“You’d have me go against her wishes?” Maria looked over at me, her cold eyes calculating. “What if she fights?”
“Owen.” I took a deep breath.
“Restrain her. Just get her out of here unharmed.” He didn’t look at me and my entire body began to shake. “None of this is her fault.”
“Vitz.” Maria looked at the scarred guard behind me. “I’ll honor his request. Take the bag as well. She earned it.”
“No! You said we’d all leave together.” I fought as Vitz wrapped a giant arm around my waist. “Owen! Don’t do this.”
He didn’t look in my direction as Vitz pulled me through the door.
“You promised, Owen. You promised and you lied!” I grabbed at the door frame, but it was like fighting a bull. Vitz was headed away and there was nothing I could do to stop him. “Please, Owen.”
I saw him look in my direction with sad eyes just before I couldn’t see them anymore.
“Put me down, you damn ogre!” I kicked and pulled, trying to get away.
Maria walked out of the makeshift office, her heels clicking on the cement. Her assistant seemed to appear from the shadows, falling into step with the taller woman.
“Stop fighting, girl.” Vitz looked down at me, his bored expression fueling my fury. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Try to keep her quiet.” Maria shook her head as she passed us. “I don’t want to upset our clients upstairs.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Vitz tightened his hold on me and I bit down on the thick corded muscle. He cursed in a language I didn’t know and switched arms, moving the bag of money to his bleeding arm and me to the uninjured. He gave me a little shake. “Behave. I’m trying to get you out of this alive, got it?”
Why the hell would he care if I got out of this alive? One of my shoes fell off when we reached a grated walkway. He reached down to pick it up and threw it in a trash can.
I didn’t care. He could throw away my shoes. He could throw me away.
He might as well. With Owen dead I had nothing else in life. I was alone. Like when my parents had died. Just me and a giant hole in my chest. I wouldn’t even have Tessa to help me through it this time. I had no idea where she was.
I looked where we were headed. Maria and her assistant were talking quietly, the assistant carrying the painting in a special case.
All of this for a painting.
Everyone I loved gone, because a horrible woman wanted a special painting.
No. I fought against Vitz, trying my hardest to get free. I stepped on his foot with my remaining high heel, but he didn’t even flinch. Tears of frustration ran down my face. I balled up my fist and swung it backward at his groin, but he merely shifted my weight. Making me look at the women in front of us.
They dealt in the sex slave trade.
They killed to keep money.
They blackmailed influential people every day.
They were going to kill my best friend’s husband.
Murder my new friend.
Murder the man that I love.
Shatter my entire world.
When the first shot echoed down the corridor, every muscle in my body went still. Someone I cared for was dead. More shots followed and Maria never stopped moving. She didn’t care who she fucked over, as long as it benefited her.
My sudden lack of movement seemed to startle Vitz. His hold on me loosened and he turned to look behind us and muttered something that sounded like a prayer.
Maria’s high heels met cement with a sharp click, her bun bouncing jauntily as she walked.
I wouldn’t be the last person whose life would be ruined by her.
She was evil.
And I was faster than most people expected.
“Maria.”
She slowed and turned in my direction, but her assistant never stopped. Reaching behind me, I pulled one of the small pistols from the holster hidden in my dress. It took seconds, maybe less.
Sometimes bad people just needed to die.
When I pulled the trigger I felt no remorse. In fact, I felt hollow. Empty. I watched as her head flew backwards, blood spraying the wall beside the assistant, who never slowed.
And that was how my body count doubled.
“BLOODY HELL.” I held a bunch of fabric from Mavis’s dress to my shoulder. Danny shifted me on his shoulder and I winced. I stared down at Captain Horny’s blank eyes and was surprised I didn’t feel satisfied. He didn’t really matter. The only thing that mattered was finding Ava.
“You were supposed to move left.” Mavis glared at me.
