Beautiful Assassin
By
Stephanie Nicole Norris
Copyright © 2017 by Stephanie Nicole Norris
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described here are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or persons dead or alive. Any resemblances are purely coincidental.
Acknowledgments
Beautiful Assassin was originally a two-part mini short story I posted on Facebook back in December 2016. Because of the overwhelming response to the story, I decided to turn it into a full novel. Big thanks go out to my readers. You guys rock! I hope you enjoy this story just as much as you enjoyed the two-part series on Facebook!
If you’re new to my writing and this is the first book you’ve read by me, hold on to your seat. Beautiful Assassin is about to knock your socks off. It’s raw, unadulterated and in your face. It’s not the usual romance story, but nevertheless, it’s what the readers wanted so here it is!
To everyone who was a part of helping me bring this story to life, my editor Shonell Bacon and cover designer, Mario Designs, I thank you so much for seeing my vision. You guys rock!
To my accountability partner, Deidra D. S. Green shout out for holding me accountable every day until the release and thereafter. You will always hold a special place in my heart!
To my family, friends, my son and my husband. I love all you guys, thanks for supporting me through my many endeavors. I don’t know where I would be without you guys. I love you to the moon and back baby!
And without further ado… Beautiful Assassin.
Prologue
“Will you pay it this time?” Celine watched Devon walk to the edge of the bed and buckle his belt.
His tongue slid across his teeth as he thought about her request. “You gave me a hard time. Why should I pay anything?”
Celine gritted her teeth. “We had a deal.”
“Sure did and yet you still gave me grief.”
She let out an exasperated breath. “Look, you know this is not ideal for me. My husband needs major heart surgery. It’s the only way I can pay—”
“Save your story. I’ve heard it a thousand times.”
“How can you do him like this? He’s your brother for God’s sake.”
He turned to her. “He’s no brother of mine. I could care less about his condition.” A wad of spit flew from his mouth in her direction. “I could care even less about his wife.”
A mist of tears clouded her vision. “I’m not asking you to care,” her voice shook, “just please hold up your end of the bargain.”
“I don’t know, Celine. I’m thinking you owe me one.”
Her heart rate increased. “I just gave you everything. I’m covered in your sweat!” Her chest rose and fell as anger surged through her. Thoughts of the .22 inside her purse flooded her mind. “Don’t make me regret this,” she said through clenched teeth.
A smile played around his lips; this was fun for him. “Don’t you already regret it?”
“I’m not referring to the sex we just had.” He lifted an eyebrow. “Devon, you’re supposed to be dead.”
A vein pushed against his forehead. “Are you threatening me?” He took a step toward her, and she threw the sheets off and scurried from the bed. Within seconds, she’d pulled the handgun from her purse and leveled it on him.
“Brian knows it was you that made a deal with Zeus and the south side boys,” Celine said. “I was supposed to lead you to your death then, but because I love the man you despise so much, you’re still alive. You should be thanking me. Now make the call!” Her hold on the weapon was steady. “Don’t try anything stupid. I’m a desperate woman. I’ll kill you myself if I have to.”
He held her through narrowed eyes.
“I’m not going to ask you again,” she asserted.
He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. “Put it on speaker,” she instructed. He obliged.
“Send the payment through,” he spoke into the phone.
“All of it,” Celine demanded.
His objection didn’t make it into the air when he watched her take the safety off and pull back the handle.
“All of it,” she repeated.
His eye twitched. “Send the full payment.” There was a pause on the other end.
“Are you sure?” the voice on the other end asked.
“Yes, I’m sure.” There was another pause.
“It’s done.” The line died.
“Show me,” Celine said.
After a beat, he showed her proof the money had been transferred into an offshore account she’d previously set up. Her husband was going to have his surgery. An enormous weight lifted from her shoulders.
“Now what?” he said.
Celine pulled the trigger, sending a bullet crashing through his nose.
“Phi!” He fell to the floor, eyes wide, mouth agape.
Moving fast, she gathered her clothes and threw them on. Simultaneously, she made a phone call. “It’s handled.”
A dark voice barked, “Good girl, you should come work for me. I can use a skilled shot like you.”
“Thanks, but no thanks. I’m not open for business. Now it’s your turn.”
There was a knock at the door.
“I got you. The cleanup crew is already there.”
“How did they get here so quickly?”
“They’ve been there for the last two hours,” he replied. “You know, insurance just in case you couldn’t get things done.”
She opened the door. “I’m gone.”
Celine disconnected the call and left, discarding the phone and her identity, and disappearing without a trace.
Chapter One
The knocks on the door came in rapid succession. Celine tilted her head slightly toward the wooden barrier but made no effort to answer it. Looking back to the ceiling, she allowed her thoughts to float into space. Two weeks had passed since her first kill in five years, breaking the vow she’d made to her husband on their anniversary night. It was a necessary death, but that’s not what haunted her. There were only two men she loved more than life itself. Her husband Caleb Briggs and her handler Brian Devereaux.
