I trusted her.
That brought my total trusted assassins up to two. I might need to get my sixth sense checked at this rate. I never even suspected Danny was a criminal.
“I will see you in Scotland.” Owen tilted my chin so I was looking up at him. “And I promised to always tell you the truth. Do you believe me?”
“Yes.” The word left my mouth without hesitation.
“Thank you.” He lifted my hand and pressed his lips to it.
“Don’t kill Kenny.” I tried to keep my lips from wobbling. “He’s just a kid.”
“I promise to not leave any marks.” His lips quirked. “But I can’t promise I won’t rough him up a bit.”
“I guess that’s all I can ask for.” I stepped back and looked at the room we’d used.
He pulled me in for one more kiss. His warm lips made my knees weak and for a moment I let myself forget that this was goodbye, that we were about to run head first into danger, and enjoyed the kiss of the man I was falling in love with.
A loud honk blared from behind the house and I jerked, but not because of the horn. Was I really falling in love with Owen? The sexy assassin that brought me to my knees with just a look?
“Go. Before he starts hollering your name.” I gave him a gentle push. His eyes tightened and I could tell that he was worried. His lips pressed firmly and I wondered what he was fighting not to say. “Go. I’ll be fine. I’ve always wanted to visit Scotland. Maybe you could pick up a kilt while we’re there.”
“Kilt?” The skin around his jaw loosened and one side of his dashing smile tugged upward. “I’m an Englishman, not a Scotsman.”
“I wouldn’t care if you were from Mars. Having sex with a man wearing a kilt is on my bucket list. If you wear one I’ll have my wicked way with you until neither of us can walk.” I winked at him before bending over to pick up the sheets that had managed to make their way onto the floor.
Large hands grasped my hips, pulling me against his large erection. I stood up quickly and he caught my ear with his teeth before kissing my neck. “I’m not promising a skirt, but I’m going to hold you to that other part anyway, love.”
I shivered. “I certainly hope so.”
The horn sounded again and he growled. “I’m going to bloody kill that boy.”
“Go. Get out of here.” I walked to the other side of the bed to put distance between us. Part of me wanted to throw myself at him and beg him not to leave me. Not because I was scared for myself, but because I was scared something might happen to him.
“Tomorrow.” He stood there for a second watching me before turning and hurrying down the stairs.
I found a small linen closet and chose new sheets for the bed. I was switching the pillow cases when Mavis knocked on the door frame. She had a trash bag in her hand.
“You should throw those blankets away and the towels you used to shower. I’ve cleaned up all the medical supplies and figured I’d take those with us rather than throwing them away.”
“Uh, thanks.” Talking about throwing away the sex-soiled sheets was a bit uncomfortable. “Did you happen to check Owen’s shoulder before he left?”
“You do realize that unless he’s actively bleeding he’s not going to let anyone know if he’s hurting, right?” Mavis leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. “He’s stubborn.”
“I think most men fall into that category.” I tossed the last pillow on the bed.
“He wouldn’t have gone out there if he thought it would hinder him. He wouldn’t risk not being in top form.” She tilted her head and smiled. “He wouldn’t want to put you at risk. Because of an injury.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I’m sure he thinks he could take out an entire army with only one arm.” I shrugged and tried to go through the door, but she didn’t move.
“Actually, he probably could take out an army with one arm. The man is deadly. I’m more worried that he will be distracted and get himself killed by a lone gunman hauling around a bazooka twice his size.”
“You think I’m a distraction.” I let the bag I was holding rest on the floor. “I want Owen to be safe, I only want what is good for him.”
“You’re a double edged sword. You are great for Owen. I can’t remember ever hearing him talk so much or laugh so quickly. You light him up from the inside out.” She paused, her eyes never leaving my face. “But you’re also the number one thing that will get him killed. He’ll do anything to keep you safe and to ensure that you spend as much time with him as you are willing.”
Forever, I wanted to shout. I wanted to spend forever with him.
