Assassin's Mark

by Ella Sheridan

  “So Camilla Roslyn wasn’t your mother,” Levi finally said.

  I kept my head turned, biting down on my thumbnail until the cuticle screamed with pain.

  “She left to go to your father.”

  “We don’t know that. We don’t know the name of the man she was seeing.” I clenched my fist. “We don’t know that I’m Caroline’s either. It could all be a coincidence. My birth certificate—”

  “Is easily forged,” Levi pointed out. “Especially for someone who has as much money as Derrick does.”

  True.

  “Let’s say, just for the sake of argument, that she is your mother.” Levi stopped at a four-way, then went straight. “She didn’t marry your father, obviously.”

  “He would already have been married.” Derrick and Camilla had been together a couple of years before I made an appearance.

  “Right.” The light tap of his finger against the leather steering wheel told me he was thinking. “Some women would willingly give up a child, but Geneva’s description didn’t paint Caroline as one of them.”

  Also true. Even leaving had been based on the safety of her daughter.

  Her daughter. I couldn’t say me, not yet. I just couldn’t.

  “What if—”

  I held up a hand. Cutting Levi off. “Just…give me a minute, okay?”

  I didn’t look to him for confirmation, but he fell silent, and that was all the answer I needed. I sat very still, the rain drumming on the hood and windows muffling the world outside, and let the pieces fall into place in my mind.

  The man, Anthony Clark, had come here to discover what had happened to his sister, who might very well have been my mother. Caroline had been a young country girl on her first adventure away from a restrictive, possibly abusive home. Anthony was dead—and if this was all true, if Geneva was right, then my uncle, the only family I might’ve had left, was gone. And my mother had disappeared off the face of the earth.

  My father had ordered Anthony killed. I knew that, understood it, but still couldn’t truly comprehend it. I tried to examine the fact logically, critically, but I couldn’t stop my breath from speeding up, my heart from racing until I worried that I might pass out. Because the mere thought led to one other conclusion—if Derrick had killed Anthony, if he had tried to kill Remi and Levi and even me…then he could very well have killed my mother too.

  Why? The answer was simple: politics.

  Powerful men had mistresses all the time. My father had married for political and social gain. Like any other child who’d lost a parent, I’d wanted desperately to know about the mother who’d died when I was no more than a toddler, but from what little I could gather from servants and news stories over the years, Camilla and Derrick hadn’t seemed to have a particularly passionate relationship. She had been pregnant, though. I’d seen the pictures.

  “If I’m not Camilla’s child, what happened to her baby?” Even if Derrick’s mistress did have a daughter, his wife’s child would be the rightful heir, the refined, logical choice to assist Derrick in the life he wanted. Why choose me instead? And where was my half sibling?

  “These things can be faked,” Levi said thoughtfully.

  “But why go to all the trouble?”

  “I don’t know.” Levi reached for me, his firm palm meeting mine, steadying me. “I don’t know all the answers yet, but we can find them.”

  Levi was good at finding the answers, but how long would that take?

  I thought about the woman Geneva had described: young, hard-working, loving. A simple country girl would never have made a good politician’s wife. But would he justify getting rid of her simply because she was a better mistress for a man like him than a wife? Would Caroline have threatened to come forward, reveal her identity—and possibly stop his career before it had time to truly take off—if he wouldn’t care for her and her daughter?

  Would Derrick have killed her?

  The thought sent grief slicing through me. Surprisingly, the emotion was stronger than any denial that tried to rise. I was actually beginning to believe my father was more than capable of murder. Maybe having a gun held to my face by a man Derrick had sent after me had something to do with that. He had taken everything else in my life—my freedom, my self-esteem, my happiness. Was it really that big of a leap to think he’d stolen my mother too?

  Levi threaded his fingers through mine. “I think the most important question we can ask is, where is she? What happened to her?”

  I had a terrible feeling in my gut, one I couldn’t ignore. “We’re not going to find her, are we?”

