and hands it to me, without saying a word.
“Yeah,” I say.
“We have a major problem,” Agent tells me sternly.
“What?”
“I have no idea how, but you’ve been found.”
“As in?”
“As in they know you’re in Sydney. You all have a maximum of thirty hours to get out.”
“Fuck!” I yell angrily.
Seconds later, Anna’s out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body as the water drips from her hair.
“We’ve got to get out now. They’ve found me,” I tell her.
Anna looks at me, then the phone in my hand. She walks over and extends her hand for me to give her the phone.
“Sneak Ben and Emily out of here, and find me a new location,” she tells Agent.
“No, we go together. I’m not leaving you again.”
Anna silences me with her eyes. The deadly assassin is slowly making her comeback.
“I’ll be ready to move by morning. Make sure they’re clear of the country and send me supplies.” Her tone’s undeniably all business, although her body isn’t strong enough to be on her own yet. She listens for a few cold minutes and her eyes never leave mine. “Understood.”
She hands the phone back and walks slowly toward the bedroom.
“Anna, I’m not leaving you,” I say.
“You’re a police magnet at the moment, and I’m still not strong enough to undergo long travel. Agent will keep you and Emily safe, and we’ll meet up when I’ve finished here. Maybe in a few days.”
End of conversation. What Anna says, goes.
Or so she thinks.
Anna
He’s damn well up to something, because he accepted that easily. Too easily. But lies have gotten us into this predicament, and fuck getting sold into the sex trade again.
Or going back on heroin.
I don’t need that shit. It’s bad enough that I’m fighting the desire to scour the streets for a drug dealer who will sell me a taste to ease my body.
But…
Instead, I’d rather funnel the energy into finding the man who did this to me and do unto him as he’s done unto me.
I fully intend on slowly – very slowly – showing Katsu Vang who, exactly, I am. He only knows me as Anna Moore, but soon he’ll know me as 15.
His last word, whispered in agony, will be ‘15’. I will bring the full force of my power down on him; he will never be able to hurt another human again when I’m done with him.
I sit on the bed and stare at a blank spot on the wall. I need for this to go smoothly, and I know that Ben is in the other room making his own plans to stay with me and save me from myself.
My body is still weak, though my mind is finally finding the power and the clarity I once had.
“Ben,” I yell. I know he can hear me; I know he’ll be close. But we need to sort this shit out, before one or both of us end up dead.
The door flings open and Ben’s about to step into the room, when his eyes rake over my body clothed only in a towel.
“Yeah,” he half mumbles, half moans.
“Sit. We need to talk.”
He takes a few cautious steps into the room and sits in the arm chair.
“You can’t stop me from being here with you,” he starts the conversation.
“I can and I will.”
“Anna, you’re not strong enough to do this on your own.”
“And you’re going to get us all killed, because it’s you that they’re after. Not me, not Emily, and certainly not Doctor. You.”
“I won’t leave you.”
Frustrated, I rub my hand over my eyes then run it through my still damp hair. I close my eyes and concentrate on my breathing.
“Ben, you need to leave. I can handle it on my own, but not if I need to be watching over my shoulder for you too.”
Ben stands and starts pacing, one of his signature moves.
“We’re going to have to work it out then, because I’ll send Emily back, but I won’t go w
ithout you. We’re in this together now, Anna.”
I hold my hand up to silence this ridiculous rant.
I’ve never had anyone not on my payroll who has been there for me. Agent, Doctor and Cleaner have always been paid for what they do. At first, they may have been skeptical about joining me, but once they understood what was on the line for them, they ended up complying with my demands.
No one wants to risk their family at the hands of an assassin.
They prefer I’m on their side than against them.
Ben though…
He’s choosing to step into this shitstorm with me.
And to willingly stand by my side as I continue my crusade.
I did want to get out of the game, and maybe I still do, but I have a lot of loose ends I need to tie up first.
Starting with Ma and Pa Kettle at the whorehouse.
