Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70826 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 354(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70826 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 354(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Jesus Christ.
He’s a dead man walking.
My eyes are locked with Rusnak’s as I promise, “I’ll see you soon.” I nudge Camille toward the exit, and fucking angry, I bark, “Walk.”
Camille startles, and looking rattled as fuck with fear tightening her features, she hurries to the Bugatti.
The fucking asshole. The second I’m done protecting Camille, I’m killing him.
Chapter 12
Cami
What the hell was that all about?
Max drags me to the Bugatti, and I’m practically bundled inside.
When he tensed up and started growling orders, I thought I was in danger. My freaking heart almost pounded out of my chest.
Then that man approached us, and Max transformed into…Jesus, I can’t even describe it. He was calm but deadly? The danger emanating from him had me trembling like a leaf in a storm.
Max gets into the car and starts the engine, his face cut from stone. But his eyes… Jesus, his eyes are filled with so much violence it makes the tiny hairs on my body rise.
“Max?” I whisper, too scared to talk louder.
His gaze keeps checking all the mirrors as if he’s expecting an attack at any moment, and his tone is so low a shiver creeps down my spine when he growls, “We’ll talk once we’re home.”
What happened back there? The entire conversation was…off. It’s the weirdest and scariest thing I’ve ever witnessed.
Frowning, I replay the conversation the two men had.
Killed. Body bag. Assassin.
Intense shock hits me square in the stomach, and I wrap my arms around myself. “Oh, God.”
“Stay calm,” Max orders.
Assassin.
“Jesus.” My heart sets off at a crazy pace, and I feel the blood drain from my face as I look at the man beside me. “You’re an assassin?” My mouth goes bone dry. “Oh. My. God.”
Is that even a thing people still do?
Of course, it is.
What the hell?
Looking terrifying as hell, Max orders, “We’ll talk when we get home.”
I sit frozen in my seat, suddenly too scared to move a muscle. The drive feels endlessly long, and by the time Max parks the car, my body is ice cold and a trembling mess.
When I don’t move, he murmurs, “Let’s go up, Camille.”
I push the door open and keep myself from looking at him as we walk to the elevator. When the doors shut us in the confined space, I wrap my arms around myself and watch the numbers as they climb to my floor.
Jesus. An assassin. A man who unalives people for a living. Jesus. Oh my God. An assassin. This is insane.
The doors open, and he orders, “Wait here.”
Like always, Max walks through the penthouse. My eyes lock on him, and now I see the predatory way he moves.
Now I understand the cold expression on his face. It’s ruthlessness.
He comes back toward me. “All clear.”
Slowly, my eyes settle on his face. “Who was that man?”
Max’s features are drawn tight, the danger still in his eyes. “You don’t need to know who he is.”
Still processing the shock, I shake my head again. “Are you…” I swallow hard, “an assassin?”
I expect him to deny it.
I expect him to reassure me.
What I don’t expect is for him to nod.
Shivers rush over my skin, and my skin feels clammy. My heart thunders in my chest as I stare wide-eyed at him. “Jesus, you unalive people for a living.”
He tilts his head, his light-green eyes locked on me as if he’s waiting for me to make a move.
My arms tighten around my middle. “Does my father know?”
Again he nods. “That’s why I was asked to protect you.”
Holy shit.
“But you don’t protect people,” I state the obvious with fear trembling in my voice.
His features soften a little, but it doesn’t make him look any less dangerous. “No, I don’t. You’re an exception.”
“Me?” A frown forms on my forehead. “Why?”
“Why what?”
I swallow hard. “Why am I an exception?”
“I owed someone a favor and had to repay a debt.”
I spent three weeks with an assassin and didn’t have the slightest clue.
Lifting my hand to my mouth, I let out a burst of incredulous laughter. “I can’t believe I’m having this conversation.” Worry forms a pit in my stomach. “How can you protect me if you’re an assassin?”
“I’m the best there is, Camille. If the person threatening you is from my world, they’ll back off solely because you’re seen with me.”
Shit.
I’m standing mere inches from the best assassin there is.
Shit.
I move backward and bump into the elevator doors.
Max shakes his head, and I watch as the dangerous expression fades from his eyes. His tone is as gentle as I’ve ever heard it. “I won’t hurt you.”
My tongue darts out to wet my dry lips. “But…I don’t understand why my father would hire someone like you.”
He pulls his phone out of his pocket and dials a number. A moment later, he says, “Camille found out I’m an assassin. She needs reassurance that she’s safe with me.”