Page 42 of Scarlet Mark

He gazed up at me, his irises a near black, the ire dilating his pupils a palpable presence between us. “I have two conditions.”

I didn’t move, our lips only a hairsbreadth apart. “Name them.”

“You will follow my lead without question. It might be your home turf, but it’s still my playground.”

His experience made accepting that requirement easy. “And the second?” I asked.

“If things go south and you get hurt or caught, it’s not on me to save you. I’m an assassin, not a knight in shining armor. So don’t ever mistake me for the hero. It will get you killed. Got it?”

I swallowed, nodding. “Yes.”

“Then we have a deal.” He brushed his lips against mine. “Now, I vote we continue this shit in the morning because I need some fucking sleep.”

Killian

Amir Assad.

A wealthy Turkish businessman known for laundering money and gun trafficking. He’d been on Arthur’s watch list for years, several people ordering hits on the bastard without providing the right financial incentive.

Taking him out would not be easy, especially as he notoriously hid behind several shell corporations all over the world.

Finding him was the hard task.

But I had an idea of where to start.

“What about the girl?” Arthur asked, his voice flat over the phone. I’d just finished telling him about my conversation with Amara last night. Specifically, my freshly created kill list.

“She’s too useful to discard.” I didn’t bother elaborating on how I’d agreed to allow her to help me. That was my problem to handle and completely irrelevant to Arthur.

“You’re fucking her.”

I smirked. “Not yet.” While we’d shared a bed last night, I’d slept fully clothed and armed. Trust was for the weak. I preferred to stay alive.

Although, it’d proven futile. When I awoke this morning, it was to find Amara curled into a tiny ball, passed out and oblivious.

I half expected her to try to run, had even put a few traps in place in anticipation, but she slept like a baby.

Maybe there was hope for our partnership yet.

“Well, I still think Assad could go for a higher amount, but I’ll pull the highest bid. Make it hurt, Dagger.”

“Without question,” I replied.

“I want to review the Rose case before I sign off on that, but the senator is all yours. No one attacks my men and gets away with it.”

“I’ll be sure to deliver that message loud and clear.”After I demolish everything he’s built.

“Good. Keep me apprised.” He hung up before I could agree. Not that he needed the words. He knew I’d call him if anything changed.

A series of documents appeared on my new tablet—something that arrived thirty minutes after I requested it—all of which detailed Assad’s last known movements.

Cairo.

Hmm.Not my favorite city. I much preferred Alexandria or Sharm el-Sheikh.

I studied the surveillance photo, noting the government agency print in the lower corner. Thank fuck for shitty security.

Assad’s number one, Raoul, was last seen meeting a handful of arms dealers in downtown Cairo, which implied a pending trade. The esteemed leader would be nearby, his penchant for micromanaging notorious.