Page 67 of Wraith (Deviant Assassin #1)

Kiera

I’M SAFE IN WILD’S ARMS.

I ’m furious with myself that I haven’t quite worked out anything else.

Not about the woman who looks like me lounging on the couch, who’s some long-lost friend of my husband.

Not about how both Blade and Wilder know both the man who told me Blade abandoned me and the handler who lied about it for years.

Not about how the FBI agent at my back is coiled tight at the mere mention of his family.

But it’s all background noise to the security that’s inexplicably seeping through me.

Wild’s holding me close, arms wrapped around my waist, like I’m everything precious in the entire world to him.

His priority. I don’t want to lean into his chest. I want to be strong and steady and competent.

But being attacked by the woman who still looks exactly like me is more disturbing than I’d like to admit.

Nearly as disturbing as her friendship with my husband, which makes zero sense.

So I’ll indulge Wild’s need to hold me while I work out Blade’s strange and violent… friend.

Who the fuck is she? How pissed will he be if I end her? Why the fuck do I care?

I will end her; today, or tomorrow, or another day—the when doesn’t matter. That fucking bitch needs to die. Slowly and painfully for trying to fuck with me. I still can’t close my eyes without feeling dizzy.

Blade stands across the room, not here with me, his face flickering in and out of shadow as lightning flashes outside.

He glances at me briefly, the smallest hint of worry flashing in his eyes, before turning to the phone in his hand.

He places it on speaker, and the sound of a line crackling to life fills the space between us.

“Phoenix, we’ve got a problem,” he says, a low urgency in his voice.

Phoenix’s voice comes through, sharp but smooth, like she’s close. Almost sitting in the same room.

“Is that so?” Her tone has a touch of humor in it, a smirk beneath the words.

A strange pang rushes through me at the sound of her voice—cool, confident, and closer to Blade than I’ve ever been. I swallow it down, forcing myself to remain focused on the issues, not my emotions.

“I found your mole,” Blade says, his voice calm and steady despite the chaos that’s occurred.

“Zephyr. Turns out he’s had his very own assassin on his personal payroll.

Wraith thought they were working for Umber, but—” His face changes as if he’s had a realization.

“Dammit, Pheonix, he’s sending Wraith after Umber generals. He’s?—”

Phoenix’s scoff interrupts him, her voice dripping with irritation. “Figures,” she snaps. “Typical of him. Always a snake, that one. I told you… told everyone… not to trust him. Zephyr isn’t a problem anymore, trust me. Esther wants you at her house tonight.”

“I trust you with my life, Nix. I’ll check in with Esther. Send me the coordinates.”

I cross my arms, pushing away the image trying to form in my mind of this woman who knows Blade so well.

I want desperately to ignore how Blade listens to her, respect and values her—but I’m not an idiot and it’s too easy to see they have history, a closeness I hadn’t quite expected to be so…

pivotal. My stomach drops when he smiles and shakes his head without retort.

“So, Blade,” Phoenix—whoever the fuck she is—continues, her tone softening to something too goddamn familiar, “are you telling me you’ve finally dealt with that awful, cheating wife of yours? Take Wraith out and come home so we can finally get on with our lives.”

Cheating wife? Moving on with their lives? She’s talking about someone she cares about. Someone she cares deeply for. Someone else …Blade has back home. The air seems too thin, I can’t drag in a full breath. Wild’s hold is all that’s keeping me upright.

And then Phoenix’s sickening voice adds one more layer to it all.

“Besides, little Sally misses you.”

Sally.

The name tumbles through my mind. A new image slots into place—Blade, with Phoenix, and a kid.

Sally. My chest tightens. I force my hands to stay still, to not curl into fists.

He has a family. Of course he does. He always wanted one, even if I wasn’t sure.

He has a family. And it doesn’t include me.

“Phoenix, shut the fuck up,” Blade grits from between clenched teeth, his jaw tight, lips peeled back from his teeth.

He might be angry, but Phoenix’s words linger in the air─ unforgiving, as cold dread rips through every cell of my body.

Wilder is all that’s holding me to the present as Blade’s face shifts and spins.

It’s impossible to look at him and see the man I thought I knew.

He’s not the man who’s been here, making a place in my life for himself.

He’s got a whole life he’s just… conveniently not mentioned.

A woman I could understand. It’s been eight years. But Sally changes everything .

