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“It’s too early to tell what will happen.” His retort reflects my thoughts exactly.

“How did you get inside my house?”

“You should have asked me how I move undetected around Chicago city. Because getting inside this lake house was child’splay. I think I overestimated you.” I growl in reply to his insult. He smiles. “You’re still irascible, so easy to fuck with.”

“And you’re still an asshole.”

He finally lowers the pistol, sniffing at my words. “That’s a word I hear often.”

From whom?Rami didn’t find any trace of a family or a partner. Does he attend an assassin annual reunion? Even if there were one, he wouldn’t go. No, Ezra gives out crazy loner vibes, but again, we didn’t find much about his life. We don’t even know how he escaped from the facility. Unless…he didn’t. He is an assassin, which was the goal of the experiment—to turn us into emotionless, killer puppets. But Ezra doesn’t work for the government. He’s…self-employed.

“It’s more fun to find that answer by yourself, isn’t it?”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Why is Phoenix targeting you as well?”

He hums. “We share a past.”

Finally we are getting somewhere. “What past, Ezra?” Did he work for him? With him? Was Phoenix a client?

“Unfortunately time’s up.”

“No, it isn’t.” I lift my semi-auto at him.

“If you wanted to kill me, you’d have done it by now,” he states without showing a smidge of fear.

“I can still shoot you in both legs and prevent you from leaving.”

He hums again. I’m starting to hate that fucking noncommittal sound.

“You could, but that wouldn’t be wise. Phoenix is getting closer, and you need all help you can get.”

“What I need is answers,” I snarl.

“And I’ll give them to you in time.”

“Time,” I echo, putting my gun down, still keeping the safety off.

He’s studying my face again with acute concentration. “We are inextricably linked, Uriel,” he finally utters in a stern tone. “Our faces. Our lives. Maybe even our deaths.”

“Funny, since you’re the one who stayed away all this time,” I retort.

His eyes darken just a split second before he shifts to the left, making me move to the right, my gun pointing at his knee. He unloads Annie…at the silhouette target with his eyes on me—mimicking my intimidation act from earlier. In the corner of my eye, I see the holes he left on the face of the target forming a downcast mouth. I’m not that impressed. Good aim must simply be in our genes.

“Don’t you have any questions for me?” I ask him, as he leaves the gun on the counter and turns toward the door.

He stops for a moment. “That’s for next time.” When he passes the threshold, he adds, “Don’t follow me.” And disappears.

Nobody tells me what to do.I lift my phone. “Serena, show me the man who’s exiting my house.”

“Here is the live video, Uri,” she promptly answers.

Ezra appears on my phone screen. He’s walking purposefully to the back door, through the garage. When he’s out, he follows the path to the lake. I have fewer cameras out there, but I addedmotion sensors. I need to see how he gets in and out so quickly to disappear completely. He shifts behind a tall bush; there’s no CCTV there. The motion sensors still catch his movements as he keeps advancing until he reaches the lake and vanishes.

I quickly find my way out of the house after I grab a flashlight, retracing his steps. It’s damn cold. As I’m making my way to the lake I see it. A jet boat cutting through the water. Fuck! Ezra is at the wheel, I could chase him with the cruiser tied on the deck, but it would take to much time to prep it.

I let out a loud growl, when the light coming from the flashlight shows the utility hole half covered by snow. My mind goes back to Ezra’s previous words. Damn it!

“Serena, call Rami.”