“Right. It’s always right. Why the hell would we move left? We’re right handed!” I tried to bat her away, but it was ineffective. “We don’t have time for this. We need to get to Ava.”
“Then stop getting shot!” Mavis threw her hands in the air before kneeling to pick up one of her discarded knives. “Every time I turn around, you’re running into bullets! Do you have aspirations of becoming Swiss cheese?”
“Mavis, we have to find Ava.” I took a deep breath and tried to make sense of the spinning room. “I don’t trust Maria. She’s not safe.”
“I’ll go. This is my fault.” Danny moved to sit me down on the desk.
“No need.” A deep voice with a Russian accent filled the room.
I tried to stand, ready for an attack, but the room spun. Staggering backward, I sat on the desk. I needed to find Ava and get out of there. I was in no shape to fight.
“Oh, God.” Small, cold hands touched my face and I looked up at an angel. “Owen? Can you hear me?”
“’Course I can. Wasn’t shot in my ears.” I watched as Ava looked down at the bloody mess of my shoulder.
“What did he say?” The Russian bouncer leaned over me and I slammed my fist into his jaw.
“Owen, he’s on our side. Stop. Be still.” Her hands were back on my face, and tear tracks ran down her cheeks. My gut froze.
“Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.” She shook her head. “I thought you were dead.”
“Nope.”
“The bullet is still in there. I’ve got to get it out and patch him up before he bleeds out.” Mavis moved into my sight line. “Don’t do anything else stupid.”
“Ava?” I looked back at her. “You’re sure you’re not hurt?”
“I’m not hurt.” Her smile was blinding. “But if you ever pull that shit on me again I swear to every god there is, that I will be the one to put a bullet in you. Do you hear me?”
“Yes, ma’am.” I leaned forward and pressed my forehead to hers. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, you giant idiot.”
“Not to break up the reunion, but where is Maria?” Danny asked. He was peering out of the office door.
“Dead,” Vitz rumbled.
Ava stiffened and I looked over to where the burly Russian was standing.
“You killed her?” Mavis cocked her head to the side as she wiped her knife off on her dress. Her even tone was much scarier than when she raised her voice at Kenny. “I needed her. She has something of mine.”
“No.” He shook his head and looked at Ava.
He was looking at my sweet, angelic Ava.
The Ava that punched people for kissing the guy she liked.
My Ava that would kill to protect those she loved.
Mavis cursed under her breath, but didn’t say anything to Ava. Danny was looking at Ava in surprise and Vitz had his arms crossed as if everything was completely normal.
Red filled Ava’s cheeks and she frowned before a fierce look filled her eyes.
“I thought she had killed you,” she whispered.
She had killed for me. This beautiful, brilliant, kind woman had killed for me.
“I love you.” I didn’t know what else to say. I’m not sure there was anything to say for that. It wasn’t like the card companies made cards for occasions where your lover kills a villain.
“Of course you do.” Her bright smil
e did wonders for the pain I was feeling.
“Ava killed Maria.” Mavis shook her head, a smile forming on her face. She looked a bit like a proud mother. “I didn’t see that coming.”
“She killed a Maria.” Vitz grunted. “It was a good shot, though.”
“I got lucky.” Ava’s blush deepened.
“What do you mean a Maria?” Mavis demanded.
“It’s an organization.” Vitz rubbed at his jaw where I’d hit him. That’s right. Even with a bullet in me, I packed a punch. “I’ve spent the last five years infiltrating these damn businesses, trying to find out how it was managed. Every branch is controlled by a woman named Maria. The CIA has been trying to unravel the threads for years.”
“Then it was a different Maria that hired me. She looked like this one, but it wasn’t her.” I frowned. “Are they a cult?”
Vitz grunted. Either he didn’t know or they weren’t sure.
“You can explain later. We’ve got to go.” Danny leaned back into the room. “I hear people coming this way.”
“Wait, where is Tess? Is she really safe?” Ava looked at the thief.