When she was a young girl, death found her father as he worked at the construction site he faithfully went to each day, and her mother had fallen victim to the harsh Chicago streets. After watching her mother prostitute herself for whatever drug she was on at the time, it became routine for Celine to seek out men for a quick payday once she was on her own. When she found her first trick, reality set in fast. Celine couldn’t go through with it. But he was unrelenting, pulling her into an alley, beating her senseless. When he thought she was weak enough to take advantage of, he ripped her panties and pulled out his soft, raggedy, uncircumcised dick, trying with fitful plunges to penetrate her untouched vagina. When the blade slid across his neck, he never saw it coming. It was the first time she laid eyes on Brian. His colossal frame stood over them with menacing eyes. He tossed the trick to the side and held his hand out to her. Everything else was history. Brian became her one and only, teaching her how to shoot with every gun known to man and how to precisely cut someone from ear to ear. He gained her trust, and she fell in love, losing her virginity to him.
Brian kept her at his side, and they moved in ways only a man in his position would move with his coveted Queen. Thoughts of barring the prestigious title gave Celine initiative in proving herself to him. In Brian’s line of business, being one’s Queen was held at a st
atus almost as big as Boss. The Queen was to be protected even before the man himself, mostly because she could bear his heirs and rule the empire just as hard.
But Celine soon found that Brian was not a man to be loved. He was ruthless, mischievous and cold to everyone around him but her. In the criminal underworld, he had to be. She watched many women come and go, making it no secret that he wasn’t interested in being monogamous with her or anyone else. Celine prospered, her skills behind the trigger growing sharper by the day. Her expertise with a blade unrelenting. Soon enough, she became his most valuable asset and the only hitman or, in her case, hitwoman he used when needed.
On the day she set her eyes on Caleb, Celine’s whole world changed. He was too good to be true. Attentive, compassionate, disarming. She used to pinch herself sometimes to make sure she was with him, and he with her. Caleb became her best friend. She divulged all her deepest, darkest secrets to him. Still, he accepted her, asking for her hand in marriage. But there was one stipulation. She had to put down her vices and leave the world of guns, violence, drugs and Brian. It wasn’t easy, but giving those things up was for the better. For five years, they lived in whimsical bliss. Then one night during dinner, Caleb gripped his chest and fell to the floor. Hours later, they learned he suffered from severe systolic heart failure. He would need a heart transplant, and selling the house wouldn’t be enough to fund it.
When Celine was able to acquire the funds after Devon’s death, she was all too happy to pay Caleb’s doctor bills and have the procedure done. The doctors wasted no time in operating, but Caleb never made it out of the operating room. Something about his body rejecting the implant. Celine couldn’t remember what all the doctor mentioned. Her mind went blank.
The rapping at the door was more incessant and volatile. Whoever was beating against it was about to take the hinges off. With renewed frustration, Celine tossed her arm back, gripping the handgun that lay next to her head and pounced off the bed.
“What!” she barked, swinging open the door. Surprise didn’t register on her face at the person standing across the threshold. Her hand fell to her side, taking the gun off him. She attempted to slam the door, but his foot stuck out, rejecting the dismissal. Celine pivoted on her heels. “How did you find me?” She stumbled back to the bed and fell on her knees in front of a silver tray laced with cocaine.
“How long did you think you could hide from me?” Brian cajoled, stepping into the dusty motel room. His eyes perused the wilted wallpaper that sagged down the walls, to the crooked blinds that bent and hung unevenly in the lone windowsill, to the silver tray she stuffed her face in. He reached down and flung the tray against the wall.
“What do you think you’re doing!” she fumed.
He clenched his jaw. “I know you’re in pain, Celine.”
“What do you know about my pain?” She glowered at him, rising to her feet. “Where were you when I put up my house and was left on my ass in the streets?” Her hands pushed against his firm chest. “Where were you when my brother-in-law extorted sex from me to pay my husband’s hospital bills?” She pushed him again. “Where were you when Zeus sent his goons after me to get to you?” She balled her fists and swung at his face.
He caught her wrists, but she fought him with all the strength she had. He bent her arms behind her back as she struggled against him.
“Get off me!” she screamed. “I hate you!” Tears rolled down her face.
“Listen to me!”
“No!”
He lifted her small frame, releasing her arms and pinning her against the wall. “You wanted me to go away, remember? You were the one who removed yourself from my life, not me!”
“I hate you!” Tears streamed faster now. She pushed against him, and he recaptured her arms, pinning them over her head.
“Calm down!”
Her body betrayed her, reacting to his rigid erection that pushed against her belly. Celine’s mind told her to fight, but her body told a different story. Brian could sense it, too. It was no use trying to ignore it, especially with her legs wrapped around his waist and her body clad in only a panty and bra set.
He crushed his mouth to hers, and she bit back on his lips, drawing blood.
“Shit!” he screamed, pulling back. He put both her wrists in the palm of one of his hands while he removed his belt and unzipped his pants. Without warning, he slid her thin material to the side and submerged his engorged length into her.