  Levi’s sigh sounded as if it came from the depths of his soul. “No.”

  Just no. He didn’t try to sugarcoat it, didn’t try to hide the what-ifs. He just held on to me and gave me the truth. I squeezed my eyes shut against the sting of tears.

  “Is there any way to prove it?” Prove that my father had killed my mother.

  I opened my eyes, needing to see the truth in my lover’s face, one way or another. Levi’s mouth tightened, his gaze stormy as he glanced my way. “Without a body? Probably not.”

  How many men knew Derrick had hired a hit man? How many could follow that trail, the same way we had, and uncover the secret origins of Derrick’s daughter?

  There wasn’t anyone else, though, was there? Levi had been approached for the original contract on Anthony Clark, and when he’d refused it… Well, Axe and his team were dead.

  “What about a confession?”

  Two realizations hit me as I said the words, both so profound that, if I’d been standing, they might’ve knocked me off my feet. One—I really believed it. I’d gone past the denial, the sense of unreality. It made perfect sense that my father had killed to secure his political future. This whole thing had gone from a hypothetical maybe to certainty in my gut.

  And two—Derrick’s motive for coming after Levi was suddenly very, very clear.

  “Covering up.”

  Levi pulled into a darkened parking lot and put the SUV in park before turning to face me. “What?”

  “Derrick is covering up,” I said again. “You said the press conferences and leaks were tips to establish his own alibi, throw suspicion on others.”

  “Yeah.”

  “That’s why he came after you. Not only because you refused his contract, but you also held a valuable piece of information—Anthony Clark’s name. Think about it. How many people know, or could figure out, his secret? The most valuable players are all disappeared or dead—Caroline, Camilla, Anthony. Assuming only you and Axe had my uncle’s information, only one of you is left. Whoever comes to take you out doesn’t even have to know about the previous hit. You are the only person still alive who knows what Derrick did. He’s about to make a run for governor, and I assure you, that’s only a stepping stone. He’s eliminating anyone who could connect him in any way with his—”

  His secret past. My mother.

  Except there was one connection with his past that didn’t have to do with the hit on Anthony, wasn’t there?

  Me.

  And he’d tried to make sure I couldn’t talk either, when he’d sent Axe’s team to kill me.

  I turned my head, glaring fiercely out into the rain in an attempt to stave off the tears threatening to overtake me. Levi didn’t push, didn’t talk, simply put the car in motion again. It was as if he could sense how close I was to the edge. One step and I might fall, but I couldn’t. I had to be strong—for me, for Caroline, wherever she was. Because I was the linchpin connecting all the pieces of the puzzle. And the one with the smallest target on my back if Derrick thought I didn’t know.

  That made me the only one who could prove what he had done, and take him down once and for all.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Levi kept glancing at me as he drove. I caught glimpses from the corner of my eye but ignored them. My mind was racing too fast, too full, for anything else.

  “I’m going to stop at Eli and Remi’s,” he fina
lly said. “We need some supplies.”

  I made a sound that barely passed for approval—not that he needed any. But informing me of plans was, to me, an affirmation of the trust, still so fragile and new, between us. Things were changing; we were changing. But right now I didn’t think I could deal with any more change.

  We spent almost an hour driving. My confused mind couldn’t keep all the turns and backtracking straight, but I figured Levi was making sure we weren’t followed. Imagine my surprise when we turned into a nice, middle-class, older neighborhood with wide-spaced houses on gently rolling hills, with plenty of trees. Nothing like the areas Levi had kept me in, but maybe that was the point. Break the pattern and throw your enemies off the scent.

  Levi retrieved a standard garage door opener from his jacket pocket and clicked the button as we neared the last house on a dead-end street. A typical ’80s ranch. I guess it was true what they said about never knowing what your neighbors were up to. Surprisingly I felt a grin tug at my lips at the thought of the people who lived here—probably nice, quiet, even staid people—discovering they had an assassin for a neighbor. Levi didn’t seem to notice as he pulled into the garage and lowered the door, for which I was grateful. Who wanted to explain how funny they found the fact that their lover was a hit man? Eli might laugh, but Levi?

