Page 35

Ten months later.

HEX

I walk through the glass sliding doors, my heart in my throat. It’s not the first time we do this, but so far, I’ve not had an active role in any of our assassinations.

We’ve been careful how we pick our targets and how we go about eliminating them. After all, we don’t want to bring attention to what we are doing and risk having the other evil bastards go into hiding. It’s been a slow and gruesome process so far, but we’ve crossed out two names from that list, so I’d say we are making good progress.

“Tien, are you in position?” Aran comms me, his voice sounding a little scrambled in the earbud.

I scan the room, locating the chubby man with the bald head and golden tiara. He’s a billionaire from Dubai, and he’s been rather active lately, so we had to move him up the list as a priority. “Positive. I can see the target.” Then to Timmy, I say, “You ready to roll, buddy?”

“I didn’t catch that,” Aran’s voice responds in my ear.

“I was talking to Timmy.”

He sighs deeply, like he’s had enough of me for today. “I can’t believe you took him with you.”

I roll my eyes even if he can’t see me. “You know I don’t go anywhere without him.”

He laughs. “I’m starting to feel jealous.”

He shouldn’t. And besides, he’s the one who gifted me Timmy, my very own, very cute and adorable pet iguana.

“Does that mean hot daddy sex tonight? So you can remind me who I belong to?”

He groans in exasperation. “Tien. Don’t call it that .”

I bet he adjusted himself though. “I like it when you are bossy and dommy. We should explore that more.”

“It only happens when I’m in a certain mood.”

“And I’m the one usually responsible,” I point out, ruffling my hair a little as I head toward my target. “So don’t worry, cowboy. I’ve got you covered.”

“You are a menace,” he chuckles, resignation palpable in his voice.

I’ve won. Yep, we are having kinky fun tonight. I’ll even whip out the handcuffs. “But you love me anyway.” I smack my lips together in an exaggerated kiss. “Toddles, over.”

The line goes silent, but I know he’s listening. He’s with me, even if not physically. It’s safer this way for this mission, but he’s also right outside the modern art gallery, ready to rush in with his guns blazing.

I hope it doesn’t come to this. It’s my first real mission, and I’d hate for it to go south and get me grounded from future ones. I love tagging along on the occasions when Aran is out in the field. Despite his position as the Akiyama Group’s CSO, he’s had to get his hands a bit dirty again. It makes sense, considering the sensitive nature of what we are dealing with, but I am not complaining. I love our training sessions and getting to know this side of him more. Besides, I can now hold my own in a fight, and I’m amazing with a sniper rifle. Who would’ve thought all those hours in first-person shooters would pay off?

Schooling my lovesick expression into a flirtation smile, I approach the chubby man. I get the ick the moment his eyes lock on me, but I swallow past it, put a sway in my hips and join him by the painting with the weird angular piss-colored shapes.

“Oh, I love this one! The emotion it gives off is just so intense.” I fan myself, then press my hand against my heart. “Are you just looking or planning to buy it? Because it would look amazing in my bedroom.”

He turns his body toward me, rubbing his square beard as his beady eyes scan me. It makes me feel like a merchandise on a conveyor belt about to pass through quality control. But I’ll pass it, there’s no question about it. My white sweater and pants go amazing with the bright blue of my dyed hair, giving me an angelic aura that couldn’t be more fake.

But he doesn’t know that or that I’m hiding a gun under my clothes. One wrong move and I’m splattering his brains on this shiny floor, witnesses be damned.

No, Hex. Don’t be trigger-happy or Aran won’t let you join him again.

I guess I’ll behave then. It would be a shame to stay in Nagoya while he goes around the world assassinating people. After all, I can only use the excuse of having to physically hack into systems only so often before he get suspicious.

“I haven’t seen you around…” the billionaire says, still feasting on my otherworldly beauty. My clothes are courtesy of both Mong and Aran, and I have to say they’ve outdone themselves. “And what is this thing ?”

Speaking of Mong, he and Eleanor work for the Akiyama Group alongside Naomi and Matt. Our group of friends has grown and I couldn’t be happier. We get together once a week and it’s always so much fun.