“Yes, she’s monitoring me with a GPS from the basement of a building near-by. I locked her in so she wouldn’t follow me.” Danny grimaced. “She’s probably going to divorce me.”
“How did you know to come tonigt?” I asked. “You showed up at just the right time.”
“We’ve been following the casino since Tess got Ava’s email. I figured that if she was with someone that could help her, you would eventually end up at one of them.” Danny rubbed the back of neck. “I couldn’t find Ava. We searched all of London. I thought of just sending the painting to Maria but I worried she’d kill Ava either way. I’d hoped presenting it in person would up our odds of surviving.”
“That was a big gamble.” Vitz frowned. “You should stick to stealing and leave the strategy to someone else.”
“Right.” Danny frowned. “I’m really sorry, Ava. Tessa is going to be so relieved you’re okay.”
“Those people are getting closer, we need to split.” Mavis nodded at Vitz.
“I have help waiting outside.” I managed to haul my sorry ass off the desk and stand. Ava slipped under my arm. I was determined to keep her tucked against me for a very long time.
“Can you tell us a way out?” Danny looked at Vitz.
“Yes. My cover is shot.” Frustration laced his words. Without another look he took off in the opposite direction of the way we had come.
“I guess we’re moving.” Mavis looked at me with assessing eyes. “You can make it out. Don’t run into any other bullets, got it, cheese boy?”
“Got it.”
“What kind of cheese?” Ava glanced up at me.
“Swiss.” I sighed and leaned over to kiss her head. We were alive.
“So you’re Swiss Cheese? It works.” There was that smile I loved so much.
“Yes and you’re my American turkey.”
“I can handle that.” Her laugh helped distract me as we made our way down the dark hallways.
We ran into very little resistance. Mavis and Vitz took care of it quickly and quietly each time.
Outside there was a boy in black clothes leaning against a wall. He pressed something on a phone and said a few short words in French before a van turned the corner. He walked over and opened the door for us.
“Owen?” Mavis called.
“We’re good.” I let Ava help me into the van. I could have managed without her, but it was nice to have the help. The man in the front passenger seat turned to look at me. “Where’s John?”
“He’s getting a physician. Derek said you were bleeding.”
“Thank you.”
Ava was looking at my shoulder, her face worried. “Are you going to be okay? Mavis, is he going to be okay?”
“Yes, he has more blood than brains.” The slender woman leaned over the seat and lifted the material from my shoulder. “He got lucky again.”
“Did you want a matching bullet scar on the other shoulder?” Ava’s smile wobbled.
“It’s manly to have matching scars.” I pulled her closer to me.
“Don’t get any more, okay?”
“I’ll try.”
She sighed. “And don’t lie to me again.”
I lifted my hand and extended my pinky finger.
Her eyes filled with love, she wrapped her finger around mine.
“You’re stuck with me, now.” I leaned forward the best I could and she met me, her lips pressing to mine.
“Like you could get rid of me.”
I wondered if she would ever be the same. Or maybe she hadn’t changed at all. Maybe she’d had a little assassin to her the whole time.
“You wanted to shake things up.” I pulled back and looked in her eyes.
Her smile was wide. “I think I’ve officially figured out how to do that. It just took a few lessons from an assassin.”
“The world is your oyster. What do you want to do now?”
“After you’re patched up and I’ve yelled at Tessa and Danny? I think we should explore Paris. Visit a bakery.” She shrugged. “Maybe I’ll design jewelry for Kenny to put little transmitters in. Designer watches with hidden tools.”
“Very James Bond.” I shifted in the seat, unable to find a position that didn’t hurt.
“Hm.” She frowned. “I’ve never wanted to be a Bond girl.”
“So true.” Mavis said. “We really needed better spy role models.”
Danny leaned forward. “Can you drop me off at the next street? Tell me where to meet you and I’ll bring Tessa. She’s going to want to see Ava right away.”
I looked at Ava. “What do you think?”