  I shrugged mentally, waiting in the growing gloom as the garage door trundled down and Levi gestured for me to get out.

  “I’m going to shower and pack up some of my clothes. Do you need anything, little bird?”

  “You got any clothes that would fit me better here?” I desperately missed the bag that had been lost back at the warehouse.

  “Afraid not.” Levi looked a bit chagrined.

  “Then I’m afraid what I need, you can’t provide.” I gave him a lopsided grin.

  One eyebrow cocked in my direction. “We both know that’s not the case.”

  A blush burned my cheeks. Put that way, I guess he wasn’t wrong.

  He must’ve seen the answer on my face because he winked. Levi winked. I was still sitting in my seat, openmouthed, staring at the driver’s seat, when he opened my door.

  Eli met us at the entrance. “How did it go?”

  Levi threw a glance at me over his shoulder, his lips tight.

  “Go ahead,” I told him. Better him than me. If I had to explain what my father had done—and what I suspected he had done—I might completely lose it. Completely.

  “Right.” He turned to Eli. “Get her a drink.”

  Eli’s raised eyebrows said that bad? but he went to the kitchen without commenting. I sat on the couch and ignored Levi giving Remi a hard time about being out of bed until Eli reappeared.

  “What is it?” I asked him, eyeing the tall glass he handed me.

  “Coke.”

  I took a large swallow, choked, and whimpered against the burning in my throat. “And rum?”

  “Whiskey,” Eli said.

  “Right.” I downed half the glass.

  Remi made a sound in his throat, half laugh, half groan of pain. Levi threw him a concerned look.

  “What happened?” Eli asked.

  “We met one of Caroline’s neighbors,” Levi began.

  I drained my glass, then stood. “I’ll be right back.

  In the bathroom I splashed ice-cold water on my face for a full minute, the numbness taking over my cheeks and nose and lips sharp enough to stave off the tears that felt like they would drown me if I didn’t somehow force them away. All day the plan had been for no one to see me on the street; now, having these three men see me was too much.

  Maybe they sensed that. When I came back to the living area, all talking ceased. No one would meet my eyes. I thought about asking Eli for another drink but figured one was bad enough. I needed to think straight, not drown my sorrows. As much as I wanted to stick my head in the sand, let Levi take me back to our little urban hideaway and convince him to take me to bed, I couldn’t ignore what I had learned today. I had to do something about it, and right now, while Levi was occupied, might be my only opportunity.

  “Okay?” Levi asked, breaking the silence that pressed on me like a fifty-pound wet blanket. I caught the tensing of his hands, the aborted movement toward me, and felt my heart soften. For a man that raised himself to be invulnerable to emotions, to risk, Levi still had good instincts. What kind of man would he have been if his parents had lived?

  “I’m okay.” I sat next to him on the couch and reached for his hand, closing the distance between us. Levi’s fingers immediately tangled with my own. Strong. Steady. Deadly when necessary. Peace flickered inside me.

  “We ordered pizzas. Eli’s going to help me pack some equipment to take with us.” His fingers tightened on mine the slightest bit, then softened. “I don’t want to be caught off guard again.”

  “Of course.” I didn’t want him to be caught off guard either. Well, by anyone coming after us, anyway. A plan was forming in my head. If I knew anything, it was that Levi would never agree to let me go anywhere alone, unprotected. But the answers I needed were at the one place he couldn’t go; I knew it deep in my gut. Derrick was an arrogant, self-righteous bastard—and that was going to be his downfall.

  “I’ll get a shower, we can eat, then we’ll go,” Levi said. He hesitated, his fingers coming up to lift my chin until our gazes locked. “Abby—”

  I wished he’d call me little bird. Birds were fragile, they lived in cages, but in the wild they soared, free and strong, high above all threats. I wanted to be like that right now.