“I don’t have a claim on Owen. Despite what happened in the past, we were nothing but friends.” She took a step forward and somehow managed to grow a foot, and the aura of a pissed off tigress. “But if you bail on him after all of this, or push him away because this was just a heat of the moment thing, I’ll make sure you’re sorry. Owen is a rare man. Don’t break him.”
“Right.” I nodded my head, sarcasm far from my mind. “I’m not going to hurt him. I can’t. It would be like trying to stab myself. I need him. I need to know that he’s okay each morning. That he’s still alive and whole.”
Gulping in air I frowned down at the short woman.
“Trust me, I’m the one that will end up broken.” I closed my eyes. “I’m in love with him, but I don’t fit in his world. At some point he’s going to realize I’m holding him back.” It had taken a week, maybe less than a week, for me to fall in love with the sexy assassin that had rescued me.
“You love him.” Her entire face broke into a grin. “I thought it would take you a lot longer to realize it. Good. I’m happy for you both. He needs you as much as you need him.”
I watched her, a little shocked. She really didn’t mind that I’d fallen in love with Owen. There was no resentment or anger that I had encroached on her territory. She looked genuinely happy. There wasn’t a hint of dishonesty or sarcasm.
“We should get ice cream while we’re out to celebrate.” Mavis smiled before turning and skipping down the stairs.
I’d just poured my heart out, admitted I was in love with a man that I couldn’t possibly keep, and she wanted to get ice cream and gab like teenagers.
Okay, then. I guess a little ice cream wouldn’t be amiss considering the week I’d had.
As I made my way down the stairs with a trash bag full of dirty sheets I wondered if the giggly assassin bouncing down the stairs would order sprinkles on her ice cream sundae.
A DOUBLE SCOOP of ice cream may have not been the best idea right before clothes shopping. I could practically hear the mirror in front of me laughing as I tried on the pencil skirt and blouse Mavis had picked out for me. The teal shirt was tucked into the black pencil skirt which left nothing much to the imagination. Cool air touched the large swatch of cleavage exposed by the shirt.
“Try this next.” A tiny scrap of black material was flung over the dressing room door. “But come out here first. I want to see what you’ve got on.”
I took a deep breath and brushed the hair out of my face before opening the door.
“My, my.” Mavis tapped her chin before motioning me to spin in a circle.
I held my arms out and tried to keep from looking like a sullen teenager. It wasn’t that I didn’t like the outfit, I just didn’t like having it approved by the tiny woman across from me.
“You look like Kenny when I make him wear a suit.”
I frowned down at my clothes. I wasn’t a model, but I owned my curves and they were quite obvious in this ensemble. Which I’m guessing was the idea.
“I’m pretty sure Kenny doesn’t have boobs.”
“God knows if he did I’d never get him out of his room.” Mavis sighed.
A sales associate nearby laughed and I smiled.
“Shoes. You need tall, sexy shoes. How are you in heels?”
“That depends on how tall they are.” I narrowed my eyes. “So, this outfit passes inspection?”
“Oh, yes. Definitely.” She looked at the employee. “We’ll take this one as well. What other colors does that shirt come in?”
“Peach, gray, and white.”
“One in each color, please.” Mavis tapped her fingers along the back of a chair. “And the skirt. We want the pinstripe one as well.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I headed back to the dressing room to change so I could give the clerk the pieces I was wearing. I pulled the black fabric down from the top of the door and frowned.
“What is this?” I held it up.
“A cocktail dress.” Mavis looked at me over her shoulder.
“That’s nice.” I lifted a layer of black lace that covered the tiny skirt and looked at her through it. “Where’s the rest of it?”
“Seriously? You had sex so loudly with Owen that I had to put headphones on and now you’re a prude?” She put her hands on her hips.
“Mavis,” I hissed. Heat flooded my cheeks and I looked around the dressing room. “I’m not being a prude. The skirt is barely going to cover my butt cheeks!”
“That’s the point, Ava.” Mavis walked over and gave me a gentle push toward the dressing room I was using. “We want Captain Horny distracted and eager to impress.”
