Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 102942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
“I don’t recall giving you this number.”
“You didn’t,” I say, hating how fucking thrilling I find hearing her voice, especially right now in this situation. “What can I say? I’m resourceful. But had I waited for you to give it to me, imagine all this fun we would have missed out on.”
She scoffs, and I watch as she takes a blade from the holster strapped to her thigh, tossing it into the air and catching it with ease. Then, the second the handle hits her capable hand, she whips around and rears back, launching the blade with such power that it blasts straight through the glass window of the cabin and directly through the center of Grant Caldwell’s throat.
Well, fuck me. That was equally the most frustrating and sexiest thing I have ever seen.
Kiara turns back, a wicked grin on her face, and as if stealing yet another kill out from under me wasn’t enough, she then drops down into an exaggerated curtsy, as though I should be applauding her for allowing me the grand opportunity to witness the master at work.
Then, adding salt to the wound, she takes an exaggerated step to the left. “Go ahead,” she coos, the call still connected. “Take your shot.”
I pull the fucking trigger.
The shot rings out through the early morning fog surrounding the mountains, and I keep my eye trained on Kiara as the bullet plunges deep into the tree trunk directly beside her head, bits of wood ricocheting around her face.
She yelps in shock as her jaw drops, absolutely horrified that I’d even dare shoot so close to her, but truth be told, I’m the sharpest shooter in the country. Nobody is better than me, and while that bullet landed barely a foot away from her stunning face, it’s not a shot I’d consider even a little bit close. In comparison to how precisely I shoot, that bullet lodged in that tree might as well have been a mile away.
“You . . . Holy fuck. You shot at me!”
“You told me to take my shot, Firecracker. What’s the matter? Can’t handle the heat? It wasn’t even close. I didn’t even skim a few hairs off the top.”
She grunts in frustration, but this is different from the usual Kiara blow-up. She’s truly pissed, and not a moment later, she ends the call and darts deep into the bushes. I track her movements as best I can, but she’s fast, and the trees quickly become too thick to see through from this angle.
The further she gets, the faster reality dawns on me.
Kiara St. James just got the best of me. Again.
That shit doesn’t happen. Especially not on a job like this that could have been completed by a rookie on their first day. And honestly, I see red. I won’t lie, I’m impressed. Really fucking impressed. Taking the kill directly out of my hands mere milliseconds before making my hit is no easy feat. It takes balls and a shitload of audacity to fuck with another assassin like that, but Kiara isn’t the type to hold back. Only when it’s got something to do with riding me like a fucking cowgirl. But it doesn’t change the fact that I’m pissed.
How the fuck does this keep happening?
Packing up my rifle, I take my ass back to my Audi and get the fuck out of here. It’ll be a while before this bastard is found, and considering the blade lodged in his throat, a sniper won’t even be considered. The most likely story law enforcement will run with is a disgruntled partner or associate taking revenge for losing everything they had.
Either way, I don’t make a habit of hanging around scenes any longer than necessary.
Hitting the gas, I take the same road that got me here, and just like the job in Barcelona, I leave feeling more slighted than ever. There’s no doubt that Kiara and I are going to have words. I need to know how the fuck our paths have crossed.
But despite all of that and how the rage pounds through my veins, what happened here today has brought me clarity.
I knew it was true the second I connected the dots with her planner, and I knew it was true when I stood in her doorway and groaned as she trailed her finger across the front of my throat, silently telling me exactly what she was capable of. But it was never said out loud. Not until this moment, and now, there’s no more denying it, no shrugging it off as a coincidence, and unfortunately for both of us, this changes everything.
CHAPTER 17
KIARA
The door hits the wall hard enough to rattle the frame as I barge into my apartment, but I don’t care. I’m far too hung up on the fact that Raiden Kane shot at me.