“I’m new.” I tilt my head at the gallery’s owner, trying not to lose my shit because this asshat insulted his Royal Highness, Lord Timothee. The sheer audacity warrants putting a bullet through this man’s forehead right here and now, but I try to hold in that impulse. “Vasili is my cousin. I was in town and he invited me. We don’t see much of each other.”

The intrigued look this sleazy man gives me confirms I’ve got his attention. I’m sure the shiny jewelry that completes my outfit helps too, but it was mostly my brilliant acting. “You don’t live in Venice then? It’s a lovely city.”

Maybe I should chop off his balls before we off him. No one insults Timmy and gets away with it. “I don’t. I find it hard to stay in one city with so many places to explore.” I worry my bottom lip, making sure my tongue peeks out. “Where are you from?”

We slip into small talk. I grab two wine glasses from a server who passes by us, making sure I drink the one with slightly less liquid. Leo is part of this operation, and he’s posing as the catering supervisor, spiking drinks left and right so I can get my target buzzed ASAP.

Once the billionaire is properly slurring, I rest my hand against his chest and flutter my eyelashes at him. “Oh my, you look a little tipsy. How about you take me to your hotel so I can help you sober up?”

He tries to grope me, but I dodge him effortlessly. “You are a naughty little thing, aren’t you?” He leers, saliva dripping from the corners of his mouth. Oops, I think Leo’s overdone it a bit. “Just how I like them.”

“Oh yes, I am a real lion in bed,” I whisper, drawing out my words.

He nods and waves at his bodyguards. They escort us to a car with tinted windows, opening the door for us. I let the drunk billionaire get in first, then ever-so-subtly make the agreed hand signal before climbing into the car.

Twenty minutes later, we enter a tacky penthouse in one of Venice’s most expensive hotels. There is gold all over the space, from the ornamented walls and chandeliers to the carpets and even the cutlery.

“Come here, sweetie,” the man beckons me as he fumbles with his pants, half-passed out on the couch in the lounge.

I remain in the hallway and count backwards from sixty. The front door clicks and opens, two unconscious bodies falling forward with a thud.

“You are thirteen seconds late,” I tell Aran, kissing him on the cheek.

“There were two extra bodyguards.” He brushes off invisible dust from his black suit. “I had to take care of them first.” Patting me down, he kisses my cheek. “I am so proud you stuck to the plan even after what he said…”

He’s referring to Timmy, and he sounds proud that I didn’t go rogue. “I didn’t want to cause you trouble. And… maybe you are right, I shouldn’t bring Timmy. Next time, I’ll leave him in the hotel room.”

“That would be wisest.”

“Hey, little pet, where did you go?” the billionaire groans from next door.

A nerve in Aran’s jaw twitches. Uh-oh, good riddance. I don’t think I’ll get my turn to torture this man’s balls. He just crossed an invisible line he shouldn’t have.

We get what we need from the billionaire using a combination of interrogation, drugs and torture. I mostly watch—I’m not as proficient in effective questioning as Aran—but it is certainly something I’d like to pick up. I’m a man of many talents and I love to help him in any way I can.

We return to our hotel, a modern building across town with an amazing view of the nearby park. I use the information we extracted to hack into one of Dubai’s biggest banks, pinpointing the location of our next target, namely Sleazy Billionaire’s boss. He’s the real puppet master, while tonight’s guy was just a small fry.

An hour later, we’ve met up with Leo at the airport and are headed back to Nagoya. Chai couldn’t join us in Venice due to some business he had in Tokyo, but he’s come with the plane to pick us up. He and Leo are inseparable, but on rare occasions when it happens, Kieran, our ex-CIA agent and Leo’s right hand, handles Chai’s security.

“I, uh, need to brief Chai about our mission,” Leo informs us shortly after the plane reaches cruising speed.

I glance toward the back of the private jet, spotting the mafia heir watching us with crossed arms and a smirk on his face. Oh, they are definitely gonna bang.

“Okay! We won’t disturb. Make sure you are very thorough.”

Leo laughs so hard, he startles the cabin crew that’s preparing our snacks and coffee.

“I always do.” He winks at me and fucks off.

I sigh and prop my head on Aran’s shoulder, tired from the busy and exciting day. Timmy’s terrarium is secured on the table in front of us and he is already asleep, so taking his example, I snuggle into Aran and close my eyes, dreaming about the next adventure we are about to embark on together.