“I thought you were the one that was going to be distracting Captain Horny! I’m just your introduction.” I waved the microscopic dress at her.
“If he is led by his dick the way you say, it won’t hurt to have two scantily clad women.” She pointed at my tiny room. “Go try it on. And I’ve got a couple more things for you afterward.”
I jerked the door shut and pulled the pencil skirt and blouse off. I held up the dress and frowned. There was a tiny zipper in the back. Sighing, I held the dress open and stepped into it. It took a lot of wiggling, but I managed to pull it up over my hips and slide my arms into the lace sleeves before grappling with the zipper. I looked at the mirror and froze. I stood up a little straighter and pushed my hair out of my face.
Oh, I couldn’t wait for Owen to see me wearing this dress.
“Does it fit?” Mavis asked.
I opened the door and stepped out. The skirt was definitely short but it stayed in place as I walked toward the triple mirror at the end of the hall. I took inventory of myself and actually wasn’t unpleased. My legs looked longer than normal, which was great. I stood on my tiptoes miming wearing high heels.
I looked at Mavis’s reflection, surprised to see her smiling smugly.
“What?”
“I was right. It’s perfect.” She crossed her arms. “I missed my calling as a personal stylist.”
I rolled my eyes. I could just imagine her with a pin cushion strapped to her wrist, a throwing knife tucked behind it. She could sell and market little gun shaped charms and handcuff earrings. That wasn’t a bad idea, actually.
“Okay, so we can head out now?” I tucked my hair behind my ear and bit my lip. Shopping was great, especially with Mavis. She knew all of the great spots to hit. But it had been hours since Owen had left and I was nervous about boarding a train.
“Would you stop worrying? Our train doesn’t leave for a few more hours.” Mavis handed me another dress. This one was just as short but had fabric that draped from one shoulder. “Try this one too. It’ll be easier to carry.”
“Carry?” I eyed the red fabric.
“A weapon? Guns, knives, ninja throwing stars.”
“Ah. That type of carrying.” Blowing out a deep breath I took the dress to my tiny changing stall.
“So, what else do we need to do before we leave?” I slipped the red dress over my head, letting the fabric fall into place.
I looked over my shoulder at the dress and tried to not wince. The material basically cupped my ass. How was I going to sit down in this thing?
“Oh, that’s good.” Mavis stuck her head in the door and looked me over. “You can wear black heels with that as well. That’ll save us a little time shopping. Here, go ahead and put this on.” She handed me a bag.
“What is this?”
“If you’re going to be my assistant, you can’t run around wearing an old man’s shirt. I went ahead and bought the clothes. You need to be polished.” She pursed her lips. “We’re going to a hair stylist down the road and getting spruced up. You could use a trim.”
“Gee, it’s like I have a sugar mama.” I opened the bag and looked in.
“You can thank me later.” She winked at me and I chuckled. “Our car will pick us up when we’re done with your hair.”
“Right, get out of here so I can change.” I flapped my hand at her.
“I can’t believe you’re so prudish after all that noise you made with Owen.” She sniffed. “I’m not really into women, you know.”
“I’m sorry about, er, the stuff with Owen.” Heat rushed up my neck. “This is, uh, really awkward.”
“Relax. I just enjoy pushing your buttons. I knew you two were going to be going at it like rabbits when I saw you in the café.” She shrugged. “I really didn’t hear too much. I’m not an idiot and knew what was going on and chose to ignore it. I was busy doing research.”
“Still, it wasn’t very thoughtful.” I cleared my throat.
“Look, in our world, you have to take what you need when you can get it. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.” Where her eyes had been teasing before, they were dead serious now. “If you’re worried about what happened between me and Owen, you shouldn’t. We trusted each other enough to let our guard down for an hour or two. That’s all it was. I mean, he’s attractive and all, but…it wasn’t the right fit.”