“I think if he doesn’t show up with Tessa we’ll go looking for him next.” She turned and narrowed her eyes at Danny.
“That’s more than fair.” Danny frowned. “I really am sorry, Ava. I’ll find a way to make this up to you.”
“Take this.” Mavis pulled her GPS earring off and handed it to Danny before telling him an address. “Give us two hours.”
“That wasn’t where we were earlier.”
“Kenny packed up and headed for the other place as soon as he realized we’d been figured out.”
Danny hopped out of the van and saluted quickly before jogging off down a dark alley.
When the van started to move again, Vitz passed something over the seat and Ava looked at it with a frown. It took a second for foggy brain to realize that it was the bag of money Maria had given her.
“It’s official now.” Mavis announced as Ava took the bag.
“What is?” Ava raised her eyebrows.
“You’ve been paid for killing someone.” I could just see a glimpse of Mavis’s white teeth as she smiled at Ava. “You’re one of us now.”
Her eyes locked on mine. “Yes. I am.” She leaned forward again, this time her kiss was stronger, more sure. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I COULD WRITE an entire book filled with the people that I need to thank. Seriously. And I do mean that seriously literally. Okay, maybe a novella. A long novella. But really, it would be nothing but me heaping thanks on the people that have listened to me stress out/ freak out/ panic, cry, have been ignored, put up with my absent-mindedness, and didn’t mind eating take-out food one more time because I had a deadline. To save you all from that boredom, I’ll keep it quick here and lavish those other people with love in person. How about paragraph form?
KP Simmon, Rebecca Friedman, Becki, Jessie, Nia, Jonathan, Anne, Danielle LeFave, Erika Leonard, Mandy Anderson, Laurie Thornton, Angie Stanton, Tina Hoffman, Heather Darenberg, Nicole Benisch, Brandie, Celia Ottoway (again, thanks for answering my British vs. American questions!), Sarah Ross Abernathy, Laura Bradley Rede, Elizabeth Hunter, The Facebook Accidental Assassins group, and a big thanks to everyone that has read one of my books and helped spread the word—You guys are my heroes.
One last th
ing. I can’t write without music. It inspires me, moves me, helps shape my books. So, let me say a quick thanks to the musicians that helped inspire The Accidental Assassin:
Ed Sheeran
Imagine Dragons (I swear, Demons was written for Owen.)
Taylor Swift
Sia
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
OneRepublic
Ed Sheeran
Adele
Rihanna
Skillet
Imagine Dragons
Katy Tiz (Listen to The Big Bang and tell me that’s not Ava. I dare you.)
Muse
Ed Sheeran
Journey (Showing my age here. *cough, cough*)
And did I mention Ed Sheeran and Imagine Dragons? I did? Oh, okay. Good.
Check out www.nicholechase.com for more information about upcoming books and appearances.
NICHOLE CHASE IS the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Suddenly Royal, Flukes, The Dark Betrayal Trilogy, and several short stories. She is also the instructor of Say What? a dialogue class at the Romance Academy.
Nichole lives in Georgia with her husband, energetic daughter, superhero dog, Sulcata tortoise, and two cats. When not writing, you may find her reading, painting, crafting, or chasing her daughter around the house while making monster noises.
Nichole is represented by Literary Agent, Rebecca Friedman of the RF Literary Agency. If you would like to ask about review copies of her books, public appearances, or Skype chats for a book club, please contact her publicist KP Simmon of InkSlingerPR.
If you would like to learn more about Nichole and her projects, check out her website.
www.NicholeChase.com
Books by Nichole Chase
Suddenly Royal (Royal Series, Book One)
Recklessly Royal (Royal Series, Book Two)
Reluctantly Royal (Royal Series, Book Three)
Mortal Obligation (Dark Betrayal Trilogy, Book One)
Mortal Defiance (Dark Betrayal Trilogy, Book Two)
The Accidental Assassin (Assassins #1) Page 28