Page 112 of Burn the World Down

Several security guards, including Theo, were closing in fast.

Lark clocked them and her face twisted, then she tossed the knife and leaped off the table.

Dammit. She landed in a crowd of people and disappeared. I scanned around, but there was no sign of her.

“Fucking hell,” Bastian muttered.

“Oh no,” Georgie cried.

He had a knife embedded in his right shoulder. He gripped the hilt and pulled it out.

“Are you okay?” Georgie hurried over to him.

Impatiently, Bastian yanked his tie off, wadded it into a ball, and pressed it to the bleeding wound. “I’ll live.”

I cleared my throat. “If she wanted to really kill you, you’d be dead.”

“I know.” A dark look settled on his face, his gaze on the spot where she’d disappeared.

“Who is she?”

“Lark,” I said. “The woman who’s always trying to kill him.”

Georgie blinked. “No.”

“Yes,” Nash said.

Bastian sniffed. “I have no plans to be killed anytime soon.” He impatiently studied his shoulder. “Raincheck on dinner?”

I nodded. “Bastian, you need to take care of her. This is the fourth time she’s attacked you. Eventually, she will aim to kill.”

A look that I couldn’t decipher crossed his face. “I’ll deal with her.”

Georgie shifted Bastian’s hand and checked his wound. “You need a doctor. This needs glue or stitches.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Bastian said. “I’m more upset that she put a hole in my suit jacket. It’s Armani.”

Georgie rolled her eyes.

Now Bastian smiled. “Do you want to play nurse, Georgie?”

“Don’t make me kill you,” I muttered.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll get the hotel doctor to check it out.” Then he spun and stalked off toward the elevators.

I took Georgie’s hand and nodded at Theo. I knew he’d deal with things here.

“What was that all about?” Georgie demanded. “Will he be all right?”

“It’s a long story. He’ll be fine.”

“She’s an assassin?”

“Yes. Trained by Bastian’s old mentor, Ed Galloway. The man practically raised Lark, and she thinks of him as a father.”

“Okay. So why is she trying to kill Bastian?”

“Because Bastian killed Galloway. She blames him.”