  “What?”

  Levi didn’t answer, just stared into me, delving deep into my soul. What was he looking for?

  His fingers tightened on my chin, and he leaned close. “Keep Remi company?” he asked, breath warm on my lips.

  What else was I supposed to do? “Sure.”

  “Good.” He held me a moment longer, then settled his lips on mine. I closed my eyes and opened to him—his warmth, his confidence, his tenderness. If someone had asked me if a hit man could be tender, I’d have answered no without hesitation. But Levi had shown tenderness to me from that very first night. He’d taken care of me in my inexperience, in my fear, in my pain. He talked tough, but his actions had revealed the true man, the one he kept locked away so no one could sense that he was vulnerable.

  But I’d found the tender underbelly, and I do anything to protect him like he’d protected me.

  “He’s not going off to war. Just to pack up some AKs. Give it a rest.”

  Trust Eli to break into the moment. Levi smiled against my lips.

  “Right. Let’s go,” he said, drawing away. Reluctantly, maybe? My heart hoped so; my head said it might be better, when this was all over, if he wasn’t as attached as I was. What kind of future did we have, after all, the society girl dethroned and the assassin with a well-protected heart?

  I glanced at Remi as his brothers headed down the hall. Those amber eyes were fixed on me, dark, searching.

  “May I get you anything?” I asked, the hostess in me rising.

  “Yeah, some water?”

  Had his voice always been this gruff, or was it lack of use during his injury that had caused it? I hadn’t known him before, so… “Sure.”

  It was in the kitchen, pouring Remi’s drink, that the plan snapped together in my mind. I was so focused on the thoughts racing through my brain that I didn’t notice the too-full glass until water spilled over my hand and soaked the sleeve of my sweatshirt. “Damn it!”

  “Everything all right?” Remi called from the living room.

  “Yes, just making a mess.” I mopped up the water with a paper towel, but my gaze was locked on the delivery menu sitting on the counter. Pizza was coming. A car… The door…

  “Here you go.” I passed Remi his water and took a seat on the corner of the couch closest to him.

  Remi sipped for a moment. I could feel his scrutiny. I’d gotten used to Levi’s intense gaze, but Remi, not so much. When he spo
ke, I startled.

  “I’m sorry about all this. I—” He cleared his throat. “I never meant for anyone to drag you into this…mess.”

  My life was a mess all right. I shrugged. “If they hadn’t, I might never have known about my mother. Maybe getting drugged and kidnapped and used was worth it for that.”

  Guilt flashed across his face. Exactly what I wanted to see.

  “Remi…” I leaned forward, elbows on my knees. I’d never been the manipulative type—only the manipulated type—but I needed him to hear me, needed the truth to somehow convince him to help me. “I want Derrick to pay for what he’s done. Do you understand?” This time I stared him down, praying, hoping. “If we are right, he’s taken everything from me—my mother, my uncle, my life. He’s used me in a way that far surpasses anything Levi ever did. He tried to have me murdered, his own daughter. And I’m going to prove it. I think I know how.”

  Remi set his glass on the coffee table. “How?”

  “If there’s anything that ties Derrick to Caroline, anything at all, it will be in his safe at the house.”

  Remi shook his head. “Levi already checked his office safe. There was nothing out of the ordinary there.”

  I wasn’t surprised that Levi had been inside my father’s office, probably the same time he’d spied on all my secrets. “Not that safe. He has another one, in the basement.” I wasn’t supposed to know about it, but I’d done a little spying of my own, back when I had cared about why my father couldn’t seem to love me. I’d thought the answers were hidden in his life, but nothing I had found had given me a clue. Now I had one.

  Remi’s narrowed eyes made me want to squirm. I held as still as I could, bearing his scrutiny.

  “You want us to get into the basement?” he finally asked.

  I thought about the numbers on the clock above the stove. “There’s no time for that.”