“Son of a bitch!” she screamed, lunging for his neck. Her teeth dug into his flesh, and he made her pay for it in the most wonderful way.
“Do you still hate me now?”
“Yes!” she hissed.
They rocked against the wall, and he released her wrists to grab a firm hold of her thighs. She slapped his face, but it didn’t disturb him. He bent his head, sucking in a distended nipple as he pummeled into her.
A high-pitched moan escaped her lips. “I…still…hate…you…” she panted, “you…son…of…a…bitch…”
His thrusts tore into her, causing a ripping orgasm to cream down his shaft.
“Shit!” he barked, yielding to his own release. Brian buckled, placing Celine on her feet.
“Move,” she said, pushing him just enough to disconnect from him. Celine staggered to the window, trying to catch her breath. It was no secret that he brought out the animal in her, and she hated herself for wanting more of him.
From behind her, she heard his zipper. “When I found out about Zeus sending his boys after you, I sent them a message they couldn’t ignore,” Brian said. “Trust me when I tell you it’s taken care of. And another thing, I found out that some of the doctors on your husband’s team may have been on Zeus’s payroll.”
Celine whipped around, eyes wide. “What are you saying?”
His dark eyes peered at her. “I think you know.”
Rage unlike anything she’d ever felt before stimulated her nerve endings.
“I’m taking care of that, too,” he continued.
“No,” she snarled, “I’ll take care of it!”
He glanced around the room, then put his focus back on her. “You’re coming with me.” She crossed her arms over her chest but didn’t argue. “Where are your clothes?”
“I can take care of myself, Brian.”
“Yeah, you’re doing an excellent job at that,” he said sarcastically.
She glared at him.
“Look,” he reasoned, wanting to be on her good side, “I’m well aware of your independence. But you’re vulnerable right now. I need to keep you in my sight. If Zeus is crazy enough to retaliate, I want to be right there when it happens.”
“Since when are you willing to put yourself at risk for anyone?”
They watched each other for a long moment. “Since I met you.” There was an instant of clarity that settled between them. Him confessing that she had indeed made an impact on his life, while she mused over the fact that he had as well. “Now get your clothes, woman, and come on.”
“I need to take a shower,” she said.
“Not here, you can take a nice hot bubble bath when you get home. That’s your favorite, right?”
Celine lifted an eyebrow. “When I get home?”
“Mi casa es tu casa.”
Celine smirked, rolling her eyes, and retrieved her clothes. Tossing a handbag over her shoulders, she meandered the room, grabbing and dropping the gun in the bag before gathering the money that lay scattered on the bed. She tugged on a pair of blue jeans and headed for the door. They stepped into the hallway, the floorboards creaking under their weight. Someone in the room across the hall argued persistently. Items could be heard crashing into the wall.
“Looks like we’re not the only ones fighting tonight.”
Brian chuckled. “You call what we had a fight?”
Celine reared her head around. “Don’t act like I couldn’t take you. I can.”
He reached out and touched her chin. “I look forward to it.”
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br /> She swatted his hand. “Whatever.”
They exited the building and Brian opened the passenger door to his 2017 Lexus. It was all black with mirror-tinted windows and twenty-inch chrome rims on the tires. Celine slid in and adjusted herself in the seat. He shut the door and strolled around to the driver side. Celine cut her eyes at the neon vacancy sign that was half lit in front of the motel. The Lexus shook as Brian closed the door, igniting the engine. He pulled away from the curb and drove at a steady speed down the street.
“What were you doing in a place like that?” he asked.
She buckled her seat belt. “What do you think? I needed somewhere to sulk.”
“Couldn’t you have sulked at a five-star hotel?”
Her gaze moved from the window to his face, taking in his profile in the dimly lit shadows of the night. A neatly trimmed goatee outlined his mouth and solidly structured jawline. His lips perfect, full and smooth, took her mind back to the kiss he’d planted on her in the motel. She didn’t want to love it, but she did. Same as she did when they were intimate so many times before. That was years ago, and his touch still sent her into a state of euphoria she couldn’t explain.
Celine didn’t want to want him. She only wanted Caleb, but lying to herself wouldn’t do any good, so she’d consistently fought him. He peeked over at her and caught her gaze.
Snapping out of her reverie, Celine responded, “I didn’t care about the number of stars the hotel had. I’m mourning, Brian. You know what that means? That I’m hurting over the death of a loved one.” She gritted her teeth and changed the subject. “What are you doing out here alone? You know it’s not safe for you.”
“Hmmm,” he said, “you sound like you care.”
She gawked at him, bewildered. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Baby girl, you picked up and left without so much as a backward glance. When you found Caleb, nothing else mattered. Not the things we’d built, my life, or what was going on around us at the time. Just you and what you wanted.”
She took in his words, wanting to object but couldn’t. He was right, but he let her go. “You didn’t seem to care,” she said. “Besides, you were busy all the time and had every woman in the world vying for your attention.”
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