“Anna, you are by far the most proficient, cold, and calculating person I know. You’re who you are because of this, but at some point you have to realize that I’m not against you, and I’m not weak. We need to work together to take all those motherfuckers down. You may be able to do it on your own, but you don’t have to anymore. I’m with you now and I won’t leave you. Ever.”
I look over at him. He’s clearly concerned, and wants to be a part of it all.
“Ben, you fucking lied to me. You didn’t tell me you’re one of the Pace family arms dealers. How can I trust you?” I feel somewhat foolish, but mostly angry that he didn’t tell me himself.
“It wasn’t only my secret to tell, I had to protect my sisters.”
“And how is that working for you, huh? Claire is dead, and Emily is on the run with you. If she gets caught or found out, she’s as good as dead, too. Lies won’t save anyone; they’ll just put us in the ground quicker.”
“I won’t lie to you.”
“But you did,” I say as I look at him. His posture is rigid as he squares his shoulders and lifts his chin in clear defiance of me.
“Yes, I did. Get the fuck over it. What’s done is done, baby girl. I can’t go back and change the past. All I can do is move on to the future. And I will, be by your damned side, you stubborn ass, headstrong, fucking pain in my damned motherfucking ass. For God’s sake, don’t be so damned aggravating. I’m not fucking going. We. Are. In. This. Together.” He slowly draws out the last sentence. He’s pissed.
And this makes me smile.
Finally, my equal.
I fell in love with him for his gentle nature, the part of him that needed protecting.
Now, that gentle nature has been superseded by his role as my protector.
And, other than my father, Henry, I’ve never had that before. Even Lukas, my trainer, was only interested in the potential he saw in me. Knowing that my life is in Ben’s hands is causing an unfamiliar emotions to rip through my body.
Vulnerability and an overwhelming concern for someone other than myself.
Maybe I can finally drop my guard and fully accept him into my life.
“If I let you do this, we have to agree to transparency between us from now on,” I say, standing and taking a step toward him.
“No more lies,” Ben agrees as he stands and takes a step toward me.
“No more lies, Ben,” I confirm. We are now standing in each other’s personal space.
There’s not a lot separating us. Only my towel and his thin layer of clothes is all that’s in our way.
Ben’s eyes darken as his lids droop with lust. My own body reacts the way it always does when he’s close to me.
“Anna,” he mumbles as he cups his warm palm around my shoulder and smoothes his hand down my right arm.
I step closer in toward him, and with the gentleness that is Ben, he runs his hands through my hair.
A soft moan escapes my lips, there’s a needful urgency starting to bubble up from deep inside me. I want him; I crave the intimacy and the connection we share.
“Anna,” he says again, his voice low and husky. He untucks my towel and it falls unceremoniously to the floor, leaving me completely exposed to him.
Pushing my breast toward his chest, his warm hands travel the length of my back.
In this one split second, I’m lost. I turn off the world of Anna Brookes, that dangerous world where an emotionless and cold-hearted woman finds solace in guns and violence.
Anna Brookes’s world is small and precise, no room for feelings.
It’s not my business what other people think of me, my only concern is getting the job done.
But Ben…
He’s now a part of my world, and the reason I went after Katsu to begin with.
“Ben,” I moan as I skim my nose down his jaw toward the column of his neck. His skin is prickly with stubble, but his smell is exactly what it’s always been.
Cinnamon. Fresh and delicious cinnamon… Ben.
“Fuck,” he growls as I glide my nose up his ear.
He grabs both my hands in his one big paw, wrapping his long fingers around my wrists and crushing my body against his.
“Fuck, I love you,” he says before bringing his lips down on mine.
The feeling is foreign after so long, but so incredibly familiar as his tongue moves with mine. Dominance isn’t being disputed; he’s winning. I relish him taking the lead.
My eyes close of their own volition and my heartbeat quickens. My blood heats as I reach down and palm his hard-on through his trousers.
“I’m no saint, Ben. Fuck me hard right now, or walk away until we’re out of this country.”
“Are you ready? I mean, how are you feeling?”