“I…thank you for being understanding.” Giving up on the thought of privacy, I slipped out of the red dress and carefully hung it back up. I picked out the black pencil skirt, blue sweater, and black heels. I wasn’t wearing any jewelry, but most people wouldn’t notice that right away.
“Before you tuck in the sweater, here is a discreet holster. It wraps around your waist.” She passed me a black stretchy strip that closed in the middle with bra hooks. “You’ll have to untuck your sweater to get to your gun, but it’s better than nothing.”
I wrapped it around and managed to stick my small pistol in without shooting myself in the butt crack. I tucked the sweater in, making sure to fluff it in the back.
“Here,” she said. She dug in the bag and pulled out a small black cardigan. “This will help.”
I pulled it on and stepped into the shoes she’d chosen for me to wear. There was also a pair of pearl earrings stuck to a small cardboard card. I popped those in my ears and checked my reflection. My hair was disheveled, but the rest of me looked ready to be a sex-pot on her way to a job interview. Not bad at all.
“Let’s go.” The little woman picked up one of my new bags. “We need to get you a briefcase and small travel bag, but first we should get your hair done. It looks like you tumbled out of bed from a one night stand.”
“Gosh, you know how to make a girl feel good about herself.” I rolled my eyes before tucking the money Owen had given me into my bra. My lips pursed as I fought a scowl. I didn’t usually stick things in my bra for safekeeping, but this skirt didn’t have any pockets and I couldn’t just carry it around in my hand. Lots of women thought it was a perfectly acceptable place to store things, but in high school I had worked at a grocery store. When you have a woman dig sweaty coins and soaking wet bills out of her bra to pay for her frozen pizza and beer, you just couldn’t think of sticking stuff in your bra again. Boob sweat wasn’t something that should be shared.
We stopped by a small boutique where I purchased a purse, travel bag, and briefcase. From there we hurried to get my hair cut. The stylist was not impressed with my hair care routine. I was lectured on the damages of putting your hair up while still wet, moisturizing, and hair masks. By the time she had passed me on to the makeup artist I’d promised to never skip a mud treatment for my hair. Once they had deemed me acceptable, I was released from the chair that I’d bee
n trapped in, and staggered to the front desk where Mavis waited.
“What do you think?” She eyed me critically.
“I feel like a plucked chicken.” I touched my forehead gingerly.
“Excuse me?” Mavis cocked her head to the side.
“Never mind.” I shook my head. “Am I satisfactory?”
“Yes.” She handed money over to the woman at the register. “Our car is out front. Are you ready to leave?”
“Yes, ma’am.” I reached and took her large purse so that I could carry it to the snazzy black sedan waiting for us. I was careful to stay half a step behind her as we exited the building. Practicing for our time in Scotland.
“So much for keeping a low cover. This is rather ostentatious,” I muttered under my breath.
“People will be looking for an anxious American woman wearing giant sunglasses and a hoodie. They will look right past the business woman and her assistant.” She smiled over her shoulder. “People see what they want to see.”
“That’s what Owen said.” I frowned. “But if people are looking for me, won’t they see me?”
“Not if your nose is buried in your phone or tablet as I give you work to do. They will only see an overbearing boss and an overworked lackey. The key is to be your part. If you play it right, no one will notice you.”
“I’m a terrible liar, Mavis.” I shuddered. “And I doubt I’m a much better actress.”
“That’s why you have me. Relax.”
A man with a black hat opened the back door for us. Our bags were already in the car and once inside, I started stuffing my new clothes into the carry on we’d just bought, careful to remove all the tags.
“Right then. Here are our tickets.” Mavis opened an envelope that had been in her seat. “Refer to me as Ms. Thomasino.”
“Won’t you need to hand them your ticket?” I looked over the paperwork she was handing me.
“They won’t fuss if you hand it to them and I’m there with you. We want them to think that you are used to doing everything for me. My personal lackey.” She opened her briefcase and brought out a tablet and phone. “These are yours. Georgie procured these for us while you were getting your hair done.”
The Accidental Assassin (Assassins #1) Page 21