But I can’t react, can’t let any of it show. I won’t give the bastard the satisfaction of seeing me crumble. My arms are crossed, resting on Wild’s, and my gaze remains fixed on the phone, nothing revealing the tension curling inside me like smoke threatening to choke me.

“You’re a piece of work, Blade,” Wild says suddenly, venom in every word, sharper than I’ve heard out of my protective Agent.

I glance up, and Wild’s gaze shifts from Blade to me and back. A sneer curls his lip as his eyes narrow. Rage takes over his face and his grip on me tightens as Blade dismisses his words as if he never spoke. But I heard him, I’ve heard everything.

My pulse pounds in my ears, mixing with the beat of the rain outside, the strong beat of Wild’s pulse.

Suddenly, I’m utterly humiliated in a way I haven’t been since I was a young girl made to feel useless and dispensable.

Like garbage to be left on the curb. That’s exactly what Blade did, and yet I let him get away with it. Again!

The woman sitting on the couch—Sable, or Chameleon, whoever the hell she is—eyes light up, her lips curling into a grin, clearly eating up the tension rising in the room. She’s a truly twisted bitch.

“Ooh, this is interesting. How delightful,” she says, her tone playful, almost giddy. “Didn’t see that coming.” She frowns, then calls out to Phoenix. “Damn, girl, you kept this under lock! And when did you two have a kid?”

“Don’t feel bad, Heathen,” Wild growls, his arms clasping me tighter, as if I might collapse. He just might be right. May have been right all along. Blade played me for a fool. “I fell for his bullshit, too.”

Blade’s eyes snap to Wild, a dangerous glint within.

“Watch your mouth,” he warns, his voice calm but deadly. “You don’t know jack shit about me.”

Wild shifts, sliding me to the side. He’s not letting me go, though.

There’s a protectiveness in his stance. He’s trying to shield me, despite the impossibility.

I hate that it still makes me feel safe, even as my worst nightmare plays out in front of my eyes.

I want to run, to not need anyone or anything. But Wilder’s arms hold me fast.

Phoenix’s voice cuts through the tension, oblivious to the chaos her words have caused.

“Who the hell is that?”

“It’s me. Sable. My voice is unfamiliar thanks to Tris’ nano tech.”

“Chameleon? What the hell are you doing there?” Pheonix says, not knowing I’m Wraith or that I’m absorbing every word she says.

If she’s Blade’s girlfriend and his handler, then why is he still protecting me from her?

“You know what, never mind, I’m kind of in the middle of something.

Blade, I don’t know why the hell you haven’t checked in, but Esther wants you to communicate directly with her and only her for now.

So, call her and finish this. Then divorce your fucking wife and get your ass home.

Sally and I…we’ll be heading home soon, and we’ll be waiting. You get me?”

My chest is going to explode if I don’t breathe soon, from the pressure of holding this soul-deep anguish in.

My heart is in a mercilessly constricting vise.

I can’t be here—do this. Not a second longer.

Every shared glance, every whispered promise, is tainted now.

Exposed as the lie it is. Blade’s got a whole life waiting for him.

A woman, a kid, and I’ve been…a distraction.

A convenient fuck. The girl he left behind, who still couldn’t resist him.

The fool that loved him and welcomed him back into my heart after all this time.

He stares at me with a heat so intense I can’t look away. His eyes beg me to understand, and I do.

The shitbag played me, and he has a kid.

Wild’s fingers lace though mine, squeezing desperately, and I realize I’m hyperventilating.

Wild’s touch breaks Blade’s hold on me. My entire body stiffens, and a growl builds in my chest. I don’t need, or want, comfort right now; I need a knife so I can slit this fucker’s throat.

My murderous rage must show on my face, because Sable reaches into her back pocket and tosses a blade to me, which only serves to humiliate me even more, as I catch it reflexively in my right hand.

Maybe I don’t hate her quite so much, but the bitch still has to die after I kill my husband.

Pulling my big girl panties on, I give her a slight nod and with a snicker; I mimic her, tucking it away for later. I won’t kill him in front of witnesses.

Whoever this psycho is, cackles in delight and winks at me. She’s pretty. Maybe I’ll fuck her and give her a big O to ease the pain of her death when I kill her.

Blade finally speaks, his voice rough, as if the words are painful. “Yeah, Phoenix, I got it. I’ll take care of everything.”

Phoenix hesitates oddly, then her tone softens. “Good, now I really have to go. I’m in the middle of something. Talk soon, Blade. Sable.”