Cold bucket of water.
“Well, ten seconds ago I was horny and wanted to fuck you, but you killed that.”
I bend and grab the towel from the floor, throwing it on the bed and walking over to a bare dresser in the room. I open the drawer, hoping that, somehow, there’s something in there I can wear.
Looks like someone stocked up in here, because there’s jeans, t-shirts, undergarments and whatever else I need. Not a huge selection, but enough to get by.
I slip on some panties and a t-shirt and turn to look at a stunned Ben, whose eyebrows have lifted. He’s standing with his hands on his hips trying to look intimidating.
“What the hell just happened?” he asks, moving toward me.
“You hesitated. You asked me how I was feeling. What was that about? You start treating me with kid gloves, and this is what happens,” I say as I indicate between the two of us. “I’m not weak, just because I had that shit going through my veins. If you wanna try to make me frail, we both miss out.”
“I wasn’t trying to do anything,” he says, raising both arms with palms facing upward. “I was just making sure you were alright for sex.”
“This is what I’m talking about, Ben. This lack of trust between us, the second-guessing. If I weren’t ready, I wouldn’t have allowed it to happen.” I shake my head, clearly angry, turn and walk out the bedroom, leaving Ben to do whatever the hell he wants.
“Emily, Doctor,” I call to them as I walk into the kitchen.
“You’re looking better, 15,” Doctor says in his deep voice from the family room.
“I’m feeling better, though I think the whole disgusting addiction to heroin shit is going to take me a long time to get over.”
“If there’s anyone that can do it, it’s you.” Doctor puts a hand to my forehead and feels for, well, I don’t know what.
“I’m sending you home tomorrow, Emily. Agent will have a way to sneak you out of the country. When you get back to America, you and your husband go underground. Before you leave, I’ll get you a phone so we can stay in contact with you. You make no outgoing calls; and only accept calls. The person calling you will be Agent. He’ll identify himself before you even have a chance to say anything. If anyone else calls, dispose of the phone and move immediately.”
I look at Emily and she’s nodding her head, indicating she understands what I’m saying.
“I’ll give you coordinates to a safe house in New York. If you need to move, then go there. I’ll also give you the safe room combination. In there you’ll find ample weapons and ammunition and you’ll find disposable cell phones. You have until morning to memorize all the numbers I’m going to write down. I want the paper back so I can destroy it, and you’re not to write any information down.”
I feel a warm hand slide onto my hip announcing the presence of Ben behind me.
“Sorry,” he whispers in my ear. “I should’ve known better.” He places a small kiss below my earlobe, and listens quietly.
I nod once, letting his stupidity go.
“You’ll stay here in Sydney, Doctor. I may need you.”
“Of course, 15.” Doctor looks over to Ben then back to me, silently questioning his role in this scenario.
“He’s staying with me.”
Doctor nods and turns to walk away. “I’ll check into a hotel in the morning,” Doctor says over his shoulder to me.
“Why aren’t you coming back with me, Ben?” Emily asks her brother.
“Because I want to stay with Anna; she has things she needs to do. I’ll come back when she comes home.”
“Are you sure?” she asks, uncertain. I can tell from the way her voice has dropped and by the concern in her face that she doesn’t think staying here with me is his best idea.
“Of course,” Ben responds.
I stand and watch the dynamic between the brother and sister.
Her eyes narrow and her lips flatten into a fine, tight line.
He stands tall and his eyes harden. Without words, he’s telling her to drop it.
She looks pissed.
He’s not backing down.
This silent standoff makes me laugh.
Out loud.
And they both look over at me.
“Can you two be any more obvious? He wants to stay with me, and even though I don’t think it’s a good idea, I can’t make him go. But don’t worry, I won’t kill him. Unless he pisses me off.” I tilt my head to the side and lift my shoulders as if to say, ‘it is what it is.’
“I see,” says Emily.
“Do you?” asks Ben.
“Anna won’t let anything happen to you,” Emily says, nodding her chin in my direction.
The HiT Series Page 48